By Justin Francis, co-founder of responsibletravel.com
This month we learnt that Russia symbolically laid claim to the Arctic by (rather impressively) sending two mini-submarines 2.5 miles down underwater to plan a small metal flag.
The Arctic is estimated to contain 25% of the world's oil and gas reserves, which probably interest Russia more than the arctic hares, caribou, wolves, polar bears, and foxes that visitors to responsibletravel.com go to see.
The Arctic ocean is administered by a UN body, The International Seabed Authority, which argues that it is a common heritage of mankind and should remain as a wilderness.
We quite agree, although I imagine that over the next 30 years this position will take some defending (especially if those claiming that we are nearing peak oil production prove correct and we fail to reduce global demand for oil).
Although legally the claim means nothing, there are speculations that the region’s declining ice caps may harbour rich oil and gas deposits and as the icecaps melt, the region could open up to form a lucrative shortcut for ships sailing from America to Asia*, suggesting it as a prime target for development. Would this form of development - which would be exploiting its natural resources - benefit the future Arctic, or would its preservation for the sake of tourism perhaps be more sustainable?
Of course your flight to the Arctic contributes to global warming, which it could be argued is the last thing that is needed to conserve it. While I think that much of the Arctic should be off limits to tourism and set aside as wilderness, in other areas if it comes to a fight between tourism and oil production (it would be naive to think that some of it will not be used by man) I'll be arguing that responsible tourism is more sustainable...
Let us know what you think here. 
For more news and the latest in tourism and responsible travel, visit
Justin’s blog or subscribe to our
RSS feed. For our view on tourism in the polar regions,
read more here 
Take a look at some of our favourite Arctic trips here:  | Svalbard & High Arctic cruise: Undertake a complete circumnavigation of the major islands ofthe group, making frequent shore stops to hike or simply enjoy the amazing scenery, and toundertake zodiac cruises From GB £1,690 - GB £3,090 (10 days) ex flights |
 | Arctic icebreaker cruises to Spitsbergen: Remove urban cobwebs & revitalise the mind. The Arctic seascape is both rich and expansive, where you can see tail flukes of whales on the horizon or witness polars bears cruise by. We'll offset your CO2 emissions. GB £1,400 - GB £3,990 (8-14 days) ex flights |
 | Arctic sailing voyages, Spitsbergen: Spitsbergen is home to polar bears, walruses, reindeer, arctic fox and seabird colonies. Experience the tranquillity of sailing within spectacular scenic fjords and observe wildlife in this remote wilderness. From GB £1,050 - GB £2,260 (8 - 16 days) ex flights |
See all Arctic Circle holidays here * Source: MSNBC
2 Independent review(s)