Marine Management and Governance of the Beaufort Sea: Lessons from the Barents Region

Sara Bourquin | BIG Research Reports | #17

The Beaufort Sea situated off the coast of Alaska and the Yukon presents a unique opportunity for cross-border and regional maritime cooperation, however, due to national differences, a lack of cross border and marine infrastructure as well as complex jurisdictional issues, this has not been possible. A comparative analysis of other regional and international/ bilateral models provides a concrete foundation in determining the best path of governance in the Beaufort Region: The Barents Region shares enough similarities to the Beaufort Region that comparative analyses of its governance structure and cross border dynamics are invaluable. Policy and decision makers from both in the Yukon and Alaska would benefit from pushing for further comparative studies and longer-term research projects of the models presented in this paper.

Sara Bourquin

Marine Management and Governance of the Beaufort Sea: Lessons from the Barents Region