Territorial claims, environment to dominate debate at upcoming polar summit

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April 4, 2009


Icebergs break off the Vatnajökull Glacier before floating to sea in 2006. Territorial claims targeting riches hidden at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and preservation


TERRITORIAL claims targeting riches hidden at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and preservation of the pristine environment of Antarctica will top the agenda of the first meeting on the future of the North and South Poles that opens here Monday.

The State Department said the meeting, to be hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will focus on the use of both the Arctic and Antarctic.

Clinton will preside over the first joint session of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Arctic Council on April 6 in Baltimore, Maryland, according to a press release from the State Department.

The joint meeting brings "together the two most important bodies involved with diplomacy at the Poles," the statement said.

"Ministers and other high-ranking officials will discuss accomplishments of the International Polar Year, an international and interdisciplinary undertaking that has mobilized thousands of researchers from more than 60 countries, to work on more than 160 projects in the polar regions," it said.


http://www.france24.com/en/20090404-territorial-claims-environment-dominate-debate-polar-summit