Arctic Forum Foundation

1st Conference ‘The Use of the Ocean’s Energy Resources, Risk Management and the Need for Regulation’, Hamburg, June 29 – July 1, 2011

Following on from the Dräger Foundation’s XVII Malente Symposium in 2008, entitled ‘More than Water – Oceans and Global Responsibility’, the Foundation – in cooperation with The Earth Institute of Columbia University in New York, NY, and with support of the EU Commission, DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and others – is planning further conferences devoted to the subject of ‘Sustainable Oceans: Reconciling Economic Use and Protection.’

The event will take a form of high-level expert conference with approximately 70 to 80 international participants from the fields of politics, business, academia, international organizations, and NGOs. The first conference on ‘The Use of the Ocean’s Energy Resources, Risk Management and the Need for Regulation’ is due to be held in Hamburg from June 29 – July 1, 2011.

One of the key questions of the first conference is how the oceans can be researched and their resources utilized while at the same time protecting them from the consequences of unfettered exploitation. Economic benefits need to be weighed up against the costs, which – especially in the case of deep-sea drilling – must realistically include an assessment of potential risks and the costs of establishing an efficient international system of crisis management. A coordinated, comprehensive and transparent offshore management regime is required, especially when it comes to the use of energy and other mineral resources.

This also required for the Arctic and its resources. Among others the conference will deal with the future of the Arctic Council, with the exploitation of and the perspectives for oil, gas and shipping in times of rapid climate change, with the protection of the Arctic marine environment, and with costs and benefits for indigenous peoples. Both the European Commission and the European Parliament as well as the EU ARCTIC Forum will be taking part in the conference.

One of the intentions of this conference is to help establish the European Ocean Commis­sion of the DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, to foster cooperation with the U.S. Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, and to help initiate a joint EU-US ‘White Paper’ on the state of the oceans and coasts for politics and business. To this end, methods are to be developed in order to evaluate the many scientific results in such a way as to allow them to be understood and utilized in politics and business, irrespective of lobby influences.

http://www.draeger-stiftung.de/de/stiftungsprogramme/konferenzen-2011/sustainable-oceans.html