A aac Arctic Athabaskan Council (aac). Aasiaat
|
|  Yüklə 0.68 Mb.
|
North Warning System (NWS) – a system of radar sites across the Arctic North America. The NWS was meant to modernize the older Distant Early Warning Line (DEW), and set up to detect an airborne invasion from the Soviet Union “over the Pole” during the Cold War. The NWS consists of 13 long-range radars (11 in Canada of which 8 were DEW Line sites) and 39 short-range radars (36 in Canada). The system forms a 4,800-kilometer-long line. NWS was established in 1985 when selected DEW Line stations were upgraded and merged with newly built stations into a more advanced early warning system. Automation was increased over the previous DEW Line system and a number of additional DEW Line stations were closed. In 1990, with the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Air Force withdrew remaining personnel from Canadian NWS stations and turned full operation over to the Canadian Forces. Northern Dimension of the European Union - a common project of the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway and the Russian Federation. The Northern Dimension focuses on issues of specific relevance in the North, such as its fragile environment, public health and social issues, culture and indigenous peoples’ issues. Cross-border cooperation is a crosscutting Northern Dimension theme, producing added value at the sub-regional and translational level. The Northern Dimension covers a broad geographic area from the European Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas to the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, including the countries in its vicinity and from Northwest Russia in the east to Iceland and Greenland in the west. The four partners have defined a comprehensive and open list of Northern Dimension actors, which are the regional councils in the North: The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC), the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) and the Arctic Council (AC). The Arctic areas in the Northern Dimension are characterised by low population density and large distances. Greenland Premier Jonathan Motzfeldt expressed at the EU Foreign Ministers’ Conference on the Northern Dimension, Helsinki in 1999, that: “We have noticed that EU’s Northern Dimension includes the EEA-countries [European Economic Area], Iceland and Norway. Being an OCT-country [Overseas Countries and Territories], we do feel that Greenland has as close ties to the EU as the EEA-countries and thus should be included in the Northern Dimension. We believe that the reason that Greenland has not been included is that few people are aware of Greenland’s status as an associated partner with the Union via the OCT-arrangement. We see the Arctic Window as the political space within the Northern Dimension in which the EU and the Arctic nations can consult on matters of mutual interest. The Arctic Window has the intention of building bridges between the Arctic and the Northern European co-operative structures. Furthermore, this initiative enables a structured Trans-Atlantic and circumpolar dialogue on Arctic policies and initiatives, which in our view are necessary tools in the further development of the Northern Dimension. Three major fields of co-operation especially attract our attention: environmental issues, sustainable development and Arctic know-how. (…) EU has for many years had a policy for the Mediterranean area. We find it natural that time now has come to create a policy for the northern region. Greenland is confident that the EU’s Northern Dimension will progress and develop and in time generate new community initiatives of mutual benefit. Greenland would like actively to contribute to such a new perspective.” The “Arctic Window” has not yet been fully integrated in the Northern Dimension. Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) – is an intergovernmental fisheries science and management body. NAFO was founded in 1979 as a successor to ICNAF (International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries) (1949-1978). NAFO's overall objective is to contribute through consultation and cooperation to the optimum utilization, rational management and conservation of the fishery resources of the Convention Area. The NAFO Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries applies to most fishery resources of the Northwest Atlantic except salmon, tunas/marlins, whales, and sedentary species (e.g. shellfish). In 2007, NAFO has 12 Members from Central and North America, Europe and Asia. Among them are four coastal members bordering the Convention Area: USA, Canada, France (in respect of St. Pierre et Miquelon), and Denmark (in respect of Faroe Islands and Greenland). Northwest Passage – water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, through the Arctic islands of Canada. Northwest Territories (NWT) – a 1,140,835 / 440,479 square kilometres / miles territory in Arctic Canada. NWT borders the Yukon Territory to the west, and Nunavut to the east. The population is approximately 41,000, and the administrative centre is Yellowknife. NWT has major geological resources, which includes diamonds, gold and gas. There is a growing environmental concern to the exploitation of these resources. Norwegian Sea – a part of the North Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Iceland. Not Evaluated (NE) – IUCN category (Red Data Book). A taxon (species or genus) is Not Evaluated when it is has not yet been evaluated against the criteria. IUCN Red Data Book. Nuclear bomb – an atomic (A) bomb or a hydrogen (H) bomb. Nuclear bombs have been used two times in wartime, when the Americans bombed Hiroshima in Japan with a bomb called “Little Boy” on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki