ST.PETERSBURG June 23 - On June 13, the final online meeting of the International Expert Group (IEG) was held at Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center, dedicated to discussing the results of the second phase of the project to develop a comprehensive program for monitoring the state of the environment and biodiversity in the waters of the Northern Sea Route.
The Northern Sea Route in the Arctic is a transport route, which is a significant element of the sustainable international logistics. More than 38% of sea traffic passes through it, which makes it the shortest sea route between the Asia-Pacific region and northern Europe. By reducing distance and travel time, it reduces fuel consumption and the carbon footprint of maritime transport.
IEG was created in 2021 with the assistance of Rosatom State Corporation as a voluntary advisory body to ensure the development of shipping along the Northern Sea Route, by Russian and international environmental standards and best environmental practices.
The IEG has become an international platform for sharing experience and future coordination of the monitoring program with existing environmental data collection platforms in the Arctic. The group consists of leading experts from international environmental research institutes and non-governmental organizations, specializing in birds, zoo- and phytoplankton, benthos, marine mammals, fish, and abiotic components.
More than 20 representatives of Russian and foreign research centers, including those from Malaysia, India and Turkey, discussed the results of comprehensive studies in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, conducted from September 2022 to June 2023, and the final report - Integrated environmental monitoring program for the Northern Sea Route.
The results of the work were presented by Alexander Shestakov, Ph.D., expert of the Scientific Research and Development Directorate of Lomonosov Moscow State University Marine Research Center and coordinator of the IEG, Maria Pogozheva, Ph.D., Head of the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory of the N.N. Zubov State Oceanographic Institute, and Maria Gavrilo, Ph.D., leading researcher of the Arctic Shelf Laboratory of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.
Alexander Shestakov shared the main results of the project, including the key elements of the Comprehensive Program: “The development of the program will allow us in the near future to introduce environmental monitoring of the NSR in accordance with Russian and international standards.
For comprehensive elaboration of all sections of the program we have invited a large number of organizations as reviewers, including state organizations such as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia, a number of institutions which are part of the Hydrometeorological Service of Russia in charge of environmental monitoring in Russia, as well as research institutions and non-governmental organizations".
During the discussion of the results of the project the members of the IEG noted the scale and detail of the plan of complex monitoring, which is especially important for such a large-scale region as the Arctic.
Dr. Mohamed Said, Professor at the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries of Alexandria, Egypt, praised the level of data and parameters chosen to form the Integrated Program, while emphasizing "the need to use modeling when observing sea currents and sea water movements.
Dr. Idris Izwandi, Head of the South China Marine Repository and Reference Center at the Institute of Oceanography and Environment, University Malaysia Terengganu, noted, “For some parameters, the frequency of monitoring can be adjusted based on the initial results. Also, for biotic components, in some cases it is not necessary to isolate them to the species level. Nevertheless, special attention should be paid to specific species, especially those sensitive to disturbance of navigation”.
The results of the IEG showed the need for continued international cooperation in the development of the NSR monitoring system, taking into account the international experience of each expert to ensure the sustainable development of navigation along the Northern Sea Route. - DagangNews.com
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