The purpose of this workshop is to describe and discuss the challenges of search and rescue in the Arctic and how they can be met by transnational cooperation and the voluntary involvement and organization of the citizens of Greenland.

Organised by The Danish Ministry of Defence.

The workshop will address the following four topics:

• The search and rescue challenges in the Arctic and possible responses.
  
• Can transnational cooperation and recruitment of volunteers function as alternatives or supplements to the existing Search and Rescue and Oil Spill Response organization in Greenland?

Climate change and global warming result in melting of the Greenland ice sheet and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and waters around Greenland. This is reported by politicians and media alike as offering opportunities of natural resource extraction of oil/gas and minerals and possibilities of new shipping routes in the Arctic Ocean. However, this development is also reported as resulting in severe challenges as part of the climate change impacts on Greenlandic society resulting in increased maritime activities that will produce several risks and threats, first of all risks of accidents and threats of pollution of the environment and casualties of human beings in the Arctic. As a vast territory and a sparsely populated community with access to only relatively few resources and capacities Greenland has even been characterized as a search and rescue deficit. Drawing on the hypotheses and preliminary results of the MARPART project (“Maritime Preparedness and International Partnership in the High North”), an ongoing collaborative research project with participants in Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia (see www.marpart.no), this presentation will discuss the evidence of climate change resulting in increasing maritime activity in Greenland and the evidence of the degree to which increasing accidents are resulting in environmental pollution and human casualties in Greenland. As the current situation is, Greenland suffers from a relatively low level of resources for emergency prevention and preparedness and a relatively low level of capacity for emergency response. The remedy for this, of course, is more resources. But Greenland also suffers from a complex and multilevel organization for Search and Rescue and Oil Spill Response where the Danish Defense, the (Danish) Greenland Police and the Government of Greenland and Greenlandic municipalities all have to cooperate swift and effectively in emergency situations. Therefore, the puzzle of this presentation is whether and, so, to what degree international cooperation with neighbouring countries and recruitment and education of volunteering local citizens are alternatives or supplements to the existing organization of responsible authorities.

• A possible model for organizing, training and equipping volunteers for search and rescue and other tasks in Greenland.
  
• Establishing an International Rescue Hub in Iceland

Increased shipping and other maritime activities in the Arctic create new and enhanced risks that must be mitigated with innovative technologies, policies and structures. Iceland is well located in the Arctic to provide support for Mass Rescue Operations (MRO) in the area, and the small country already offers strong support for logistics, medical treatment etc. There is, however, a need to strengthen these capabilities even further to mitigate the risk of large-scale disasters such as cruise ship emergencies in the Arctic, especially within coordination of resources: If we manage to rescue several hundred people from a burning passenger ship, there is a real risk of the offshore disaster moving onshore if we haven’t prepared properly. Given the extreme distances and remote and sparsely populated areas there is a special need for establishing structures that can quickly be scaled up in case of large emergencies. One suggestion is to develop parts of the former US Naval Air Station Keflavík, which was abandoned by the Americans in 2006, into an International Rescue Hub. This mechanism should be able to function as a regional hub for MROs and allow for quick strategic deployment of rescue personnel and equipment, reloading/storage, tactical insertion, medical evacuation, command and coordination etc. Based on observational studies during the preparations for and execution of a large-scale SAR-exercise in the Arctic, this paper presents preliminary findings on the pros and cons of such a mechanism.

This research is being carried out as part of NORDRESS (Nordic Centre of Excellence on Resilience and Societal Security), led by researchers from the University of Iceland and funded by NordForsk 2015-2020.

PROGRAMME

13:15
Welcome and introduction
Head of department Lars Christian Hedemark, Arctic Project Organization, Danish Ministry of Defence.

13:20
The search and rescue challenges in the Arctic and possible responses
Kim J. Jørgensen, Head of Arctic Project Organization, Danish Ministry of Defence, kjj@fmn.dk

13:40
Can transnational cooperation and recruitment of volunteers function as alternatives or supplements to the existing Search and Rescue and Oil Spill Response organization in Greenland?
Uffe Jakobsen, Arctic Politics Research Group, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, uj@ifs.ku.dk

14:00
A possible model for organizing, training and equipping volunteers for search and rescue and other tasks in Greenland.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Gordon Nielsen, Danish Home Guard Command and Major Ulrik Skytte, Danish Home Guard Command

14:20
Establishing an International Rescue Hub in Iceland
Rasmus Dahlberg, Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Copenhagen University & Danish Emergency Management Agency, dahlberg@sund.ku.dk

14:40-15:30
Plenary discussion
Moderator: Head of department Lars Christian Hedemark, Arctic Project Organization, Danish Ministry of Defence.