Arctic clean-up: Turning the tide
The Arctic is often thought of as unspoiled, but in reality, plenty of pollution and waste sources affect the region. Resource extraction, shipping, and industrial boom and bust cycles affect the capacity of communities to operate and maintain essential services, leading to pollution and solid waste. When not managed properly, these activities can contaminate the natural environment that people depend on for livelihoods and survival.
This issue of The Circle covers how pollution and waste impacts the Arctic – its ecosystems, communities and Indigenous Peoples – and what is being done to address Arctic pollution and waste issues – from global treaties to community-level clean-ups.
Stories from this issue
Tackling pollution and waste in the Arctic
News from the Arctic (2024.03)
A global plastics treaty could help clean up the Arctic
Could Arctic ports be part of the solution?
Making “green” Arctic shipping corridors greener
An invisible threat to Arctic birds
Taking out the trash in West Greenland
Searching for ways to address disasters in the Arctic
Plastic pollution is upending Indigenous ways of life
Cleaning up Russia’s Kola Peninsula
The climate crisis is fuelling more intense wildfires
A historic opportunity to end plastic pollution
The back cover
© PH2 POCHE, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The Exxon Valdez oil spill: 45 years ago
The Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, west of Tatitlek, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. The oil tanker spilled more than 41 million litres of crude oil into Arctic waters, killing an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 seas otters, 300 harbour seals, 22 orcas, and an unknown number of salmon and herring. It was one of the largest environmental disasters in US history.
More from The Circle
The Arctic in the age of tech
The forgotten Arctic: A crisis of global inaction
Navigating a changing Arctic
Making waves: Getting it right for Arctic whales
About The Circle magazine
Quarterly
WWF Arctic Programme publishes the magazine four times per year and each issue zeroes in on a theme and presents a range of stories.
Actions
It covers the key climate risks are for the Arctic—and what researchers and decision-makers in the eight Arctic nations are doing.
Perspectives
We aim to hear from contributors in a selection of Arctic countries—from youth to Indigenous communities to policymakers to scientists.
Themes
Stay informed about the environmental and development issues affecting wildlife, ecosystems and people in the Arctic today.