For almost three decades, the Arctic Council has been a successful example of post-Cold War cooperation. Its eight members, including Russia and the United States, have collaborated on climate change research and social development across the ecologically sensitive region. Now, a year after council members cut ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and as Norway prepares to take over the presidency from Moscow on May 11, experts are asking whether the polar body's viability is at risk if it cannot work with a country that controls over half of the Arctic coast. An ineffective Arctic Council could have dire consequences for the region's environment and its 4 million inhabitants, who face the effects of melting sea ice and the interest of non-Arctic countries in the region's largely untapped mineral resources. The work of the council, which includes the eight Arctic states of Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Canada and the United States of America, has in the past led to binding agreements on environmental protection and preservation. It is also a rare platform that gives a voice to the indigenous people of the region. It does not deal with security issues. But after the end of cooperation with Moscow, about a third of the council's 130 projects are suspended, new projects cannot continue, and existing ones cannot be renewed. For example, Western and Russian scientists no longer share knowledge about climate change, and cooperation on possible search and rescue missions or oil spills has also stopped. (WASHINGTON/LONDYN/OSLO, Reuters)