The ecological safety of the northern territories was discussed by the participants of the IV All-Russian Scientific and Practical conference "Safe North - clean Arctic", which was held at Surgut State University.

Scientists from Moscow, Tomsk, Vologda, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Tyumen, Yakutsk, Petrozavodsk, as well as representatives of scientific schools and research centers of the USA, Finland, Great Britain, France discussed topical issues related to the ecology and safety of the northern territories, the development of "green" technologies in the context of global climate change and ESG transformation of the industrial sector of the economy.

Scientists focused on autonomous power sources, fuel cells based on hydrogen-generating metals and hydrides, on the transformation of organic carbon in the Laptev Sea land-shelf system, on the cultivation of forest crops as a method of recultivation of disturbed lands in the Arctic oil industry zone and other topics. Young scientists, students and postgraduates also presented their reports. So, a student of the Department of Biology and Biotechnology of SurSU Amina Kazieva conducted a study on the cultivation of shrubby or simply Kuril tea by hydroponics. The plant is included in the Red Book of Ugra and is of great scientific interest from the point of view of a promising medicinal and ornamental culture.

Within the framework of the section "Smart plant growing and forest-climatic projects", other Surgut residents also shared the results of their work, telling about the effectiveness of cultivating eastern goat as a sideral crop in the conditions of the north of the Tyumen region, about the content of tannins in the herb of St. John's wort, grown by the hydroponic method.

SurSU students Elena Kiseleva and Rukhshona Dadadzhanova see a way out of the problem of irrational disposal of industrial and household waste and significant damage to the ecology of the region in sorting garbage and building a regional waste recycling plant, as they told at the conference.

The Department of Foreign Languages has traditionally initiated the section "Russia in the Arctic Dialogue", the working language of which is English. "We consider the work of the section as preparing students and young scientists for international cooperation within the framework of the Association of circumpolar Universities UArctic, of which our university is a member, and their further participation in network scientific research on topics related to the pressing problems of the development of the Arctic region," the organizers said. The section presented reports on technical and humanitarian scientific areas related to the problems of the northern territories of Russia and the Arctic.

An important task for the moderators was the selection of young researchers to participate in the UArctic-2022 congress, which will be held in St. Petersburg in 2022. "We hope that caring young people will take advantage of this chance, declare themselves in the world of science and benefit their native northern region, including the Arctic," concluded Marina Stavruk, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages of SurSU.

The outcome of the two-day conference was a resolution that, among other things, confirmed the importance and necessity of creating joint educational programs on carbon monitoring and regulation, "green" technologies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Finnish Ambassador for Arctic and Antarctic Affairs Petteri Vuorimaki believes that the program of the Russian presidency in the Arctic Council is probably the most ambitious one in its history. Importantly, cooperation in the Arctic opens up opportunities for constructive interaction with Moscow. The politician made this statement at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

“At present, the Russian Federation chairs the Council, and this program is likely to be the most intensive and ambitious in its entire history. If I were to take part in all planned events, I would have to move to Moscow or some other place in Russia. It has planned an incredible number of events,” he noted.

“I keep saying that cooperation in the Arctic opens up opportunities for constructive cooperation with the largest Arctic country, the Russian Federation, despite difficulties in other areas,” Vuorimaki said.

The Arctic Council is an inter-governmental organization of the Arctic states: Denmark (with Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, the United States, Finland and Sweden. In 2021, the year of the Council’s 25th anniversary, Russia took over the two-year presidency from Iceland.