Low Impact Shipping Corridors in the Arctic

As shipping activity continues to increase across the circumpolar Arctic, there is a growing need for Arctic States to work to minimize the environmental impacts of shipping on fragile northern ecosystems, while ensuring the safety of shipping activities. Through the findings presented in the "Overview of Low Impacts Shipping Corridors and Other Shipping Management Scehemes" report, there is common ground among Arctic states in their approaches to manage the challenges of the region.

Certain measures are successfully being implemented to ensure the safety of Arctic shipping while mitigating the negative impacts on the marine environment and coastal communities. This report sought to summarize and share examples of some of the initiatives being put in place by Arctic states to establish safe and environmentally sound shipping routes and other measures to respond and plan for increased shipping in the Arctic, and to also highlight best practices and areas for possible future collaboration and cooperation.

From the summaries included in the report, it can be seen that many Arctic states are using established IMO processes to propose and implement formal measures for area-based protection in the Arctic region.

This report:

• Introduces the international framework for Arctic Shipping
• Overviews IMO's Measures for Area-Based Protection
• Includes each Arctic States' overview of legislative and regulatory regimes, and their recent approached and developments