Understanding the Arctic - Climate and the Need for Environmental Protection

Course Title - “UNDERSTANDING THE ARCTIC – CLIMATE AND THE NEED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION”Course Credits – 4Course Duration – 15 WeeksLevel -UG/PG (both)This course is a collaborative initiative of UGC and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India with the purpose of raising awareness among the universities, colleges and institutions about the importance of Arctic as well as polar studies. The decision to generate a course on Arctic Policy/Polar studies under the SWAYAM Platform was made during a meeting of National Security Council Secretariat held after India released its Arctic Policy on 17th March, 2022 under the title “India and the Arctic: Building a partnership for Sustainable Development”. When implementing India's Arctic Policy, our country needs multiple stakeholders including academia, the research community, polar/maritime legal experts people from business and industrial sectors. Further this policy is expected to play a crucial role in preparing the country to collectively address challenges such as climate change. Hence, this course is open to those who are interested to explore the potential of Arctic- in terms of resources, research and scientific collaborations, transportation and connectivity and the geopolitics in the Arctic.The course has 40 modules.In the first phase we will focus on Arctic as a geographic region, Arctic Circle, India and the Arctic, Arctic and the third pole- the Himalayas, History of Ny-Alesund and India’s research in the Arctic.The second phase of this course will focus on Arctic pollution, Arctic Ocean Acidification, POPs and other emerging contaminates like Microplastics in the Arctic, Methane sink and Mercury in the Arctic. AMAP – Arctic monitoring and Assessments Reports will also be discussed.In phase three, we will introduce about Arctic council, Arctic Economic Council, Role of India as an observer in the Arctic council, India’s collaborating interests in the Arctic forums.In phase four we will focus on laws of the sea- UNCLOS- Indigenous rights in the Arctic Ocean, territorial claims, Special rights of Arctic coastal states, India’s Arctic Policy 2022 and Arctic Policies for the Asian Observers.Finally we have a test series scheduled during the last week and in addition to that we are also having assessments based on Assignments and online quizzes every week. We are also holding some special sessions of interactive discussions on different modules in each week.This course will help students to get motivated towards Arctic research, geopolitics, setting up of industries in different sectors in the Arctic with the opening up of Northern Sea Routes, maritime and connectivity as a means of job opportunities in the coming future in the Arctic. Also the course help us to understand how the climate change is affecting the Arctic and the need for the protection of Arctic environment since it’s very much connected to the global climatic conditions.Our Team:1. Capt Anurag Bisen, Senior Fellow, Vivekananda International Foundation, with 35 years of experience in the India Navy with expertise in Maritime law, Maritime and coastal security, and Polar issues.2. Dr Sunil P S, Professor and Head, Department of Geology and Geophysics from Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala and he has been a part of several expeditions to Arctic as well as Antarctica.3. Dr Mathew A Varghese, Assistant Professor in the School of International Relations and Politics & The Director Centre for Urban Studies as well as Joint Director, International Centre for Polar Studies, Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala. He has expertise in Political ethnography, anthropology of ecological relationships and anthropocene.4. Dr Binu Mole K, Faculty member from School of Legal Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala and she is specialised in Maritime Law.Pre-requisite for the course: - Course is open to students from UG and PG level.Course type: Elective:Estimated work load every week:-The estimated workload is 30 minutes video lecture scheduled for three days in a week along with assignments, quizzes and interactive sessions scheduled for the rest of the days in a week. The last week of the curse is scheduled for exams.

Week 1

• Module 1: Understanding the Arctic, Arctic as a geographic region, the people, Arctic circle, India and the Arctic – A history of Cooperation.
• Module 2: Arctic Snow, Freshwater Ice and Permafrost: Changes, Consequences, and Impacts. Potential for the Polar Cryosphere to Influence Mid-latitude Weather.
• Module 3: Economic and Human development – Energy and mineral resources of the Arctic, Renewable energy resources of the Arctic and its importance.

Week 2

• Module 4: Physiography of the Arctic Ocean Basin, Water masses, Ocean Circulation, Sea ice and polynyas.
• Module 5: Human development- Specialised culture and livelihood of Arctic’s Indigenous people.
• Module 6: Need of transportation and connectivity in the Arctic- new shipping routes reshaping the global trade, India’s role in maritime human resources and mapping of Arctic routes

Week 3

• Module 7: Introducing the terms- ACAP, AMAP, AEC, AFoPS, CAFF, IASC, IPCC, NCPOR, SIOS, Ny-SMAc, NSR, UArctic
• Module 8: A brief history of Svalbard and Ny-Alseund, Research stations in the Arctic.
• Module 9: Arctic monitoring programmes- need and strategies. Arctic biodiversity, flora and fauna, Existing biodiversity challenges in the Arctic.

