E/2009/43 E/C.19/2009/14 44. Climate change and environmental degradation related to natural resource extraction, such as mining and forestry, constitute great threats to the traditional lifestyles and cultures of indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Climate change has an impact on all aspects of life in the Arctic region, from traditional subsistence activities, including hunting, fishing, reindeer husbandry, farming, gathering and food sovereignty, to community health. The melting permafrost, flooding and storm surges progressively destroy village sanitation, drinking water and other infrastructure in many Arctic communities. 45. As climate change reduces sea ice in the Arctic region, the Arctic seabed is increasingly the subject of competing State claims focused on securing control over resources, estimated to include 25 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves. Increased economic activity in the Arctic is likely to result in further environmental degradation as a result of oil, gas and mineral extractive processes. The resultant increased traffic and pollution, along with the influx of new people, will have an impact on the lives of the indigenous peoples of the region. 46. Indigenous peoples in the Arctic region also face a broad range of challenges regarding economic and social development, human rights, education, health and culture. For example, in relation to development and health, life expectancy is shorter and infant mortality rates are higher among indigenous Arctic residents in Alaska, the United States of America, northern Canada and Greenland when compared with those of non-indigenous residents of Arctic countries. Similarly, indigenous residents of Alaska, northern Canada and Greenland have higher mortality rates from injury and suicide as well as higher hospitalization rates for infants with pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis and other respiratory infections. 47. The Permanent Forum notes that the Greenland-Danish Self-Government Commission submitted its report on self-government on 6 May 2008. The main task of the Commission has been to submit draft legislation regarding a self-government arrangement for Greenland. A referendum was held in Greenland on 25 November 2008 concerning the act and the process leading up to its entry into force. The Permanent Forum welcomes the successful passage of the act through the Danish Parliament on 19 May 2009. 48. The Permanent Forum acknowledges the close and growing cooperation among the Arctic States and the indigenous peoples in the Arctic. 49. The Permanent Forum welcomes the International Polar Year initiative to undertake a reindeer herders vulnerability network study which will focus on understanding the adaptive capacity of reindeer pastoralism to climate variability and change. The study, which has been endorsed by the Arctic Council, is being managed by a former chairman of the Permanent Forum, Ole Henrik Magga. 50. The Permanent Forum confirms that the rule of law is a prerequisite for peaceful regional development and recalls that an extensive legal framework applies to the Arctic Ocean, including, notably, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This framework provides a foundation for responsible management of this ocean. 51. The Permanent Forum recalls the relevant United Nations resolutions concerning national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the annex to General Assembly resolution 48/134 (the “Paris Principles”), recognizing the significant role that institutions at the national level can play in 8 09-36351