The human impact on the delicate Arctic ecosystem is increasing annually. This is not only due to the intensive development of the Northern Sea Route, the implementation of major investment projects, and the overall economic revival of the Polar region. According to scientists from the Northern (Arctic) University and RSHU, who conducted research during the Arctic Floating University expedition, the pollution of Arctic waters and coastal areas is also a result of global environmental processes. The waters of the Barents and Kara Seas serve as the 'final destination' for Atlantic currents that carry debris from the Atlantic Ocean basin. With the reduction in ice cover, many obstacles for these currents have disappeared, resulting in garbage accumulating on the beaches of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Contrary to the Atlantic Ocean, where civilization's waste forms unique floating islands, the Arctic Ocean primarily ejects foreign objects onto land, creating vast garbage heaps.

Simultaneously, the pace of waste accumulation is on the rise. NAFU experts, using three years of cleanup data from control sites, discovered that an entirely clean area quickly fills up with new waste discarded by the ocean within two years. For instance, if we consider the pollution level before the test cleanup in 2021 as 100%, by 2023, the beaches were already polluted by an average of 70–80%. Scientists believe that the primary pollution sources are fishing vessels from Arctic maritime nations (Norway, Denmark, Russia, the UK, Iceland, Germany), and cargo ships transiting the Northern Sea Route. Fishermen don't always adhere to international rules preventing ocean pollution, discarding everything unnecessary overboard. This, along with objective losses like torn nets and items blown off decks by winds, poses a significant threat to the region's ecological balance. Adding to this is the increasing storm activity due to ice retreat, making the survival prospects for polar bears appear bleak.

However, this is only an initial impression. Indeed, the increasing human presence in the Arctic results in a proportional environmental burden increase, this fact cannot be disputed. But if economic growth goes hand in hand with responsible environmental management, collective measures by economic actors under existing state control can mitigate the negative impact of human activity. For instance, recent initiatives include the Russian Geographical Society's 'Arctic. General Cleanup' project, Nornickel and Rosatom's 'Clean Arctic' projects, as well as numerous regional and local cleanups, volunteer programs, and more. In fact, the Arctic Floating University expedition and its research were made possible due to the intensive development of the Northern Sea Route. The region's economic growth and the emergence of long-term projects (lasting decades, if not centuries) indicate a broad interest in maintaining the area's ecosystems at the very least.

It's also worth noting that besides incoming waste, the Arctic has a vast amount of 'legacy' waste left over from the Soviet era. In 2021 and 2022, 3,000 volunteers of the 'Clean Arctic' project removed over 5,000 tons of waste from nine Arctic regions. Metal fuel barrels, old equipment, abandoned ammunition at military bases and polar stations — these remnants of human activity have not made nature any better. While we'll have to wait a bit for this year's statistics, it's worth noting that given the steady growth of the volunteer movement in the AZRF, we can anticipate a positive trend.  

Today, environmentalists' efforts are bearing fruit — scientists from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have noted that several Arctic regions show high rates of natural recovery after industrial pollution. Of course, this statement should not be seen as a free pass to dump waste into the sea or tundra. Rather, it can be seen as the result of the hard work of the state, society and businesses involved in polar environmental projects. When efforts were made to take care of nature and allow it to recover, additional mechanisms to offset human impact were activated. Regarding the pollution of the NSR route by ship waste, the role of state regulatory bodies and the route operator, Rosatom, becomes crucial. The presence of inspection systems, vessel tracking, and inspectors in every port can significantly reduce the chance of dishonest behaviour in Russian territorial waters. Unfortunately, this won't affect Atlantic currents, and that's where society's help becomes invaluable. The rise of the volunteer movement is a clear example of the self-organization of Russian society, which is evidently concerned about the future of the Polar region and its environment.