Weishan Wang examines the shipping governance regime that exists in the Canadian Arctic and the challenges it faces.
“Shipping in the Canadian Arctic needs to and could be better governed. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is an appropriate framework that can facilitate the governance of Arctic shipping by incorporating both science and Indigenous perspectives.”
@Weishan_Wang
Before the arrival of Europeans, Inuit and their ancestors were the only permanent inhabitants in the Canadian Arctic. They have been continuously using the Arctic lands, sea and sea ice for subsistence needs since time immemorial. As Arctic waterways are gradually opening under the impacts of climate change, conflicts between the large-scale Arctic commercial shipping […]
Historical shipping activities in the Canadian Arctic were initiated after the arrival of European explorers and whalers. Compared to Inuit’s long-existing occupancy and use of Arctic waters, the history of Arctic shipping is relatively short. Since the 1970s, with the retreating sea ice and opening waters, Arctic shipping has significantly increased. Shipping has not only […]
Nowadays, retreating sea ice has been widely acknowledged as a driving factor for increasing marine traffic in the Arctic. In fact, Arctic commercial shipping has a very long history, encompassing a 500-year period. This blog will provide a brief overview of key historical events that led to shipping in the Canadian Arctic. In the 1490s, […]
Nowadays, most parts of the Canadian Arctic remain uninhabited, where snow and ice are the prevailing features for most of the year. However, climate change is an everyday reality, bringing more opportunities for human activities. These activities, in turn, lead to complex impacts on the fragile Arctic socio-ecological environments. Inuit, who have been continuously using […]
Canada’s North Pacific Coast is more than 27,000 km long, extending from low-lying deltas to mountainous fjords, from the beautiful landscapes of Vancouver Islands to the breathtaking Haida Gwaii archipelago. While canoeing in rivers and hiking in forests, we appreciate the pristine environment that supports one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. The North Pacific […]
As a country bordered by three oceans, Canada is truly an oceans nation. In 1997, the Oceans Act was brought into force, making Canada the first country in the world to have comprehensive national ocean legislation. Since then, various area-based measures have been adopted in Canada to facilitate governance over marine and coastal spaces. Canada […]
The ocean has an amazing ability to accommodate military, recreational, and commercial uses. But have you ever wondered how these activities take place simultaneously without competing for time and spaces? Over the vast and endless ocean, spatial planning, mostly invisible to our eyes, is playing a major role in coordinating human activities. Planning is a […]
