Arctic Marine and Aviation Transportation Infrastructure Initiative is the Project co-led by the United States and Iceland, under the guidance of the Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group. The principal Investigator is the Institute of the North located in Anchorage, Alaska, USA
Increased resource extraction to support economic and community development and increased shipping traffic through Arctic waters have resulted in the corresponding need for an increased capacity to respond by sea and air.
Arctic ports and airports serve as an important base for response, acting as a gateway to support SAR, resource extraction and development activities, pollution prevention and environmental safety, and community health and security.
The Arctic Council's Sustainable Development Working Group approved a project during the Swedish Chairmanship (co-led by the United States and Iceland) to assess transportation infrastructure. The Arctic Marine and Aviation Transportation Infrastructure Initiative (AMATII) seek to evaluate Northern infrastructure – ports, airports, and response capability – by inventorying maritime and aviation assets in the Arctic.
The Project aims to create:
- An Arctic Maritime and Aviation Infrastructure Database, a web-based, searchable map that builds in layers of baseline data, including infrastructure, connectivity, weather, navigational aids and communications data, and traffic.
- A Port and Airport Infrastructure Conference that invites international stakeholders to consider infrastructure extent and best practices, within the context of sustainable development.
- A Guidance Document with case studies and illustrative stories of northern aviation and marine infrastructure to highlight the challenges of infrastructure development in the Arctic and its role in facilitating sustainable development.
For more information, please access the AMATII homepage. AMATII Database.
