The 2019 edition of the Arctic Circle (http://www.arcticcircle.org/), which took place October 10-13, confirmed the Reykjavik event as the current largest global forum on Arctic issues: politicians , diplomats, scientists, academics, entrepreneurs, environmentalists and media managers have discussed in an intense and informal way the governance and future of the Arctic.
This year’s Assembly, organized as usual by the respected former president of Iceland Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, gathered about 2,000 participants from 60 countries and was divided into over 180 sessions with the aim to discuss priorities and policies to be implemented in the Arctic region and to illustrate and compare experiences. A mix of politics, business and scientific research that continues to attract considerable interest.
During the works, Italy, after last year’s positive experience, organized a break-out session named “High tech prevention and preparedness in critical environments“, introduced by the Special Envoy for the Arctic of the Italian Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Carmine Robustelli.
Antonello Provenzale of CNR, Alcide Di Sarra of ENEA and Stefania Amici of INGV have dealt with various aspects related to fires, which are increasingly becoming a crucial problem in the Arctic, presenting the Italian research activity in the region, but also experiences in the Mediterranean that could be useful in the Arctic. Roberta Ivaldi of the Italian Navy Hydrographic Institute, Ingrid Hunstad of INGV and Andrew Kendrick of Vard/Fincantieri illustrated several studies and experiences in the field of navigation in the Arctic, while Melania Buffagni of ENI outlined the company’s activities in the field of prevention and response to oilspill at its operating sites in Norway and Alaska.
From the interventions clearly emerged a complex picture of the high technological level of the Italian contribution, and a welcomed and effective integration between industry and research.
