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)
(From left to right): Dan Slavik, Jon L. Fuglestad, Stanislav Formin, Joclyn Paulic, Alf Håkon Hoel,
Tomomi Nomaki, Erik Olsen, Phil Mundy, Catherine Coon, Karoline Andaur, Takashi Kikuchi,
Hein Rune Skjoldal, Maryann Fidel and William Koeoppen (Photo: Bjarni Eiríksson / PAME)
The Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment Working Group (PAME), held its 4th Ecosystem Approach workshop in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 16-18 of June 2014. The subtitle of the workshop was; Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) – Understanding National Approaches and Reviewing Progress on IEA in Arctic LMEs straddling national boundaries: The Beaufort and Barents Seas.
Members of the PAME led Ecosystem Approach Expert Group included representatives from Canada, Norway, the United States, the Aleut International Association, AMAP and CAFF working groups, in addition to experts from a number of institutions, including the WWF and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The workshop also received input via video link from experts who could enjoy the pleasantly of their home office and still make a valuable contribution to the workshop.
The three day workshop included sessions on;
The workshop report will soon be available on the PAME website (www.pame.is).
PAME has published a Concept Paper on Ecosystem Approach to Management of the Arctic marine ecosystems. This Paper defines the EA approach and identifies the framework for implementation of the EA in the Arctic and emphasizes the following main elements that can be seen as steps in an iterative implementation cycle: • Identify the ecosystem
• Describe the ecosystem
• Set ecological objectives
• Assess the ecosystem
• Value the ecosystem
• Manage human activities
Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) represent the appropriate and primary units for applying the ecosystem approach to management of the marine environment recognizing that it accommodates management at other spatial scales. The LMEs offer a framework for doing this in a structured manner from both scientific and management perspectives. The overall state and integrity of the ecosystem is a reflection of the status of species and habitats and their interactions at all appropriate scales within the LME.
Click here to view or download the Concept Paper from the PAME website.
Click here for more information about the ecosystem approach.
The Arctic Marine Tourism Project (AMTP) Workshop Report has been published on the PAME webpage.
In broad terms the AMTP is attempting to identify issues or gaps where the Arctic Council can add value by articulating best practices in relation to vessel-based Arctic tourism. In undertaking this project PAME seeks to produce a best practices document that:
1) avoids duplication by being aware of existing guidelines and best practices;
2) identifies existing best practices while also determining any practical problem areas or actual issues requiring some resolution;
3) takes into account regional variations, categories of tourist/vessel operations, various stakeholder perspectives, and practical usability of a best practices document; and
4) considers the intended audience(s) for development of best practices.
The workshop advanced understanding on all these matters and generated a solid basis for further work on the AMTP.
The second SAO meeting of the Canadian Chairmanship was held in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada March 25-27.
Location: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada Meeting begins:25 March Meeting ends: 27 March
The Executive SAO Meeting will be held during the day 25 March. The SAO/PP Plenary Meeting will then begin with a dinner on the evening of the 25 March.
More information about the meeting can be found here
Source: The Arctic Council
The Arctic Offshore Oil and Gas Guidelines: Safety Management Systems and Safety Culture, was organized as a project under the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) Working Group of the Arctic Council. A new report was released in March 2014 and is available at
[button type="default" size="default" link="index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=129&Itemid=311" target="_self"] Read More [/button]
The Indian ambassador, Mr. Ashok Das, visited the University of Akureyri the March 17th to meet institutions and specialists who are involved in Arctic related activities. Mr. Das introduced India's interests in sending scientists to Iceland to be trained in glaciology. The glaciers in India are located high up in the Himalaya and are not suitable training grounds due to difficault and dangerous environment. While glaciers in Iceland are more accessable. Mr. Das also expressed India's interest in the Arctic region and said that India can be a suitable partner in developing the region in issues related to technology and IT services.
Source: University of Akureyri