The prospect of regular international shipping through Arctic waters is probably the most topical issue at the moment. The retreat of the sea ice provides for shorter routes between Europe and Asia and for transport of resources etc to/from the region.
Read a news article, "SOS fra Arktis", about the project here (English) and here (Norwegian).
Read an interview with Tore Henriksen about the project here.
The main objective of A-LEX was to establish a common integrated knowledge base on the political, legal, environmental and technological challenges related to shipping in the Arctic, exemplified by the European Arctic. The project consisted of five main topics/work packages:
Supporting technologies and infrastructure – Marintek
Environmental impact – Akvaplan-niva
Regulation of shipping – K.G. Jebsen Centre for the Law of the Sea
Political Science – Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education
Interdisciplinary review and cross-sector application of project findings.
The project was funded by the Ministry of foreign affairs, the High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment (Fram Centre), The Research Council of Norway and The University of Tromsø.