The Contribution of Space Technologies to Arctic Policy Priorities

and particularly the vertical component, used for offshore boundary determination work.

under the Canadian Shipping Act 2001 to require reporting to the Coast Guard prior to entering Canadian waterways.

The scarcity of ground- or airborne-based gravity measurements in the Arctic has meant that the geoid determination in the region is relatively poor. Gravity space science missions like CHAMP (Challenging Minisatellite Payload – launched in 2000 and expired in 2010), GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment – launched in 2002) and GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer – launched in 2009) helped to address this problem. The most recent geoid model was unveiled at the Fourth International GOCE User Workshop in March 2011 (ESA, 2011). 7.2 Border Protection 7.2.1 Overview Border protection involves supporting national security priorities and facilitating the flow of people and goods across a country’s borders. Typical activities include (Canada Border Services Agency, 2011): yy Administering legislation that governs the admissibility of people, goods and plants and animals into and out of the country;

yy According to Norway’s New Building Blocks in the North report, firm exercise of sovereignty and strengthening of cross-border cooperation in the North is a policy priority, and the Government intends to increase activities of the Coast Guard, further develop border control, and improve civilian border surveillance and control along the Norwegian- Russian border. In addition, a strategic focus on knowledge will include further developing the capacity to safeguard Norway’s foreign policy interests in the High North. As part of its High North strategy, the Norwegian Government has given the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs the responsibility for setting up a full-spectrum monitoring and information system for the Northern Sea and coastal areas called ‘BarentsWatch’. yy The Arctic policy of Russia, Fundamentals of State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic in the Period up to 2020 and Beyond , includes the policy of optimizing levels of control over the Arctic through advanced boundary control, improvements to surveillance techniques of its maritime areas and greater patrolling of trade (Heininen, 2011). Improving military security and protection of state border in relation to increased terrorist threats is a priority. yy Steps in the US National Security Presidential Directive/ NSPD – 66 concerning an Arctic Region Policy to protect US sovereignty include: development of capabilities and capacity for protecting the country’s air, land, and sea borders in the Arctic; an increase in Arctic maritime domain awareness to protect US commerce and key resources; projection of a sovereign US maritime presence in the region; and preservation of the global mobility of American military and civilian vessels throughout the Arctic. The US is prepared to act unilaterally or multilaterally to safeguard its Arctic interests, including in areas of missile defence, early warning systems, and maritime presence. yy The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 – ILO169 notes that many indigenous peoples have been involuntarily divided or separated by state borders that run across their territories and hamper contact for members of their people divided by the border. It requires Governments to take appropriate measures, including by means of international agreements, to facilitate contacts and co-operation between indigenous and tribal peoples across borders, including activities in the economic, social, cultural, spiritual and environmental fields. yy The report, Nordic Cooperation on Foreign and Security Policy , proposed that the Nordic countries explore cooperation in the development and operation of a Nordic system for monitoring and early warning in the Nordic sea areas (Stoltenberg, 2009). The proposal was for a maritime monitoring system with two pillars, one for the Baltic Sea (‘BalticWatch’) and one for the North Atlantic, parts of the Arctic Ocean and the Barents Sea (‘BarentsWatch’), under a common overall system. BarentsWatch is presently underway (Norway Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2011). The

yy Detaining those people who are inadmissible or may pose a threat to the country;

yy Identifying and removing people who are inadmissible to the country;

yy Interdicting illegal goods entering or leaving the country;

yy Protecting food safety, plant and animal health, and the country’s resource base;

yy Promoting business and economic benefits to the country by administering trade legislation and trade agreements to meet international obligations, including the enforcement of trade remedies that help protect industry from the injurious effects of dumped and subsidized imported goods;

yy Administering a fair and impartial redress mechanism; and

yy Collecting applicable duties and taxes on imported goods.

Border protection usually includes the dual mandate of managing access to borders by large numbers of people and goods moving over land, by sea and by air, while maintaining the integrity of the border and providing protection from threats to the country’s security and prosperity. Security in the Arctic is not so much about militarization of the region as it is about governments effectively controlling their jurisdiction. 7.2.2 Policy Border protection is an area of special interest that is reflected in a number of the Arctic nations’ policy documents. yy Canada’s Northern Strategy: Our North, Our Heritage, Our Future includes the building of eight state-of-the-art Arctic offshore patrol ships and establishment of new regulations

CONTRIBUTION OF SPACE TECHNOLOGIES TO ARCTIC POLICY PRIORITIES 38