This is a video about polar bears in Svalbard in Norway.

Not only in Alaska are there conflicts on the beautiful Arctic region.

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Growing international tension over the Arctic

By Niall Green

23 November 2005

Strained relations between Norway and Russia in the Arctic region have in recent months produced a series of territorial and environmental disputes.

Though this has mainly expressed itself in conflicting claims over fishing rights, both countries are vying to control oil and gas extraction and transportation rights in the still largely pristine Arctic Ocean.

The Arctic region is estimated to contain 40 billion barrels of oil and as much as a quarter of the world’s natural gas reserves.

Due to the extreme environmental conditions, polar drilling has been considered largely uneconomical until recently.

However, Arctic reserves are now being considered more seriously as other oil and gas fields become exhausted.

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