In Praise of ... the Arctic

The Arctic is one of the last areas of continuous wilderness in the world. It is also owned by no one, although that may be about to change. Two Russian miniature submarines yesterday planted the tricolor on the seabed four kilometers below the north pole. The flag-waving was part of an exercise to establish that an underwater ridge that crosses the polar region is geologically part of the motherland. Russia thinks this will allow it to lay claim to a substantial chunk of the area, around 460,000 square miles, and the reason is obvious, since the Arctic is thought to contain about a quarter of the world's oil and gas reserves.

Before the ice cap melts and the Arctic Ocean becomes a busy shipping route, fishing ground and oil and gas field, it is worth thinking about what it is that is about to disappear. The ice shelf is part of a unique ecosystem of dwarf shrubs and lichens which form the tundra. It is home to the arctic hare, caribou, fox, wolf and polar bear. It is relatively clean, although a haze has been blamed on long-range pollutants. With its size and natural beauty, the Arctic is crying out to be left alone.

Beyond the 200-mile limit of economic zone claimed by the five surrounding Arctic states - Russia, the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark - the Arctic Ocean is administered by a UN body based in Kingston, Jamaica, called the International Seabed Authority. It argues that the seabed and ocean floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction are the common heritage of mankind. It should stay that way.