Arctic Gold Rush: The New Race for Tomorrow's Natural Resources

272 Pages·2009·1.87 MB·English

by  Roger Howard

THE ARCTIC GOLD RUSH
To Claire P.
The Arctic Gold Rush
The New Race for Tomorrow’s
Natural Resources
ROGER HOWARD
Continuum UK Continuum US
The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane
11 York Road Suite 704
London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038
www.continuumbooks.com
Copyright © Roger Howard 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
from the publishers.
First published 2009
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781441181107
Typeset by Pindar NZ, Auckland, New Zealand
Printed and bound by MPG Books Group, Bodmin and King’s Lynn
Contents
Maps vii
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
Part 1: The Setting 11
Chapter 1: A Looming Resource War? 13
Chapter 2: The Arctic Thaw 25
Chapter 3: The Great Explorers 35
Part 2: The Issues 43
Chapter 4: Who Owns the Arctic? 45
Chapter 5: Black Gold 62
Chapter 6: The Arctic’s Other Resources 82
Chapter 7: Sea Lanes and Strategy 103
Chapter 8: The Environmental Challenge 120
Part 3: The Contestants 139
Chapter 9: Russia and the Arctic 141
Chapter 10: America’s Arctic Destiny? 164
Chapter 11: The Canadians Look North 182
Chapter 12: Some Other Arctic Claims 200
Conclusion: The Future of the Arctic 218
Notes 227
Bibliography 248
Index 251
M
a
p
s
Map 1: Coastal state jurisdiction. The Law of the Sea gives coastal states the right to establish clearly defi ned zones extending
from the coast line (baseline) and along the seabed.
v
ii
viii Maps
Map 2: Current boundaries of the ‘Arctic Five’. Claims can be extended
beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit if a country can prove that undersea
ridges are part of its continental shelf. The Lomonosov Ridge is thought to
be part of the continental shelf of Russia, Denmark and Canada.
Maps ix
Map 3: The Median Line principle. Every point of a median line is equi-
distant to the nearest point on the shoreline. The UN has given some
indications that it is interested in adopting this principle, which favours
Canada and Denmark.