The Arctic Messenger Gains a Voice - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 27

In September 1989, the first consultative meeting of what was then called the “Finnish
Initiative” was held in northern Finland at Rovaniemi. It was agreed that no international
arrangements existed with the capacity to coordinate effective environmental cooperation
in the Arctic. A work plan was developed to decide what should be done. First, six “state of
the Arctic environment reports” should be prepared on (1) acidification, (2) heavy metals,
(3) marine underwater noise, (4) oil pollution, (5) organochlorine pollutants and (6) radio-
activity. Second, Norway and Russia were to prepare a review of existing environmental
monitoring activities in the Arctic. Finally, Sweden was to prepare a discussion paper on
practical early actions and Canada was to develop a similar paper on possible common
objectives and principles for a future Arctic sustainable development strategy. Jill Jensen
prepared the report on organochlorine pollutants. Things were off to a flying start with a
momentum that was sustained right until the arrangements for cooperation were signed in
1991.Garthwasinvolvedthroughoutthenegotiation process,andoverthefollowingyears,
I learned from Nordic diplomats just how much his boundless ebullience contributed to the
process.
During the 1989-1990 winter, I first began to hear the name of Lars-Otto Reiersen,
the Norwegian who was leading the Norway-Russia responsibility of reviewing arrange-
ments for Arctic environmental monitoring. I was anxious to meet Lars-Otto and I tried to
arrange a detour to Oslo while in Europe attempting (at that time without success) to gen-
erate interest in establishing an international agreement to control POPs (such as DDT and
PCBs) that were of growing concern in the Canadian Arctic. Then, in March 1990, I was in
Moscow, Yekaterinburg (then called Sverdlosk), Murmansk and finally Leningrad (the city
did not revert to its former name of Saint Petersburg until 1991), trying to develop working
relationships with Russian environmental chemists for the joint monitoring of POPs in the
Arctic. I knew that the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) in Leningrad could
be fertile ground because I had been there twice before since 1988. When I got back to my
hotel, there was a message from Garth via our embassy telling me that Lars-Otto was in
Leningrad at the AARI and was looking for me. He was staying at the Hotel Olympic. I
could not believe my luck.