PAME is one of six Arctic Council working groups. PAME was first established under the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy and was continued by the 1996 Ottawa Charter that established the Arctic Council.
PAME is the focal point of the Arctic Council’s activities related to the protection and sustainable use of the Arctic marine environment and provides a unique forum for collaboration on a wide range of activities in this regard.Ministerial deliverables are documents which PAME produced for each Ministerial Meetings. The Arctic Council Ministers can either approved, welcome or note the deliverables.
Deliverables are generally the main documents associated with each PAME project.
See Ministerial Deliverables.
The purpose of the PAME Work Plan is to provide a framework for PAME´s work related to the protection of the Arctic marine environment for every two year working period.
The PAME Work Plan includes information on all ongoing PAME projects and gives insight into activities ongoing at the given time.
PAME activities are governed by the Arctic Council Working Group Common Operating Guidelines.
The Operating Guidelines are to be read and used in conjunction with other documents, including the 1996 Ottawa Declaration establishing the Arctic Council, the AC Rules of Procedure (RoP), the AC Observer Manual for Subsidiary Bodies and other relevant documents of the AC.
PAME activities are guided by the Arctic Marine Strategic Plan and biennial Work Plans, which are developed by the PAME Working Group for approval by the Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials.
The PAME logo is available for download here. The logo cannot be changed for use.
For more information contact the PAME Secretariat (pame@pame.is)
Since the AMSP was adopted in 2004, the Arctic marine environment has been subject to increasing pressures from climate change, economic activities and pollution. The Arctic Council is at the forefront of responses to these emerging issues through the development of in-depth reports and assessments, such as the State of the Arctic Environment Report, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA), the Arctic Oil and Gas Assessment (AOGA), and ongoing work such as the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), Arctic Ocean Review (AOR) and the Recommended Practices for Arctic Oil Spill Prevention (RP3).
The working groups of the Arctic Council, AMAP, PAME, CAFF, EPPR and SDWG have indicated that most strategic actions of the AMSP have been completed or are progressing according to plan, to be concluded within this or the next work plan period.
The Implementation section in the AMSP states that "PAME, in collaboration with all Arctic Council subsidiary bodies, will lead a review of the Strategic Plan by 2010, or another date specified by the Council, to determine its adequacy in light of the results of ongoing assessments and national and regional reporting.”
Therefore, it was deemed timely to update and revise, as relevant, the AMSP (2004) to secure a healthy, productive, and resilient Arctic Ocean and coasts; and to ensure that the future strategic approach to management of the Arctic marine environment is coordinated between the working groups, is based on ecosystem - based approach, and that results are effectively implemented.
Revisions to the AMSP will provide the building blocks towards more coordinated and integrated approaches and supports policy decisions at the local, national, regional and international levels. It also responds to commitments by the global community to sustainable development and protection of marine biodiversity and the marine environment through the application of the ecosystem approach and integrated coastal and ocean management.
- That the Arctic marine environment to be managed using an integrated, ecosystem approach to management.
- That the cumulative environmental effects do not exceed a level at which structure, functioning and productivity of ecosystems and biodiversity are maintained.
- An Arctic Council product and a platform for common efforts in the years to come - Coordination and engagement from working groups essential to create our strategic actions for the next decade.