The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of October 15, 2018
Marijuana becomes legal in Canada
On Wednesday, October 17th, marijuana became legal for recreational use across Canada. First promised by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau while campaigning for office in 2014, Canada is now one of only two countries to have fully legalized recreational marijuana use. The government also announced that it would waive fees for those convicted for minor cannabis possession and who would like to request an official pardon (BBC).
Take 1: Although much of the country was excitedly anticipating legalisation, some indigenous groups and northern community leaders were worried about the impact it would have on communities already struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. Despite this, legalization is going full steam ahead in Canada’s Arctic with the Northwest Territories (NWT) only finalizing their plans for legalization last week (EOTA). Marijuana can be purchased online in Nunavut and NWT, while Yukon residents can now buy it in stores (NN, CBC).
NATO war games kicking off this week
Described as the ‘most important NATO exercise since the Cold War’, exercise Trident Juncture 2018 is taking place from October 15-November 7 beginning in Iceland. The games’ aim is to test the reaction of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members in the case that one of the Alliance members is attacked (Army Recognition).
Take 2: This exercise is being lauded for its importance because of the sheer size of the event, during which 40,000 soldiers and sailors from 31 countries will participate. The event represents a strategic opportunity for the United Kingdom to show its support of European military defense as its departure from the European Union looms closer. These games also come as part of NATO’s response to the 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by Russia and Russia’s increasing military presence in the Arctic (Reuters).
Norwegian royalty welcomed in Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted King Harald V of Norway in Beijing on Tuesday, October 16 in a conference to begin a new era in their relationship and promote bilateral ties between their respective countries. Norwegian-Chinese relations broke down in 2010 after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, but the two countries have been friendlier since trade resumed in 2016 (GBTimes).*
Take 3: This visit is the first state visit of King Harald V and Queen Sonja to China since trade resumed and coincides with a deepening of the relationship between the two nations. Norway currently exports roughly 100,000 tons of salmon to China every year, which is anticipated to more than double by 2025. Moving forward, the nations are expected to collaborate on China’s upcoming 2020 Winter Olympics as well as their ambitious Belt and Road initiative (GBTimes).*
Finland, other Arctic nations consider coal reduction
During the Arctic Biodiversity Congress in Lapland this week, ministers agreed on the objective of using less black coal in an effort to curb climate change (Yle). This event coincided with a meeting of the Arctic Environment Ministers, an Arctic Council’s working group devoted to addressing environmental concerns in the Arctic such as climate change, pollution, and biodiversity (EOTA).
Take 4: Although Finland may reduce its emissions with the elimination of coal, the country’s ability to sequester carbon may also soon be reduced as the country recently announced plans to increase logging. The head of Greenpeace’s Finnish branch criticized the government’s plan to increase forestry land use by 14 million cubic meters over the next seven years, calling the reduction in the country’s carbon sinks “untenable” (Yle).
In absence of bees, Arctic pollination depends on flies
A recent study from the University of Helsinki sheds light on pollination in the Arctic. In most regions, bees and their close relatives are primarily responsible for plant pollination, but this is not the case in the Arctic where very few members of the Apidae family are found. The study provided further evidence that members of the Muscidae, or fly, family are the main pollinators on the chilly tundra (Science Daily).
Take 5: Annoying as they are may be when they get trapped in your home, flies are essential to the functioning of the tundra ecosystem. As the main pollinators, their abundance directly affects the ability of plants to produce seeds and disperse across the landscape. The study found that there has likely been a recent decrease in pollinator abundance, as there were not enough pollinators to go around during the peak flowering season in their Arctic study region. If this trend continues, it could vastly alter the community composition of the tundra for years to come (Science Daily).
*GBTimes went offline in June 2020.