the following 10 years. It was approved by the Council in April 2015 at a meeting in Iqaluit, Canada. The plan called for: The furthering of knowledge relating to the Arctic marine environment and the continuation of the domain's monitoring and assessment structures, The conservation of ecosystem function and encouragement of marine biodiversity, Sustainable employment of the marine environment, centred around cumulative environmental impacts and The enhancement of 'economic, social and cultural well-being of Arctic inhabitants', including the Arctic's indigenous population and the strengthening of their capacity to adapt to ongoing changes in the Arctic marine environment. The second Arctic Maritime Strategic Plan was accompanied by two plans to strengthen its progress; the Implementation Plan and Communication Plan. The former was intended to provide the council with an increasingly structured approach to achieving the Working Group's goals, as well as providing guidelines against which progress could be appraised. The latter intended to facilitate communication and understanding to ensure their fulfilment. PAME works in partnership with The Arctic Council's five additional working groups to construct its strategic plans and suggest mechanisms for their implementation. The five additional working groups of the Arctic Council are: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Conservation of Arctic Flora & Fauna (CAFF) Emergency Prevention, Preparedness & Response (EPPR) Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP) Arctic shipping In 2009, the working group released a major report on Arctic marine shipping, the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment, which analyses current and predicted trends in Arctic transport. PAME was tasked to conduct this research after the 2004 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment concluded that 'Reduced sea ice is very likely to increase marine transport and access to resources'. PAME particularly identifies proliferations in marine tourism and transport supporting the exploration and extraction of marine resources as potential catalysts of environmental degradation in the absence of rigorous monitoring. Maritime pollution A key role of PAME relates itself to the proliferation of Arctic maritime contamination and pollution, stemming from both off-shore and on-shore activities. As of May 2020, PAME is the process of developing a regional action plan on Marine litter in the Arctic, as an extension of a preliminary study on Arctic marine litter and micro-plastics which was carried out between 2017 and 2019. The group's focus on Arctic maritime pollution can be identified in its 1998 Regional Programme of Action for the Protection of the Arctic Marine