The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
The Ottawa Declaration lists the following countries as Members of the Arctic Council - Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States.
In addition, six organizations representing Arctic indigenous peoples have status as Permanent Participants.
The Observer status in the Arctic Council is open to Non-Arctic States. Observers primarily contribute through their engagement in the Council at the level of Working Groups.
Observer countries are - China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The Arctic Council regularly produces comprehensive, cutting-edge environmental, ecological and social assessments through its Working Groups.
The Council has also provided a forum for the negotiation of two important legally binding agreements among the eight Arctic States.
The Chairmanship of the Arctic Council rotates every two years among the Arctic States.
It has no programming budget. All projects or initiatives are sponsored by one or more Arctic States. Some projects also receive support from other entities.
The Arctic Council does not and cannot implement or enforce its guidelines, assessments or recommendations. That responsibility belongs to each individual Arctic State.
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