Ditchley Paper No. 37.
In his introduction the Provost of Ditchley, H. V. Hodson, describes this conference as one of the most contentious ever staged by the foundation. It comprised battles between "business men on the one hand and scientists and lawyers on the other, with political interests straddling the balance, between exploitation and defence of the environment. But it seemed to me to be most comprehensively described as an argument between optimists and pessimists: between those who held that resources of the Arctic area will not only be exploited but can be exploited with secure protection against environmental damage, including social injury to the indigenous peoples, and those who really believe this to be impossible, and the inevitable result of attempting it to be the risk of a grave ecological and human wound. Very good .
Keywords: SCIENCE; ARCTIC REGIONS; THE ARCTIC OCEAN: REPORT OF A CONFERENCE AT DITCHLEY PARK 14-17 May 1971; BRIAN ROBERTS; NATURAL RESOURCES; ECOLOGY; ENVIRONMENT; NORTHERN; INDIGENOUS PEOPLES; POLLUTION; CONSERVATION; POLITICS; BUSINESS.