Push for a 'Global Commons' Theory

IntroductionScientific developments and, consequently, economic growth have resulted from humankind pushing the frontiers of knowledge. Be it in the realm of marine / deep Sea, nuclear energy, microbiology and biotechnology, space or polar science, it was the spirit of adventure and quest for knowledge that broke new ground. Sometimes, one incident leads to another and a major discovery is made. For example, in the early 1960s, a Soviet nuclear submarine sank off the North American coast in the deep sea of the ClarionClipperton transform. This was recovered by the USA secretly under seabed survey, using Hughe's Glomar Explorer which had a 82-metre-long bay that could be opened and closed in its hull. This exercise led to the finding of high-grade polymetallic nodules, containing strategic metals like copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese. In the meeting of the UN General Assembly (1967), Arvid Pardo of Malta focused international attention on the vast potential of resources on the seabed. The events following this discovery form a watershed in history when laws of the sea were evolved to highlight the common heritage of mankind. However, this journey has been a difficult one from the point of view of India and the developing world. International negotiations for access to such new opportunities have witnessed, as we shall argue later, efforts to block outsiders from entering the domains of frontier knowledge and technologies.In the realm of the Arctic, this is an occasion to remember the contribution of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He was the first to traverse the North-West Passage (1903-1906), the North-East Passage (1918-1920), now called the Northern Route, as also to lead the first expedition to reach the North Pole (1926). He learnt from the Netsilk people Arctic survival skills, use of sled dogs, and to wear animal skins in lieu of heavy woollen parkas. He also faced a number of accidents - broke his arms and also was attacked by polar bears. He disappeared in June 1928 when he embarked on a search mission for survivors of an air crash in the vast snow. He and other explorers collected valuable scientific data, some of which were also lost in the ill-fated journey. However, the expeditions of Amundsen and his colleagues opened the possibilities in the Arctic region, culminating in the current conundrum on territorial and resource claims in the region, as well as the northern passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific.The RegionThe Arctic is a white desert, the largest and least fragmented of the inhabited regions in the world. It contains vast areas of fjords (narrow strip of sea between high cliffs), tundra (large frozen land with no vegetation), as well as jagged peaks, frozen seas, glaciers, and icebergs. The glacier fingers extend down the mountain ridges in Norway, the Urals, Kolyma, Alaska, Yukon and Bafin islands, reaching below the Arctic/Polar Circle. The 1500 km of polar ice extends south to three exits: the narrow exit west of Greenland into North Atlantic; through the 500-km-wide strait between Greenland and Svalbard; and through the 70-km Bering Strait between Chukotka and Alaska into the Bering Sea onward to the Pacific Ocean. We shall discuss later that the melting of ice in the Arctic Sea provides the all-important North-West and North-East passages for ships and super-tankers, yielding huge advantages in terms of shipping time and fuel consumed.Unlike the Antarctic continent, the Arctic has human settlements with adequate resource use in terms of fish/mammals and firewood. The indigenous population, the Inuits, have the ability to predict and make use of patterns of species and their habitats - salmon runs, caribou migration, grazing areas, etc. - which are essential to develop villages, as also Reindeer husbandry. The introduction of new technologies over the years - snow machines replacing dog teams and reindeer, rifles/shotguns for bows and arrows, and outboard motors for paddle and wind-driven boats - while increasing their hunting efficiency, has also put a strain on resources. …

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