Sakshi Education
By Srirangam Sriram, Sriram's IAS, New Delhi.
India has research, environmental, scientific, economic and energy interests. India opened Himadri, its only research station in the region in 2008. In 2018, India displayed an increasing commitment to Arctic research when its National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research was renamed the National Centre for Polar and Oceanic Research.
India’s Arctic research objectives are centred on ecological and environmental aspects, with a focus on climate change. The importance of agriculture to the Indian economy and its dependence on monsoons, along with its long coast-line with a high population make the country extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Geopolitics is about the politics of geography and territory which includes its various characteristics e.g. location, size, natural resources, trade routes (both land and sea), economy and also environmental conditions.
Most of the researches carried out by scientists from different countries indicate that ice in the Arctic region is melting with unprecedented and unpredictable rates. According to some experts, within the next forty years or so most areas of the region would be ice free and navigable. This condition may lead to fierce competition and even conflict among different counties surrounding this region for the control of mining, oil and gas, sea routes and of course territory for military purpose also. This scenario seems to be more realistic as the United Nations Law of the Sea is not clear about the status of the Arctic sea and US has also not ratified the existing law.
Arctic being so vast, resourceful, and strategically located has become a topic of geopolitical contestation. In near future Arctic region may emerge as core area of geopolitical debates.
It is estimated there were 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 1,670 cubic feet of natural gas in the Arctic. Due to climate change, the resources may become usable too.
The militarization of the Arctic has to do with the resources. Companies can make huge profits. Thus there are overlapping sovereignty claims.
India’s Arctic research objectives are centred on ecological and environmental aspects, with a focus on climate change. The importance of agriculture to the Indian economy and its dependence on monsoons, along with its long coast-line with a high population make the country extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Geopolitics is about the politics of geography and territory which includes its various characteristics e.g. location, size, natural resources, trade routes (both land and sea), economy and also environmental conditions.
Most of the researches carried out by scientists from different countries indicate that ice in the Arctic region is melting with unprecedented and unpredictable rates. According to some experts, within the next forty years or so most areas of the region would be ice free and navigable. This condition may lead to fierce competition and even conflict among different counties surrounding this region for the control of mining, oil and gas, sea routes and of course territory for military purpose also. This scenario seems to be more realistic as the United Nations Law of the Sea is not clear about the status of the Arctic sea and US has also not ratified the existing law.
Arctic being so vast, resourceful, and strategically located has become a topic of geopolitical contestation. In near future Arctic region may emerge as core area of geopolitical debates.
It is estimated there were 90 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 1,670 cubic feet of natural gas in the Arctic. Due to climate change, the resources may become usable too.
The militarization of the Arctic has to do with the resources. Companies can make huge profits. Thus there are overlapping sovereignty claims.Published date : 30 Nov 2020 01:23PM
