VASCHENKO V.M. , DANDANYCH O.V.
Natinal Antarctic Scientific Center, Ukraine, Zakarpatsky State University, Ukraine

During last decades a new international order is formed around Arctic to solve regional and global ecological problems by international cooperation. Arctic environment became an object and a source of ecological cooperation.

On the basis of analysis of main contemporary ecological problems of Arctic and basic international law documents enacted by U.N.O. and international conferences and also the trends of international nature conservation cooperation in Arctic region this work concludes that protection of Arctic nature requires further aimed scientific developments of international law problems of Arctic ecology. This new wide field of international law activity should provide complex ecological protection of all Arctic geospheres. The absence of effective international law amplifies intensification of regional and global ecological problems.

In ecological and law literature the term “environment” combines two components – natural and anthropogenic environments. The latter is created by human in process of anthropogenic activity and its undesirable components are so called “detrimental impurities” that cause destructive ecological process. This third anthropogenic component should be considered as a new independent object of international ecological law (IEL).

During solution of international ecological situations the advantage is given to mutual contracts first of all. The admitted principles of international law are the criterion of regulation legality of any area of intergovernmental relations including relations concerning environmental protection and its rational use.

The new desire for Arctic activities of non-near-arctic countries are affirmed by IEL particularly these are stable ecologically safe social and economical growth, equal ecological safety (ecological welfare of one country may not be achieved at the expense of other country or disregarding other countries); prohibition of ecological aggression, regular information exchange on ecological situations required by all the countries and especially those near Arctic; execution of coordinated requirements concerning environmental protection control; peaceful settlement of controversies concerning trans-border influence on environment; international responsibility and compensations for harm and damage to the environment caused by actions on the territory under control or jurisdiction of the country that caused harm and damage outside of this territory.

During next 10-15 years a real development of large Pyrofracture field in Arctic may begin. But law strategy of marine mineral resources of Arctic development is incomplete at the moment. Extension of Arctic oil and gas development is hindered by high ecological sensitivity of the region; by absence of reliable information on real extractable values of oil and gas; by extremely expensive technologies and infrastructure for oil development.
To reduce the possible oil-or-gas contaminations an approach of 5 ecological barriers is developed specifically on the background of transition to compact and mobile marine oil automatic platforms with increased operation reliability in hostile Arctic environment.

The general system of Arctic circulation causes that contaminations may migrate through the whole Arctic basin and cause anthropogenic Arctic ice melting. Ice fields and low temperature hinder installation of slick bars, use vessels for oil collection, use natural and artificial sorbates, oil-oxidizing bacteria. Hence no near-arctic country will escape the consequences of such contamination. Therefore to avoid marine accidents fail-safe technology and effective ecological law is required.

The response of different elements of marine ecosystem as the whole on oil contamination has not yet been studied. Therefore it is necessary to develop preventive ecotechnologies and law measures and arrangements to protect the environment with strict international control beginning from the very first industrial phases.

That is why the problem of introduction of real methods and means of control for abidance to the international agreements and projects became one of the main international ecological problems of Arctic basin.

And finally international intergovernmental and social organizations on problem of safety and stable advance of Arctic should be created. Theoretical developments of stable Arctic advance are relatively new and actual, but the corresponding both national and international law base is not complete and fragmentary. So to apply the concept of stable Arctic advance in international relations and also relations between governments and international organizations a detailed thorough study is required. The role of modern scientific-and-technical developments is underestimated. The lack of attention to global and long-term ecological problems is a barrier for effective solution of ecological problems on the international scale. Therefore in international Arctic ecological activity the substantial international Antarctic ecological experience becomes important.

Inevitable trans-border character of anthropogenic contamination of Arctic requires international measures and signing of new more universal agreements and memorandums on giving urgent ecological aid to the Arctic region regulated by international ecological law in case of emergency. A good example of such relations is Russian-American agreement on mutual operations in Behring and Chukotsk seas in emergency situation on liquidation of consequences of ecological accidents with significant spill of oil and other contaminators and mutual accidents information exchange.

International ecological law should strictly regulate ecological expertise of the shelf minerals development projects and also regulate giving of recommendations on defining regions of survey and development.

Development of mineral resources must correspond to international system of standards and principles of environment protection formulated in Convention on estimate of trans-border environment influence (1991) and also correspond to procedures on securing its effective action. This system should also include requirement of estimate of possible environment impact of the development, ecosystem state change estimate methods. Such international procedures are successfully tested and used in Antarctic during new Antarctic stations construction. The control is maintained by international inspections. Therefore the existing system of international Arctic relations should solve the problem of creating the international structure that will legally authorize such actions, will bring in action and carry out arbitration.

One of the basic documents of ecological law on development of Arctic minerals should be ratified convention on Arctic ecological protection that should include the main principle “precaution and forestalling” on the basis of monitoring with priority of ecological anomalies, trends and symptoms early prevention.
Development of Arctic minerals should begin only with existence of national and international government law decisions of government and non-government social organizations on availability of progressive technologies, measures and procedures of securing total ecological safety of the operations.

In Arctic law science and ecological policy national level of ecological responsibility to the planet society should be increased. An important role should be given to international ecological science and new technologies.

The law of ecological mode of Arctic minerals development should define a common standard for construction, apparatus, placement, maintenance of bore equipment and also define the list of contaminators forbidden to dump to the environment, to define the common minimal standards of oil dump from the marine platforms, oil-and-water compound and bore solutions, to regulate the obligations of environment monitoring operators and action plan in case of emergency.

OIL AND GAS OF ARCTIC SHELF 2008