Background

June 1997 The report produced by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) entitled “Arctic Pollution Issues: A State of the Arctic Environment Report” was submitted to Arctic ministers under the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. In June 1997, in the Alta Declaration the ministers supported a number of actions in response to the findings of AMAP.

September 1998 The Arctic Council ministers instructed Senior Arctic Officials to develop an overall plan identifying actions to address the pollution sources identified through AMAP. As a result of this request, the Senior Arctic Officials established a special initiative titled: the “Arctic Council Action Plan to Eliminate Pollution in the Arctic (ACAP).”

October 2006 At the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Salekhard (Russia) ACAP was granted a status of a permanent Working Group under a new name - the “Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP).”

ACAP Structure

Arctic Contaminants Action Program is an Arctic Council Working Group with representation of 8 Arctic countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and USA, Permanent Participants and other international and national organizations. Russian Federation is currently chair of the ACAP Working Group. ACAP participants contribute funding and expertise for implementation of ACAP projects.

Chairman leads the Working Group and coordinates ACAP activities and cooperation between all Arctic Council Working Groups and other international fora. ACAP Secretariat provides communication and coordination within the ACAP and the Arctic Council.