Transboundary environmental assessment in the Arctic

Abstract

The main intent of this article is to examine the extent of applicable international treaties and other regulations that oblige the concerned states to perform transboundary environmental assessment (TEA) in the Arctic, and whether these have induced any state practice. Since the co-operation process between the eight Arctic states has adopted an instrument aiming to influence how TEA should be undertaken in the Arctic conditions, a closer examination of the development and content of these Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment is in order. One case in the Finnish Arctic is used to demonstrate what a quality TEA can mean in the Arctic context.

Keywords:

• EA
• EIA
• SEA
• environment
• climate change
• Arctic Council
• Arctic
• transboundary
• natural resources
• state practice