Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs is working closely with the State of Alaska on health projects, to further objectives of the United States’ chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2015-17) and ensure sustainability of these efforts through the Finnish chair (2017-19). A signature chairmanship initiative on One Health, which involves building linkages between human, animal, and environmental health communities of practice, has been operational since 2015. In 2017, the project included the first-ever One Health Table Top Exercise (February) and a presentation at the Alaska Forum on the Environment (February), both in Anchorage. An IVLP On Demand delegation from Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Finland visited Minnesota and Alaska in May 2018. A second-ever One Health Table Top Exercise was convened in December 2018 in Ottawa, with participation from Alaska-based academics. The project is strongly linked to state, local, and tribal efforts in these areas – including through the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).
– More: https://anthc.org/
Alaska has had a long-standing interest in Pacific salmon populations and their economic, social, cultural, and ecological significance. To address those concerns, the Pacific Salmon Treaty, signed between the United States and Canada in 1985, established long-term goals for the management of salmon resources shared by our countries. The Treaty includes agreement between the United States and Canada to form and maintain the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) to ensure Treaty goals are met. The State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) is involved in the work of the Commission, along with state and tribal Commissioners. In this capacity, the State Department plays an active role in negotiating with Canadian colleagues for outcomes that balance harvest opportunities with the long-term sustainability of Pacific salmon stocks. This work ultimately has a positive impact on Alaska and its residents.
– More: https://2017-2021.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/fish/bilateral/index.html
Pacific halibut are vital to the economic well-being of coastal communities of Washington and Alaska and have been managed by a bilateral treaty with Canada since 1923. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), established by the treaty, provides scientific and management advice that have maintained a stable fishery and prevented stock and environmental problems that can occur when fish stocks are shared between countries. Alaska’s oldest halibut fleet, in Petersburg, has worked collaboratively with the IPHC to manage the resource for more than 80 years and states that “the health of the Pacific halibut resource is of utmost importance to the fleet and community of Petersburg and that the collaborative effort has been tremendously rewarding and successful.” A representative from the OES Office of Marine Conservation works in close coordination with representatives from the states of Alaska and Washington, as well as our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) colleagues to ensure that management decisions are based on scientific advice that advances U.S. economic interests.
– More: https://2017-2021.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/fish/bilateral/index.html
2019 will be the focal year of the International Year of the Salmon (IYS), a joint North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) and the North Pacific Anadromous Fisheries Commission (NPAFC) initiative to raise awareness on the importance of wild salmon and support research to restore and maintain sustainable populations. OES has supported IYS through voluntary contributions to NASCO and NPAFC in recent years.
The Alaska pollock fishery is the largest in the United States and the largest sustainable fishery in the world, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars per year. OES/OMC manages U.S. participation in the U.S.-Russia Intergovernmental Consultative Committee on Fisheries (ICC), which among other benefits governs U.S. vessels fishing in the Russian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). More generally, the ICC has proven to be very useful, allowing the United States and Russia to pursue matters of common interest, including joint efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, coordination of fisheries management in the Bering Sea, and exchange of information on the status of living marine resources and on fisheries enforcement violations and cooperation.
– More: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/international-affairs/bilateral-agreement-between-united-states-and-russia
A researcher from the University of Alaska Southeast received a grant from the OES-supported U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) for a joint research project with an Israeli scientist. Selected through a peer-reviewed process, the BSF research funding advances our bilateral relationship and shared scientific priorities.
– More: http://www.bsf.org.il/
The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs works closely with the State of Alaska on health projects to further objectives established during the United States’ chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2015-17). The One Health initiative, for example, promotes building linkages between human, animal, and environmental health communities. In February 2017 in Anchorage, the One Health project conducted its first Table Top Exercise dedicated to the Arctic region and also gave a presentation at the Alaska Forum on the environment. A second One Health Table Top Exercise convened in December 2018 in Ottawa with participation from Alaska-based academics. The project is strongly linked to state, local, and tribal efforts in these areas – including through the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).
– More: http://2017-2021.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/opa/arc/uschair/index.html
An IVLP On Demand delegation from Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Finland visited Minnesota and Alaska in May 2018. Participants shared information about innovative technologies, training programs, and practices for sharing information about biological and chemical risks arising from wildlife and the natural environment, which are key health threats across the Arctic region.
– More: https://eca.state.gov/ivlp/about-ivlp
OES represents the Department of State at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which approved the hunting of whales for subsistence purposes in Alaska and Washington State at the 67th IWC meeting in September, 2018. This decision provides communities in Alaska with the certainty that they will be able to continue their way of life, and includes needed flexibility in the management of these subsistence hunts. For Alaska, there have been no changes in their catch limits for forty years.
– More: https://iwc.int/aboriginal
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska and Otgontenger Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia signed a sister park arrangement in August 2017. The sister park arrangement strengthened bilateral cooperation on park management and nature conservation and highlighted the 30th anniversary of United States-Mongolia diplomatic relations.
– More: https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/news/sister-park-announcement.htm
Bureau of Global Public Affairs
Under the U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Speaker Program, Denice Swank, deputy superintendent for the National Park Service, conducted a land management program with Mongolia that strengthened the relationship between Denali National Park and Mongolia’s Otgontenger Strictly-Protected Area. The trip coincided with the signing of a sister park agreement, which establishes the exchange of professional and technical knowledge for best practices in the administration of protected areas between Alaska and Mongolia. This sister park agreement is expected to lead to a boost in tourism for the state of Alaska.
