intergovernmental body that promotes research and facilitates cooperation among Arctic countries on issues related to the environmental protection and sustainable development of the Arctic region. The council was created in Ottawa in 1996 by the Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council (the Ottawa Declaration). Member states of the council include Denmark, Canada, Norway, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The council also has a number of permanent participants drawn from groups that represent communities and peoples indigenous to the Arctic. The Arctic Council's secretariat is located in Tromsø, Nor.

The functions of the council are performed primarily by six working groups: the Arctic Contaminants Action Program; the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme; Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna; Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response; Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment; and Sustainable Development. These groups meet periodically throughout the year in preparation for the full Arctic Council meetings, which occur every two years in the country holding the biennial rotating chairmanship. The council has conducted some important environmental research, including a valuable 1997 study of pollution in the Arctic region. The working groups and programs of the council are funded separately by the member countries that are interested in them; there are no mandatory assessments. Decisions of the Arctic Council and its working groups are made by consensus of the member countries.