with “Fat Man” three days later. Since then, nuclear weapons have been developed by other countries and tested in the atmosphere, underground, underwater and in outer space. The largest and most powerful nuclear bomb ever tested was the “Tsar Bomba”, a 50-megaton bomb, at one of the Soviet test sites on Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961. In connection with creating channels and dams, and geological exploration, both the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union have carried out peaceful nuclear explosions (PNE’s). The U.S.A. stopped using PNE’s in 1973 and the Soviet Union stopped in 1988. Before the two countries stopped using PNE’s U.S.A. had to call off at least one project in Alaska due to local protests, and the Soviet Union had some catastrophes with long lasting ecological problems as a result. Nuclear deterrence – the ability of a state to retaliate sufficiently with nuclear weapons to frighten an enemy from attacking. During the Cold War, the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union each built a stockpile of nuclear weapons. The Soviets were convinced that a nuclear war could be won. The Americans adopted nuclear deterrence, the credible threat of retaliation to forestall enemy attack. To make the threat convincing, the U.S.A. developed and deployed several types of delivery systems for attacking the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons. In the 1960’s, three systems were used in the deterrence: long-range manned aircraft carrying nuclear bombs, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, and nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. It was named the Strategic Triad, because any one of the three alone was powerful enough to deter attack. Because no enemy could realistically hope to destroy all three at the same time, the Triad seemed almost invulnerable. ABM-Treaty. Nuclear test sites in the Arctic – peaceful nuclear explosions were tested on Amchitka Island, one of the Rat Islands, a group of islands of the Aleutian Islands, and several places throughout the Soviet Arctic. Novaya Zemlya was used for testing military weapons. Nuclear testing – the U.S.A. tested its first nuclear bomb on July 16, 1945 at the Trinity Site in the desert close to Alamogordo in New Mexico. On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear bomb at the test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Later atmospheric nuclear testing was supplemented with underground, upper-atmospheric, and underwater testing. In 1963, the nuclear and many non-nuclear states signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, pledging to only testing nuclear weapons in the underground. The last underground test by the U.S.A. was in 1992 and by the Soviet Union in 1990. France and China stopped their tests in 1996. It is estimated that U.S.A. made more than 1,000 tests, and that the Soviet Union made around 800 at Semipalatinsk and at the test sites on Novaya Zemlya. Nuclear Winter – prediction by some scientists that smoke and debris rising from massive fires of a nuclear war could block sunlight for weeks or months, cooling the earth's surface and producing climate changes that could, for example, negatively affect world agricultural and weather patterns. Nuclide – an atom characterized by the number of protons, neutrons, and energy in the nucleus. Number pyramid – an ecological pyramid, which shows the number of organisms in each trophic level and does not take into consideration the size of the organisms and over-emphasizes the importance of small organisms. NunaMinerals A/S – which is owned by the Greenland Home Rule Government, specialises in mineral mining. NunaMinerals A/S is the company behind the gold mine in South Greenland, as well as a number of other exploration projects. The company is interested in joint ventures in the field of mineral exploration. Nunatak – a rocky summit or mountain range that stands above a surrounding ice cap. Nunavut – a territory in the eastern Arctic of Canada, created in 1999 as a result of the Nunavut (Our Land) Land Claims Agreement. The agreement was signed in 1992 between the Inuit of the North West Territories and the federal government of Canada. The Inuit have surface rights to 353,610 square kilometres and sub-surface rights to 36,257 square kilometres land within the Nunavut settlement area. In financial compensation the Inuit receives a little more than 1.1 billion Canadian $ over 15 years. In addition an agreement on royalties from sub-surface development has been concluded. Nutrient – any substance assimilated by living things that promotes growth. The term is generally applied to nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater, but is also applied to other essential and trace elements. Nutrient pollution - contamination of water resources by excessive inputs of nutrients. In surface waters, excess algal production is a major concern. Nuuk – the capitol of Greenland (64.10N, 51.45W) and the municipality of Nuuk (8,500 square kilometres) are situated in West Greenland. Nuuk is the Greenlandic word for “foreland”. Nuuk is hometown of the government, the university and plenty of other high educations, as well as numerous institutions and organisations. The Greenland branch of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) also resides in Nuuk. Established by the Norwegian missionary Hans Egede as the colony of Godthaab in 1728, when he decided to move the previous colony “Haabets Colonie”, which he established in 1721, to Nuuk. The population is approximately 12,000 in the municipality, hereof 11,600 in the town, and the remaining in the two villages of Qeqertarsuatsiaat and Kapisillit. Nuuk Declaration – correctly named the “Nuuk Conclusions and Recommendations on Indigenous autonomy and self-government”. September 24-28, 1991 the UN arranged a meeting of experts in Nuuk, Greenland. The meeting recognized that indigenous peoples are historically self-governing with their own languages, cultures, laws and traditions. Further the experts shared the view that indigenous peoples constitute distinct peoples and societies, with the right to self-determination, including the rights of autonomy, self-government, and self-identification. NWS North Warning System (NWS). NWT – the Northwest Territories of Canada. Northwest Territories. O Ocean-basin floor – the ocean floor in those parts of the oceans that are more than 2,000 metres deep. Oceanic – applied to the regions of the sea that lie beyond the continental shelf, with depths greater than 200 metres. Odaaq Island – or Odaq Island is the northernmost island of the World, north of Greenland. Named after Odaaq, the Greenlandic explorer (c. 1880-1955) that reached the North Pole in 1911 together with Robert E. Peary. OECD Organization for the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OILPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil (OILPOL). International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Oligarchy – rule by a small group of people who share similar interests or family relations. Government. OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Oral history – is the transmission of historical information, or the evidence taken from the spoken words of people who have knowledge of past events and traditions. Often referred to as the oral tradition of a society. Organic evolution – the evolution of life. Organism – all living beings or forms of life that has a cell or is composed of cells., which in general relates to any kind of animal or plant life. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – the organisation was established in 1961, when it took over the responsibilities of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) that was established in 1947 to administer American and Canadian aid for the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Since OECD took over, its mission has been to help its member countries to achieve sustainable economic growth and employment and to raise the standard of living in member countries while maintaining financial stability – all this in order to contribute to the development of the world economy. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) – formerly the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) also known as the Helsinki process (1975 and forth), which was a series of conferences for reducing tension between East and West. The Paris Charter for a New Europe followed a few Conferences for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1990. Later the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was established. The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organisation whose 55 participating States span the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok. In 1990 there were parallel activities in Copenhagen, and in 1991 similar activities took place in Moscow. Both places had special seminars on indigenous peoples’ issues. At the official Moscow conference, the governments agreed on a text on indigenous peoples’ issues. Looking at OSCE’s Homepage, nothing any longer is referring to indigenous peoples. OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Oslo Convention Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft Our Common Future – the 1987 report from the Brundtland Commission. United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. Overkill – the possession of nuclear weapons on such a scale that the target-country easily can be destroyed several times. Oxidant – a collective term for some of the primary constituents of photochemical smog. Oxidation – the chemical addition of oxygen to break down pollutants or organic waste; e.g., destruction of chemicals such as cyanides, phenols, and organic sulphur compounds in sewage by bacterial and chemical means. Ozone depletion – destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer, which shields the earth from ultraviolet radiation harmful to life. This destruction of ozone is caused by the breakdown of certain chlorine and/or bromine containing compounds (chlorofluorocarbons or halons), which break down when they reach the stratosphere and then catalytically destroy ozone molecules. Ozone Hole – a thinning break in the stratospheric ozone layer. Designation of amount of such depletion as an "ozone hole" is made when the detected amount of depletion exceeds fifty percent. Seasonal ozone holes have been observed over the Antarctic and Arctic regions, part of Canada, and the extreme Northeastern United States. Ozone layer – the protective layer in the atmosphere, about 15 miles above the ground, that absorbs some of the sun's ultraviolet rays, thereby reducing the amount of potentially harmful radiation that reaches the earth's surface. P Paamiut – a West Greenlandic town (62.00N, 49.43W) and municipality (51,000 square kilometres). Paamiut is the Greenlandic word for “the people at the mouth of the river”. The approximate population of the municipality is 1,800, hereof 1,650 in the town and the remaining in the village of Arsuk. The main occupation is within the fisheries. Established as the Danish colony of Frederikshaab in 1742. Pack Ice – a large, floating expanse of broken ice masses frozen together. PAME Protection of the Marine Environment in the Arctic (PAME). Paris Convention Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources. Pathogens – microorganisms (e.g., bacteria or parasites) that can cause disease in humans, animals and plants. Pathway – the physical course a chemical or pollutant takes from its source to the exposed organism. PCB – Polychlorinated biphenyl. Peace movements – political movements, which became increasingly influential in modern societies, especially in the time of the build-up of nuclear armaments. After the end of the Cold War, peace movements have focussed more on conflict areas in the Middle East and the neighbouring regions. Peaceful nuclear explosions (PNE) Nuclear Bomb. Permafrost – the permanently frozen subsoil, where the soil or rock is remaining below 0 C / 32 F throughout the year. Above-freezing temperatures will thaw the uppermost layers of soil. Often this thaw will only be 20-100 cm deep, and will turn the frozen ground into a soft, slurry-like material that can cause damage to structures. In the coldest areas of the Arctic the permafrost can reach depths of more than 1,500 metres below the surface. Permanent Court of International Justice International Court of Justice. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – held its first meeting 13-24 May 2002 at the UN Headquarters in New York. The history of establishing this new UN body is relatively short. It started at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, where the Danish-Greenlandic delegation proposed the establishment of a permanent forum for indigenous peoples. Participants at the conference discussed it, and The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action recommended that such a forum should be established within the framework of the United Nations International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004). Later in June 1995, a UN workshop was held in Copenhagen, to discuss how to establish such a forum. Participants included representatives of governments, indigenous peoples and independent experts. The Permanent Forum is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights. The Permanent Forum will: 1) provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Council, as well as to programmes, funds and agencies of the United Nations, through the Council, 2) raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system, and 3) prepare and disseminate information on indigenous issues (Mandate of the Permanent Forum). Mary Robinson, Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed: “The Permanent Forum promises to give indigenous peoples a unique voice within the United Nations system, commensurate with the unique problems which many indigenous people still face, but also with the unique contribution they make to the human rights dialogue, at the local, national and international levels.” Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) – Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of causing adverse effects to human health and the environment. With the evidence of long-range transport of these substances to regions where they have never been used or produced and the consequent threats they pose to the environment of the whole globe, the international community has now, at several occasions called for urgent global actions to reduce and eliminate releases of these chemicals. At the ten-year anniversary of AEPS in Rovaniemi, Finland, governments and the permanent participants decided to approach the WSSD (Preparing for Johannesburg 2002 – An Initial Arctic Message): “The Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy adopted in 1991, and continued under the Arctic Council, highlighted the risks posed to human health and wildlife by persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. The Arctic serves as a basin for global pollution transported via mainly atmospheric and riverine pathways and by sea currents from sources located far away from the region? The international Stockholm Convention on POPs and earlier regional protocols on POPs and heavy metals are of utmost importance to the region. Arctic countries intend to support developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their efforts to eliminate or reduce production and/or use of POPs and reduce the harmful effects of heavy metals on nature and human health.” Persistent Pesticides – pesticides that do not break down chemically or break down very slowly and remain in the environment after a growing season. Pesticide – any chemical used for killing insects, weeds, etc. Phenols – the organic compounds that are by-products of petroleum refining, tanning, and textile, dye, and resin manufacturing. Low concentrations cause taste and odour problems in water; higher concentrations can kill aquatic life and humans. Phobia – a fear or an anxiety that exceeds the normal proportions or that has no basis in reality. Some specific phobias related to the Arctic world are listed below: Achulophobia – darkness; Acrophobia – heights; Antropophobia – Man; Auroraphobia – Northern Lights; Cheimaphobia – cold; Chinophobia – snow; Crystallophobia – crystals; Cynophobia – dogs; Doraphobia – fur; Hodophobia – travel; Homichlophobia – fog; Kristallophobia – ice; Misophobia – contamination; Ornithophobia – birds; Peniaphobia – poverty; Pteronophobia – feathers; Sitophobia – food; Thalassophobia – sea; Toxiphobia – poison; Xenophobia – foreigners; Zoophobia – animals. Photosynthesis – the manufacture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide mediated by chlorophyll in the presence of sunlight. Phyla – division. Biological classification. Pipeline – a line of pipes for carrying oil, gas, water etc. Pituffik – the Greenlandic place name for Thule Air Base (TAB). The meaning of the word is “the place to have the dogs”. Before the arrival of the Americans, the Inughuit of the nearby village Uummannaq placed their dogs at Pituffik in the summer time. Inughuit. Plantae – plants. Biological classification. |