by Mingming Shi
1) The five Nordic governments, along with official representatives from Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, jointly confirmed their commitment to increase cooperation on emergency preparation in the future, according to the Icelandic news service RÚV. At the Nordic Council meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark this week, the leaders of the Nordic nations demonstrated the consensus on the necessity of strengthening further collaboration to address crises and emergencies, including climate change and other security issues.
2) The Atlantic, an American news magazine, published a photo essay spotlighting twenty-two pictures from the Faroe Islands, taken by the photographer Jonathan Nackstrand from Agence France-Presse. This photographic series features landscapes, fauna, and local communities on the islands.
3) It was reported by CBC News Canada’s Eye on the Arctic that the government of Greenland had agreed to join the Paris climate accords. This move was the latest in a series of environmental initiatives by the administration of Prime Minister Múte B. Egede in Nuuk, as his government had also suspended plans to develop a uranium and rare earths mine at Kuannersuit and called for a moratorium on oil and gas surveys in Greenland earlier this year. Alarms had been raised last month that Greenland’s ice sheet was facing serious strain due to warming temperatures, with concerns that the melt from the ice sheet could contribute to flooding in other parts of the world.
4) As Finland’s Yle News service reported, younger generations of reindeer herders in Finland have been encountering new challenges. First, reindeer husbandry as a traditional livelihood and lifestyle has been threatened by climate change which has affected the reindeers’ access to food supplies. In addition, increasing mental health concerns among younger herders, (as compared to their elders), and insufficient support for the growing number of female herders are also seen as major obstacles to be overcome.
5) 6 November marked the 18th birthday of Móri, who oversees the Feline Affairs Desk at Over the Circle, and also represents the image of Mingming on the site. As a cat, he is not an avid follower of Arctic politics.
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