Nereus Fellow Richard Caddell (Utrecht) was an invited presenter at the ICE LAW Project’s Workshop on Laws and Regulations Currently Guiding Human Behaviour in Icy Environments on April 8 in Rovaniemi, Finland, which explored issues surrounding the law of the sea and sea ice.

Caddell delivered his presentation — “After the Thaw: Ice Retreat and the Emerging Regulation of Newly Exposed Marine Areas” — during the first session of the conference. He discussed Antarctic ice shelves, anthropogenic activities and management, as well as future issues with thawing land areas and collaboration on these issues between the Antarctic and Arctic.

Additional talks looked at increased polar shipping, the human dimension, fisheries, and indigenous communities.

ICE LAW (The Project on Indeterminate and Changing Environments: Law, the Anthropocene, and the World) is a collective that involves several research and policy clusters investigating various aspects of law, resource management, and Indigenous perspectives on areas affected by polar ice melt. The workshop explored the function of international law and management practices in guiding human activities near sea ice, with directions for further research.