| Project |
Type |
# |
Outcome |
Report |
Year |
FEC |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 10 | Substantial and rapid benefits for ecosystem
services such as climate stability, biodiversity
conservation and hydrological systems could
be gained through restoration of drained or
degraded Arctic peatlands. Degraded wetlands
exist in all Arctic states and are particularly
common in Boreal regions where extensive
drainage for forestry, mining or peat extraction
has occurred, or in Tundra where vulnerable
permafrost wetlands have been degraded by
unsustainable human land-use. Re-wetting of
artificially drained or restoration of damaged
wetlands could lead to substantial increases
in natural carbon sink capacities. To achieve
long-term success, restoration efforts should
be planned together with conservation of
undamaged systems as part of a landscape scale
approach to sustainable management. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 11 | Coordinated transboundary management of
wetlands is needed, but different national
systems for wetland classification challenge such
efforts. There are crucial differences between
wetland classification systems. A uniform system
for comparing and harmonizing existing Arctic
wetland classifications would help to better plan
wetland actions that span borders, traditions, and
cultures. New developments should consider the
value and legacy associated with existing national
classification systems and Indigenous Knowledge
and Local Knowledge of wetland areas.
Development of new classification systems, maps
and databases should ensure that legacy data
remains useful, allow for conversion between
systems and link to Indigenous Knowledge and
use of wetlands. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 12 | There is a need for new pan-Arctic wetland maps
based on a uniform approach, thus ensuring
comparable accuracy and data quality across the
full Arctic domain. Such mapping efforts should
ideally train and validate algorithms using
existing national wetland inventories, relevant
institutional data, inclusive of Indigenous
Knowledge and/or input from Arctic communities.
Maps are needed that show the spatial extent of
discrete wetland complexes at high resolution and
should separate mineral wetlands from organic
wetlands (peatlands). On the shorter term, new
maps of wetland extent will be bound to one
specific classification system; it is not possible to
address the diversity of existing systems. Over
the longer term, boundaries between maps and
monitoring dissolve. Spatial wetland data can
be stored in spatial databases that allow flexible
adaptation to different classification systems. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 13 | There are numerous models for providing
financial support to conservation or restoration of
wetlands. Each of the Arctic states has developed
ways to provide financial support for wetlands
conservation and restoration efforts. While some
of the particular strengths and benefits of each
set of policies, program or model are country
context-specific, many lessons are generalizable
and therefore useful for expanding collaboration
across the Arctic states. A systematic review
of these national-level restoration financing
initiatives would provide valuable insights into
development of effective tools. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 1 | Encourage Arctic cooperation to amplify efforts
to reduce fossil fuel emissions both inside and
outside the Arctic. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 2 | Actively support efforts to maintain or strengthen
natural ecosystem capacity for climate change
mitigation, primarily through conservation
and restoration measures in Arctic and Boreal
wetlands. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 3 | Initiate collaboration between Arctic states,
Indigenous Peoples organisations and relevant
stakeholders to harmonize how climate and
biodiversity benefits reached through wetland management and restoration efforts are
reported to international conventions on climate
mitigation and biodiversity. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 4 | Develop pan-Arctic inventory of protected
wetlands and completed, ongoing or planned
restoration projects, Indigenous led and
partnership projects, with country cases
contributed by each Arctic State and with the list
to be managed by CAFF. Such cases can serve as
pilot and demonstration projects for other rapid
action. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 5 | Use short-lists of known northern wetland sites
in need of protection, conservation or restoration
to support national-level action plans. Such
actions should be targeted to the most promising
sites, including those that may be located outside
the Arctic. Wetland protection, conservation and
restoration would be more effective if done in
direct collaboration with Indigenous Peoples,
Local Communities and/or stakeholders and
applied at the landscape level. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 6 | Develop a uniform inventory of degraded Arctic
wetlands with potential for restoration. Many
candidate sites for restoration are known, but
the exact extent and location of other damaged
or degraded wetland systems remains poorly
known. Encourage Arctic states to identify data
gaps where wetland extent and condition are
unknown and can be prioritized for inventory. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 7 | Inventory and review existing national policies
relating to wetlands with an eye on using a
watershed approach and identifying conflicting
or inconsistent goals, overlapping or unclear
responsibility among governmental departments
and entities, and gaps in communication.
Identifying and addressing these issues would
enable more effective governance of wetlands
and balancing conservation and Indigenous
and other user needs to achieve more effective
stewardship. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 8 | Ensure that national conservation or development
plans that impact wetlands meaningfully engage
Arctic communities, Indigenous Peoples, and
stakeholders to consider the broader landscape
impacts of changes to wetlands, including
developments that may affect wetlands within
river basins. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 9 | Wetland policy should recognize the legacy and future importance of Indigenous Peoples’ stewardship and the need for collaborative, integrated management of Arctic wetlands. As outlined in the Arctic Wetlands and Indigenous Peoples Study, develop pilot studies on comanagement practices to support meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in future Arctic wetlands projects, and encourage indigenous participation in developing wetlands inventories covering traditional use areas. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 10 | Develop and share between Arctic states outreach
and communication strategies and tools to explain
the values of wetlands, the threats to wetlands
and provide examples of wetland restoration
success stories. Material for the full Arctic region
could be complemented with materials specific
to knowledge from different geographic regions,
communities, and Indigenous Peoples. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 11 | Support research on how public opinion,
in national, regional, local, and Indigenous
communities as well as societal interests’ policy
and advocacy networks affect development
and implementation of Arctic wetlands policy,
restoration efforts, and management. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 12 | Strengthen wetland resilience through supporting
meaningful engagement of Indigenous
Peoples and/or Local Communities in wetlands
inventories, and management plans. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 13 | Develop a tool for translating between existing
national and international wetland classifications
systems, identify where there is presently no
way to translate between systems and explore
potential benefits of developing unified Arctic
and Boreal wetland classification systems. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 14 | Support development of wetland classification
systems and maps specific to different Arctic
Indigenous Peoples based on the words and
terms traditionally used to describe wetland
types, properties, and functions. Such maps
would support wetland stewardship and
facilitate communication of their value locally
and to policy makers. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 15 | Support the ongoing work with the Arctic SDI to
develop a pan-Arctic wetland map making use
of modern remote sensing and data processing
methods but supported by existing national and
local data and inventories. Work with individual
nations on a plan for incorporating this product
into their national systems. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 16 | Support long-term development of open access
spatial databases for wetland data that
allow interactive use, application of different
classification systems and on-the-fly wetland
map production. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
Arctic Council Working Group