Publication Abstract

The state of contaminants in the Greenland environment

F. Riget, R.J. Law and J.C. Hansen

In June 1991, the First Arctic Ministerial Conference took place in Rovaniemi, Finland. Ministers from eight Arctic countries (Canada, USA, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Denmark) participated. The conference was a breakthrough in the development of international cooperation for the protection of the Arctic, and led to the adoption of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) was initiated, with a remit to monitor the levels and assess the effects of anthropogenic pollutants in all compartments of the Arctic environment.

The AMAP phase I was designed and implemented, and subsequently the first AMAP assessment was presented in two volumes, the Arctic Pollution Issues: A State of the Arctic Environment Report and its related scientific background document AMAP Assessment Report: Arctic Pollution issues, published by AMAP in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

Reference:

F. Riget, R.J. Law and J.C. Hansen (2004) The state of contaminants in the Greenland environment. Science of the Total Environment, 331(1-3): 1-4