– More: https://infocentral.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/286/2017/07/US-SPEAKER-PROGRAM-AT-A-GLANCE-External-Office-One-Pager-12-8-20161.pdf
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
American Spaces in Kolkata, India and Guangzhou, China held events showcasing the history and culture of Alaska. A local surgeon and alumni in Kolkata screened a film he made chronicling his time in the state. In Guangzhou, Alaskan native heritage, art, and folklore were explained, as well as the influence of Native American political thought on the Constitution.
– More: https://americanspaces.state.gov/home/
Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
The Department works with nine domestic non-governmental organizations, which place refugees with more than 325 affiliates in roughly 190 communities around the country. These local affiliates work closely with community partners, congregations, volunteers, and state and local officials to provide a successful start for refugees rebuilding their lives. Refugee communities have historically enhanced the economic dynamism and cultural vitality of our nation. Refugees contribute to the United States in numerous ways, including by starting businesses and joining the U.S. military. This program helps the world’s most vulnerable refugees find permanent homes, and it demonstrates the immense generosity of the American people.
– More: http://2017-2021.state.gov/j/prm/ra/index.html
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
The Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of State-Defense Integration has one Foreign Policy Advisor (POLAD) position assigned to U.S. Air Forces Southern (AFSOUTH) based out of Tucson. POLADs are U.S. diplomats that serve typically two-year tours at U.S. military commands and provide foreign policy advice to senior military leadership.
– More: https://2017-2021.state.gov/t/pm/polad/index.html
In Fiscal Year 2017, the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) issued visas to 12 children who were adopted by U.S. citizens from Alaska. Intercountry adoption is one CA's highest priorities. CA's Office of Children’s Issues plays an active role in the intercountry adoption process and works diligently to establish and maintain intercountry adoption as a viable option throughout the world.
– More: http://adoption.state.gov/about_us/statistics.php
Diplomatic Security San Francisco Field Office serves Alaska: Diplomatic Security has offices throughout the United States staffed with special agents and contract investigators, who conduct criminal, counterterrorism, and background investigations. Agents assigned to field and resident offices assist in providing support to the protection of the Secretary of State, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and visiting foreign dignitaries. Liaison with federal and local law enforcement, foreign mission personnel, local officials, and the private sector complements their major responsibilities.
– More: http://2017-2021.state.gov/m/ds/about/101224.htm
Jobs and Economy
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
81 exchange visitors from overseas visited Alaska and 25 Alaska residents travelled overseas as part of the Department’s educational and cultural exchange funded programs.
– More: https://exchanges.state.gov/
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
The Department of State, in partnership with agencies across the federal government, creates jobs for American workers by opening markets and eliminating trade barriers overseas and by attracting foreign direct investment to the United States. In 2018, goods exported totaled $4.7 billion. Those exports supported approximately 37,100 Alaskan jobs 37,100 Alaskan jobs (2016) and foreign direct investment into Alaska supports an additional 17,200 jobs (2016).
– More: https://www.trade.gov/mas/ian/statereports/states/ak.pdf
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
In August, 2015, the Department of State convened the conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement, and Resilience (GLACIER). The event brought more than 400 participants to Anchorage, Alaska to discuss climate change resilience and other key issues.
– More: https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/oes/glacier/index.htm
The United States, as the Chair of the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna working group from 2017 - 2019, hosted 11 international working group meetings in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Bethel from 2017 through February 2019.
– More: https://www.caff.is/
During the two-year U.S. chairmanship of the Arctic Council (2015-2017), Alaska hosted 18 international working group meetings in Anchorage, Nome, Fairbanks, and other locations throughout the state. Fairbanks served as the site of the May 2017 Ministerial, which hosted the Foreign Ministers of the eight Arctic States, the six Permanent Participant indigenous groups of the Arctic Council and their delegations.
– More: https://2017-2021.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/opa/arc/uschair/
Participation by the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) and the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) helped Alaska reap economic benefits of the halibut and salmon commercial fisheries worth more than $760 million in dockside landed value in 2017. Additional economic impact from activity along the value chain, as well as substantial economic activity in the sport and recreational fishing sector grow that economic benefit exponentially. The National Marine Fisheries Service estimated that at least 53,000 Alaskan jobs were involved in Alaska’s commercial fisheries industry in 2015. The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) estimates that commercial and recreational salmon fisheries alone support more than 6,500 full time Alaskan jobs. These organizations ensure both the maintenance of sustainable populations of fish and harvest opportunities by U.S. stakeholders.
– More: https://2017-2021.state.gov/e/oes/ocns/fish/bilateral/index.html
The 2020 International Pacific Halibut Commission (IHPC) Annual Meeting will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, an event that will bring several hundred stakeholders from the United States and Canada to Alaska for the week-long meeting.
– More: https://iphc.int/
The Thomas R. Pickering and Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Programs encourage applications from minority groups historically underrepresented in the U.S. Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Each fellowship provides financial assistance towards the completion of a two year master’s degree in a field related to the Foreign Service, academic funding, mentorship and two internships – one in the U.S. and the other abroad at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Fellows commit to a minimum of five years in the Foreign Service. Currently, there are 3 active participants from the state of Alaska.
– More: http://www.global.howard.edu/ralph-j-bunche/fellowship/
Education
Bureau of Global Talent Management
Diplomat-in-Residence (Dorothy Ngutter): Diplomats in Residence (DIRs) are career Foreign Service Officers or Specialists located throughout the U.S. who provide guidance and advice to students, professionals and the community about Department careers.
– More: https://careers.state.gov/connect/dir/
1 Scholar, Student or Teachers from Alaska was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and 2 international student received a Fulbright to study in Alaska.
– More: https://eca.state.gov/fulbright
