MURMANSK, March 27. /TASS/. Big businesses operating in Russia's North should be attracted to the creation of a permafrost geotechnical monitoring system, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg) Alexander Makarov told the International Arctic Forum.
Russia's president Vladimir Putin has ordered to create a permafrost monitoring system to model and forecast climate change to prevent negative impacts and to favor trouble-free operation of infrastructures in permafrost areas – more than half of Russia's territory.
"The cost of creating this system will be quite high for the regions, so we need to work more closely with businesses. I am confident, if we show to businesses the benefits from obtaining this information and from monitoring, then business will support us organizationally and materially," he said.
Data on permafrost changes are very valuable and sensitive, and will help avoid risks for both industry and the public, he continued. "Russia's has demonstrated such a focused attention to permafrost, which, in fact, is nowhere to be found. Foreign experts express their admiration for the attention we pay to this topic at the state level," he added.
About the forum
The sixth International Arctic Forum is being held in the Murmansk Region for the first time. The Forum serves as a platform for discussing the socio-economic development of the Arctic territories, including multilateral strategies for how to harness the region’s vast resources.
A key focus is the Northern Sea Route’s expansion, coinciding with the 500th anniversary of its exploration.
TASS is the information partner of the forum.