Topic:
Northern Sea Route（NSR） Formulation and Development Forum
Working Language：English
Rules of order:Modified Robert's rules of order
Member States：Double Delegation
Crisis: Yes
Dais Head:
佟溫嶠 北京市第一六一中學
Assistant Director：
王冕晨 北京王府學校
Dais Members：
王天潤 北京師範大學附屬中學
燕愷 北京市第三十五中學
鄭思卿 Leweston School
薛奕維 北京市第五十五中學
Introduction:
The Arctic, a magnificent area which is as vast as wild. In this area, lays an important shipping route. Northern Sea Route (NSR) is officially defined by Russian legislation as lying east of Novaya Zemlya and specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from the Kara Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Straitis.
The Russia Federation has always considered the area as its internal waters, so that other countries are prohibited to go in. However, other countries do not agree with Russia’s statement. Instead, they determine this area as the high seas.
This is a significant issue not only for the Russian Federation but also for the entire international community. Use of the NSR offers an economically preferable alternation to other sea routes for traveling between the northern Pacific Ocean and northern Europe.
NSR goes through Russia’s ice-infested Arctic waters can potentially halve sailing distances between Europe and Northeast Asia. It also passes by some of world’s largest oil and gas reserves. As we enter the 21st. Century, technological, political and even climatic developments are again making the NSR an interesting possibility. The NSR cannot be thought of as one clearly defined linear route, but should instead be thought of as the whole sea area north of Russia. Due to the high variable and difficult ice-conditions present along most of the NSR, the optimal route choice for vessels navigating the NSR will vary.
Also, the abundant natural resources are attractive for development. However, oil spilling caused by drilling and transportation crucially harmed natural species and has a negative affect on biodiversity. Besides that, fish stocks are already under threat form overfishing and habitat loss. There are few places on earth as wild and free as the Arctic. It is a symbol of heritage from ancient period. Little of that precious wildness remains. How to keep this extraordinary land sustainable? This is an essential issue we should consider about.
Is international, commercial shipping on NSR feasible - economically, technologically and environmentally? This has been a controversial topic of several years .
How will these conflicts be solved? We hope you can give us your answer!