prop · H30334 · 2015-11-04 00:00:00 — analyzed documents and reports from the Council and reviewed relevant literature from U.S. government entities, academic sources, and nongovernmental organizations. also interviewed U.S. federal and Arctic stakeholders; attended a Council meeting; and visited four Alaskan Arctic communities selected for their sizes and needs. is a voluntary intergovernmental forum for Arctic States, with involvement of indigenous organizations and other stakeholders, to address various environmental and economic issues through projects and reports targeting a variety of subjects. The eight Arctic States guide the work of the Council through consensus decisions and rotate the chairmanship of the Council every 2 years. The will assume the chairmanship in 2015. The participants meet in six working groups, four task 18GAO´s report uses the term ”indigenous” to describe the communities of people that have historically resided in the Arctic. The report uses the term “Natives” to refer to the indigenous people who reside in . – vad kan göra för att möta rådets utmaningar forces, and various expert groups to produce such documents as scientific assessments and guidance. For example, the Council has produced assessments of and climate change in the Arctic. As Arctic issues have emerged, the Council has expanded and broadened its work to address them. For example, since the Council’s was established in 1996, the number of ongoing projects has increased from about 30 to 80. Six key federal agencies hold leadership roles in U.S. delegation to the and other agencies participate through the Council’s working groups and task forces. State leads this participation and collaborates with the five other key agencies that lead U.S. delegations to Council working groups—the , , National Oceanic and , U.S. Fish and , and U.S. Program—as well as other federal agencies with Arctic interests. In addition to agencies with leadership roles, at least 15 other agencies with Arctic interests participate in the Council’s working groups and task forces. These agencies contribute expertise and financial resources to the Council’s work. In addition, U.S. federal agencies provide financial support to the Council and its working groups. The federal agencies that participate in the Council face challenges collaborating by not having a clear direction or specific resources for their work. For example, key agency officials said that the agencies do not have a strategy that guides and aligns their Council work. Without a clear direction or specific resources for the collaborative effort, the agencies face challenges prioritizing the work, delivering unified messages to other Arctic States, and consistently participating in the Council. previously reported that agencies can enhance and sustain collaborative efforts by engaging in various practices, such as establishing joint strategies and identifying necessary resources.19 Furthermore, agencies consider ’s and Natives’ interests in their work through various mechanisms, such as through an informal working group, but some officials from the State of and some Natives had concerns about the extent to which federal agencies and their Permanent Participant representatives consider their interests. federal agencies have acted on some voluntary recommendations that the and other Arctic States adopted through the Council in nonbinding biennial declarations approved by the consensus of the Arctic States. For example, several U.S. agencies have actively contributed to an environmental monitoring initiative endorsed in the 2006 declaration. In addition, agencies have implemented actions to reduce black carbon pollution, in line with recommendations made in the 2011 and 2013 ministerial declarations.20 However, does not review or track progress made on these actions and faces challenges implementing the voluntary recommendations. 19GAO, Results Oriented Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance and , GAO-06-15 (, D.C. 21, 2005). 20Black carbon, which is soot, can warm the climate by darkening Arctic snow and ice and absorbing sunlight, which leads to further and melting. informally discusses the recommendations with other agencies during monthly meetings but does not have a process to review and track progress the agencies have made toward implementing them. officials said that the agency may need to more formally assess such progress because, without such a process, the agency does not know the status of recommendation implementation and faces challenges planning for and prioritizing future actions to address Arctic issues. In addition, the —with as the lead agency—and other Arctic States face challenges implementing the Council’s broad and numerous recommendations. To address these challenges, officials said that the Council needs to more clearly specify and prioritize recommendations, but the Council does not have guidelines for doing so. Without such guidelines, officials said the recommendations have not historically produced actions with measurable outcomes. To help clarify the direction of future U.S. participation and position the for a successful chairmanship, assess the status of recommendations adopted through the Council, and strengthen the Council’s ability to address Arctic issues within its purview, recommended that the Secretary of State take the following three actions: As a part of its responsibilities in assuming the Council chair in 2015 and in collaboration with other relevant agencies, develop a joint strategy for U.S. participation in the Council that outlines a clear direction for the agencies and identifies resources needed to sustain collaborative efforts and consistent participation in the Council. Develop a process to review and track U.S. progress in implementing existing and any future recommendations. Work with other Arctic States to develop guidelines for producing clear recommendations with measurable actions and prioritizing the recommendations. A pdf of the report can be found at the following link: – vad kan göra för att möta rådets utmaningar Appendix 2 – Acknowledgements The project leaders would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to: all SAIs and individuals who have worked on this audit; the numerous government agencies and ministries who cooperated with us; the leadership of the , members of its working groups and task forces, and selected individuals who spoke with us regarding their perspectives on the Council. We would like to thank all of you for your support, cooperation, wise counsel and dedication. We could not have conducted this work without the leadership and commitment of the heads of the participating SAIs who have signed this document. We would also like to thank the former Auditors General of and , Mr. , respectively, for their joint initiative and vision in embarking on this unique effort. This report is the product of the efforts and contributions of project leaders and staff in each of the five nations. We would in particular like to acknowledge and thank all team members at the of , and the of as well as our leadership and audit teams in and . We sincerely appreciate your continued support and effort. This has been an extremely rewarding endeavor. – vad kan göra för att möta rådets utmaningar Alla tidigare utgivna rapporter finns tillgängliga på för riskkapitalförsörjning – i senaste laget Bostäder för äldre i avfolkningsorter Staten och det civila samhället i integrationsarbetet Effekter av förändrade regler för deltidsarbetslösa Att överklaga till förvaltningsrätten – Handläggningstider och Ekonomiska förutsättningar för en fortsatt omställning av försvaret Försvaret – en utmaning för staten. försvarsområdet 2010–2014 Stödet till anhöriga omsorgsgivare Förvaltningen av regionala projektmedel – delat ansvar, Att tillvarata och utveckla nyanländas kompetens – rätt insats i rätt tid? Livsmedelskontrollen – tar staten sitt ansvar? Att gå i pension – varför så krångligt? – fungerar länken mellan individen och Nyanländ i – effektiva insatser för ett snabbt mottagande? – Är finansieringen av bolaget effektiv Det allmänna pensionssystemet – en granskning av granskningen Statens dimensionering av lärarutbildningen – utbildas rätt antal Valuta för biståndspengarna? – valutahantering i det internationella Överenskommelser mellan regeringen och SKL inom hälso- och sjukvården – frivilligt att delta men svårt att tacka nej – effektivitet i exportgarantisystemet? Primärvårdens styrning – efter behov eller efterfrågan? Informationssäkerheten i den civila statsförvaltningen Bistånd genom internationella organisationer – UD:s hantering av det multilaterala utvecklingssamarbetet – vad kan göra för att möta rådets utmaningar Omskolad till arbete? – Utbildningsstödet till varslade vid Den officiella statistiken – en rättvisande bild av Återfall i brott – hur kan samhällets samlade resurser användas Digitalradio – varför och för vem? – konkurrenskraftigt och ledande i energiomställningen? Aktivitetsersättning – en ersättning utan aktivitet? Utdrag ur protokoll vid regeringssammanträde Närvarande: Statsministern , ordförande, och statsråden Romson, M , Y , M , I Baylan, S-E Bucht, P , H Hellmark , Å , A Ygeman, A , M , A Strandhäll, G Regeringen beslutar skrivelse – vad kan göra för att möta rådets utmaningar.