As demand for the energy resources is mounting worldwide, one of the world’s most secluded and potentially energy-rich regions is becoming the hotbed of political as well as economic attention.

Russia has virtually staked its claim to the rich reserves in the Arctic Ocean when two mini submarines, the mini-subs Mir-1 and Mir-2, penetrated the North Pole and implanted Russian flag ‘ about two and a half miles underneath ‘ on the seabed, stirring up the memories of the Cold War days.

The disputed territory

Russia isn’t the lone nation to advance into the territory. The rich reserves have attracted several other nations, with territories bordering the Arctic, to launch competing claims to the region. Other than Russia, Canada, Denmark (through its control of Greenland), Norway and the United States ‘ under an international convention ‘ enclose territory in the Arctic Circle with rights to economic zones within 200 miles of their boundaries.

However, the boundaries of the continental shelf for long are a matter of dispute. While Moscow argues that the Arctic seabed and Siberia are the expansions of the Eurasian continent via Lomonosov Ridge ‘ an underwater mountain range between Siberia and Canada’s Ellesmere Island that runs about 1,800 kilometers across the Arctic Ocean; Canada and Denmark, on the other hand, bids their right (even forcefully) over the disputed territory.

What’s up for grab?

Russia’s latest expedition in the North Pole has tickled interests of many a nation, as the land is believed to store rich minerals and vast reserves of untapped oil (about 375 billion barrels) and natural gas, together with hefty deposits of diamonds, silver, copper, zinc and uranium.

Global warming has given renewed impetus to the race for control of the Arctic. Geologists believe that climate change will one day melt the ice of the Arctic and open up new shipping routes ‘ the Northwest passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific and the Northeast sea course between Europe and Asia ‘ cutting thousands of kilometers off today’s endless routes.

Furthermore, the melting of the ice will also mark a rapid increase in the sea-food. Increasing temperature in Arctic waters has already created new fishing grounds as fish migrate and acclimatize to new conditions.

What’s at stake?

No doubt, the Arctic Circle, with its vast and wealthy reserves, offers few lucrative economic expeditions for the concerned nations. But undue interference and imprudent plundering of the secluded land will also have some negative, in fact lasting and more dangerous, environmental consequences.

Extensively, the over involvement in the Arctic will dissolve the layers of ice rapidly, already on the threshold due to the global warming, inviting some seriously harmful consequence on the eco system for the mass of summer polar ice cap has shrunk drastically (about 20 percent) in the past three decades.

Apart from this, the dissolving of the Arctic will increase the water level in seas and oceans across the globe and thus play havoc in the costal areas, as nations like Netherlands featuring most of terrain below see level will perhaps sink in the waters. As average temperature is increasing ‘ twice as fast as elsewhere in the world ‘ rapidly in the Arctic, there is every possibility that the Arctic Ocean could be without ice by the year 2050.

Last but not the least, the intrusion of humans in the Arctic, together with increasing temperature would spell a likely disaster for traditional Arctic plant and animal species. Polar bears, already an endangered species, would either drown or starve to death and only be a matter of past in the years to come.

Growing concerns

Russian endeavor to declare sovereignty of the unclaimed land has attracted bitter criticism not only from European and American neighbors but also grown concerns across the world. The latest but dangerous mission has prompted ridicule and skepticism worldwide and there’s hardly a possibility that the Russian imprudent pursuit for the Arctic’s energy wealth will go unchallenged. The Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Mackay, disapproving the Russian claim, asserted,

This isn’t the 15th century. You can’t go around the world and just plant flags and say, we’re claiming this territory.

The US is also pressing hard to ratify its accession to the UN Law of the Sea, which would ensure Washington a seat on the panel to block such (illegal) claims. However, the Bush administration hasn’t yet ratified the sea Law.

The cynical move by Russia may not look a big issue (without any legal standing) at this moment, as no state would regard this claim on the Arctic. But territorial grabs like this, under the pressure of decreasing power sources, may well push the West towards the Cold War era, rather colonialism. The old Cold War was over ideology and the new Cold War will be over energy sources.

To engrave the situation, many other nations close to the Arctic Circle, seeing the region’s potential for providing an oil and mineral reserve, may also seek to extend their influence in the largely uninhabited area, leading to more conflicts in a resource constrained world.