The conference, unfolding under the chairmanship of current European Union president France, will gather countries of the 27-nation EU, as well as Norway, Iceland, Monaco and representatives from Greenland, a Danish territory.

Invitations have also gone out to non-European members of the Arctic Council -- Canada, Russia and the United States -- and to representatives from China, India, Japan and South Korea which have scientific activities in the region, the sources said.

Sunday's talks will unfold among experts, who will draw up an inventory of environment research in the Arctic and discuss creating a network of observational stations.

Monday's meeting, at the level of ministers or their stand-ins, will debate the experts' recommendations.

The Arctic has become identified by scientists as a region of extreme environmental fragility.

Disappearing sea ice, triggered by global warming, poses a threat to polar bears and other wildlife as well as to local people who hunt on the ice and live on its edge.

Countries on the Arctic rim have also started jockeying for claims to the Arctic's seabed, which is also believed to be rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, and to sealane rights that have opened up as result of ice loss.

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