• Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS)
• Arctic Council
• Barents Euro-Arctic Council
• OSPAR Convention • OSPAR Commission
• Paris MoU on Port State Control
• EU Northern Dimension
• UN Economic Commission for Europe
• UNEP Regional Office for Europe

Agreements

Initiatives

Actors

• protect the Arctic ecosystems, including humans;
• provide for the protection, enhancement and restoration of environmental quality and sustainable utilization of natural resources, including their use by local populations and indigenous peoples in the Arctic;
• recognize and, to the extent possible, seek to accommodate the traditional and cultural needs, values and practices of indigenous peoples as determined by themselves, related to the protection of the Arctic environment;
• review regularly the state of the Arctic environment; to identify, reduce and, as a final goal, eliminate pollution.

The five programmes established under the AEPS are:

• Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) . An international organization established to implement components of the AEPS. AMAP has responsibilities to monitor the levels of, and assess the effects of, anthropogenic pollutants in all compartments of the Arctic environment, including humans. AMAP is now a programme group of the Arctic Council, and its current objective is "providing reliable and sufficient information on the status of, and threats to, the Arctic environment, and providing scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants".
• Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF). The Program for the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, under the AEPS, was established to address the special needs of Arctic species and their habitats in the rapidly developing Arctic region. CAFF has responsibilities to facilitate the exchange of information and coordination of research on species and habitats of Arctic flora and fauna.
• Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR). Established as an experts forum to evaluate the adequacy of existing arrangements and to recommend the necessary system of cooperation. Has responsibilities to provide a framework for future cooperation in responding to the threat of Arctic environmental emergencies. The EPPR working group has among others developed an Arctic Guide for Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response, a Field Guide for Oil Spill Response in Arctic Waters, Arctic Offshore and Oil Guidelines, well as set of Circumpolar Maps of Resources at Risk from Oil Spills in the Arctic.
• Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME). Addresses policy and non-emergency response measures related to protection of the marine environment from land-based and sea-based activities. PAME has responsibilities to take preventative and other measures, directly or through competent international organizations, regarding marine pollution in the Arctic, irrespective of origin.
• Sustainable Development. The Working Group on Sustainable Development (SDWG) was established by Arctic Ministers in 1998. The objective is to protect and enhance the economies, culture and health of the inhabitants of the Arctic, in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The BEAC should encourage sustainable economic and social development in the Barents Region and thus contribute to peaceful development in the northernmost part of Europe". The activities of the BEAC have successively expanded to include a number of working areas. Working groups with representatives from the countries concerned, have been established to deepen co-operation on issues relevant to the Barents Region. The working groups consists of national or regional officials and experts.  Some working groups have also created expert Task Forces. There are working groups on Economic Co-operation, Energy, Environment, Exchanges, Health, Northern Sea Route, Transport, Youth, and Barents rescue. The present priorities of the working group on environment are energy efficiency, sustainable forestry/forest management, nature protection/biodiversity conservation, industrial pollution, cleaner production, integration of environmental concerns in economic sectors, and strengthening of local actions.

The OSPAR Quality Status Report - OSPAR QSR published in 2000 is the assessment by the OSPAR Commission of the environmental quality of the North-East Atlantic. The QSR 2000 is based on five reports (regional QSRs) prepared for the Arctic Waters, the Greater North Sea, the Celtic Seas, the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast, and the Wider Atlantic.

Commission
The OSPAR Commission is the Executive body of the Convention. At the 1998 Ministerial Meeting of the OSPAR Commission, the Ministers adopted the Sintra Statement setting out the political impetus for future action by the Commission. It includes a section related to the environmental impacts of shipping stating, inter alia, that the OSPAR countries will co-operate especially in the work of the International Maritime Organization, to tackle threats to the marine environment from shipping through promoting better waste reception facilities and their more effective use including harmonised arrangements to remove economic, administrative or organisational incentives for ships not to use port waste reception facilities.

The Northern Dimension is a common undertaking of the European Communities and the EU Member States together with partner countries. The Commission plays a leading role in implementing the Action Plan. The main regional organization and IFIs active in supporting the Northern Dimension are the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Barents Euro Arctic Council (BEAC), the Arctic Council (AC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), and the Nordic Project Fund (NOPEF).