The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's (BSEE) Susan Dwarnick traveled to Whitehorse, Canada last week for a meeting of the Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group and associated workshops. The working group addresses policy and non-emergency pollution prevention and control measures related to the protection of the Arctic marine environment from both land and sea activities.
The primary focus of these meetings was the discussion and further drafting of the Arctic Marine Strategic Plan, a document that when finished will guide the work of the Arctic Council for the next 10 years, and discussion of the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment. A new project supported by both BSEE and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) was proposed for the PAME 2015-2017 Work Plan. The first phase of this proposed project would focus on compiling publicly available guidance documents and lessons learned related to 'Meaningful Engagement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Marine Activities'.
Dwarnick, Chief of BSEE’s Offshore Safety Improvement Branch, represents BSEE at the PAME working group meetings. Also represented in the group are the BOEM, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard. Indigenous groups are represented by the Inuit Circumpolar Councils (ICC) of Alaska and Canada, the Saami Council and the Aleut International Association (AIA).
For more information on the PAME working group and the Arctic Council, please visit http://www.pame.is/.
