The Governance of the Arctic-Barents Region and Food Security

Abstract

The term governance refers to a system around which actors and institutions interact. This interaction offers a process wherein actors produce, for example, rules, regulations, policies, strategies and action plans. The process therefore ensures an overall direction in regard to how a particular issue is presented within a certain form of structure so that its effectiveness can be monitored or assessed. Generally, the governance of the Arctic and its Barents region is widely recognized as a system of fragmented international, regional and bilateral regulations. Such legal framework is complemented by non-binding policy tools, often referred to as soft law mechanisms; given that the region is apparently heavily institutionalized, a number of intergovernmental bodies are in place to address various concerns facing the region. The consensus among the Arctic states, in particular the five coastal states surrounding the Arctic Ocean, suggests no need for any comprehensive unique gov-ernance structure (Ilulissat Declaration May 28, 2008). The states suggest existing regulations, including the law of the sea along with the efforts of the Arctic Council, provide a sound basis for the governance of the region. As such, food security does not have any separate governance structure in the regional setting; rather, it is integrated within the existing governance framework as collections of several sector-specific regulation and policy tools directly or indirectly addressing issues having impacts on food security. Therefore, food security is found to be one of the concerns directly or indirectly addressed in many policy instruments within the scope of these legal tools and institutional bodies. All four countries within the Arctic-Barents region are eager to exploit the natural resources located within the region, wherein food contributes as an important element. The regulations, strategies and policy instruments developed at both national and institutional levels emphasize that the exploitation of resources is to take place in a sustainable manner (AMAP 2017a, b). Both regulations and policy instruments play an important role in the sustainable exploitation and