Week 4

• Module 10: Environmental Issues in the Arctic, Arctic Council, and Impacts of short-lived climate forces on Arctic climate.
• Module 11: Physics and chemistry of the Arctic atmosphere, Trace gases in the Arctic atmosphere, Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs), Polar ozone hole.
• Module 12: Glacial geology of the Arctic, permafrost, climate, glaciers and human impact.

Week 5

• Module 13: Pollution in the Arctic: Types of Pollutants: heavy metals, - sources, pathways, and impacts.
• Module 14: Chemicals of Emerging Arctic Concern or Emerging contaminants in the Arctic, Sources, and effects.
• Module 15: Arctic Ocean Acidification, Biological effects of contaminants in the Arctic.

Week 6

• Module 16: POPs in the Arctic, Sources, pathways, POPs in Arctic food chain. AMAP reports 2021.
• Module 17: Discussion on the major findings of AMAP: Various reports on Mercury from Arctic Environment: Summary for Policy-makers.
• Module 18: Black carbon and ozone as Arctic climatic forces, AMAP report on Black carbon and ozone.

Week 7

• Module 19: Governance and International Cooperation: The Arctic Council, working Groups, roles.
• Module 20: The Arctic Economic Council, working groups, its role in SDGs and Arctic investment protocol.
• Module 21: India’s contributions and future perspectives on environmental treaty frameworks related to the Arctic. India as an observer in the Arctic Council.

Week 8

• Module 22: Discussions on the organizations like Arctic Science Committee, NyAlesund Science Managers Committee, Svalbard Integrated Science Observing System – their roles.
• Module 23: Arctic Circle Assembly, Arctic Frontiers, Arctic Science Summit Forum: Role and their initiatives, India’s role and collaborating interests in these forums.
• Module 24: Microplastics and Marine Litter in the Arctic, Sources and impacts. AMAP reports on Microplastics.

Week 9

• Module 25: Laws of the Sea- UNCLOS – history and importance. Internal waters Territorial Sea, Archipelagic waters, Contiguous zone, Exclusive economic zone Continental shelf, High seas, Indigenous rights in the Arctic Ocean
• Module 26: Territorial claims in the Arctic, The Arctic and the LOSC, Special Rights for Arctic Coastal States.
• Module 27: The role of India in Arctic monitoring studies, major findings of Indian Studies since 2007, International research findings relevant to Arctic climate and Environment.

Week 10

• Module 28: Svalbard Treaty, Agreement on the conservation of Polar bears, Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement
• Module 29: Arctic Policy of Arctic Council states, India’s Arctic Policy 2022- Discussions
• Module 30: Arctic policies of Asian observers, Asia- Arctic diplomacy- decadal evaluation. Their role in Arctic governance.

Week 11

• Module 31: “How the warming is feeding the warming? “Greenhouse gases, global warming, and the Arctic, Thawing permafrost and the “methane time bomb.”
• Module 32: AMAP Assessment Reports: Impacts of Short-lived Climate Forcers on Arctic Climate, Air Quality, and Human Health.
• Module 33: Arctic climate change Key trends and impacts with focus on climate change, melting cryosphere and frozen pathogens. Future predictions- Permafrost pandemic.

Week 12

• Module 34: AMAP Arctic Climate Change Update 2021: Key Trends and Impacts. Discussions based on 2021 reports and other recent reports.
• Module 35: Case studies of Greenland Arctic and Canadian Arctic.

Week 13

• Module 36: UN SDGs and the Arctic, the role of Paris Agreement, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) in supporting global efforts to fight climate change.
• Module 37: IPCC report- General introduction, role of IPCC, Working groups, IPCC reports on Polar Regions- Special report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a changing climate.
• Module 38: Discussion on the issues related to Arctic and Polar Regions from IPCC report.

Week 14

• Module 39: Arctic Straits. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Polar Code
• Module 40: Discussions on the major research findings from the Arctic: supported by published as well as unpublished findings from our country researchers in the Arctic.

Week 15

• Test series I (25 multiple choice questions for practice purposes)
• Test Series II (25 multiple choice questions for practice purposes)
• Test Series III (25 multiple choice questions for practice purposes)
• Test Series IV (25 multiple choice questions for practice purposes)
• Test Series V (25 multiple choice questions for practice purposes)