Arctic region and Arctic Council

Why in news?

• India has created a new draft policy for the Arctic which is a  first-of-a-kind initiative and  the policy has been put out for comments from the public.

About the region:

• The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth.
• The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Alaska (United States), Canada, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.
• Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost (permanently frozen underground ice) containing tundra.
• Life in the Arctic includes zooplankton and phytoplankton, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals, plants and human societies.
•  The Arctic contains some of the last and most extensive continuous wilderness areas in the world, and its significance in preserving biodiversity and genotypes is considerable.
• The Arctic also holds 1/5 of the Earth's water supply.
• The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska (United States).

Arctic Council:

• The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.
• The eight countries with sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle constitute the members of the council: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Outside these, there are some observer states.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements:
1.Polar bears are largely found within the arctic circle only.
2.India is a permanent member of the Arctic council.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only     
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims Question