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Arctic Biodiversity Dashboard
User Requirements Guide
December 2021

This User Requirements Guide summarizes the key recommendations from the User Panel and CAFF Board and Secretariat and, in many cases, proposed solutions to these recommendations. This will guide further sequenced development of the Arctic Biodiversity Dashboard over the next two years.

As a first step to improve our knowledge and understanding of the extent and coverage of Arctic wetlands a series of raster images were developed which combine existing data to provide overview maps (10 km pixels). These data are combined to displays mineral wetlands, peatlands, and the extent of permafrost per pixel. These data can be used at broad scales to illustrate or analyze patterns of wetland extent north of 60° latitude

Authors: Gustaf Hugelius and Tom Barry -  November 2021

Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program: Marine Implementation Plan 2021-2024
September 2021

CBMP-Marine is one of four CBMP working groups under CAFF and is led by a rotating co-chairship. The CBMPMarineCBMP-Marine is one of four CBMP working groups under CAFF and is led by a rotating co-chairship. The CBMP Mariners are organized with six Expert Networks and work is also independently undertaken by these groups. This enhances cooperation and generates valuable products. Participants in the CBMP-Marine Steering Group and CBMPMarineExpert Networks (ENs) are included in Appendix A.

CAFF and PAME are leading an initiatice to provide an overview of the current range and understanding of international and national criteria used for identification of OECMs in the Arctic. This will also facilitate an exchange of information among the Arctic Council members on the range of information and application of OECMs.

ARCTIC COASTAL
Ccumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program
2021 June

Arctic coastal systems are among the most rapidly changing ecosystemsArctic coastal systems are among the most rapidly changing ecosystemsin the world. These changes are having important impacts on Arcticcoastal biodiversity and ecosystem processes with resulting effectsincluding on the food security of Arctic coastal communities andIndigenous cultural continuity.

Resilience And Management Of Arctic Wetlands
Phase 2 Report
May 2021
Arctic wetlands store an enormous amount of global carbon, offer crucial support for global biodiversity, and provide important ecosystem services for indigenous and other communities

Marine mammals are highly visible components of Arctic ecosystems that are important to the structure and function of these systems (Estes et al. 2016, Albouy et al. 2020). In addition, they are valuable resources for people living in the Arctic that also play a special role in the cultural identity of people in the North. Arctic marine mammals are all endemic to the Arctic region and hence a unique part of global biodiversity for which the Arctic range states have important stewardship responsibilities. In an ecosystem monitoring context, these large, mobile predators can serve as ecosystem sentinels, because they integrate changes at more cryptic levels of food webs, making them ideal monitoring subjects that have “added value” (Bossart 2006, Moore 2008, Sergio et al. 2008, Hays et al. 2019, Hazen et al. 2019, Stenson et al. 2020a).

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report Chapter 4: State of Arctic Terrestrial Biodiveristy Monitoring

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Chapter 3.7: Ecosystem-based Monitoring and Reporting

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report Chapter 3.6 Land Cover Change

Authors Tom Barry and Liza K. Jenkins

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report Chapter 3.5: Rare species

Lead Author: Mora Aronsson,

Contributing authors: Bruce Bennett, Casey T. Burns, Starri Heiðmarsson and Mikhail Soloviev.

Progress Report
tMay 2021

At the 2015 Arctic Ministerial in Iqaluit, the Arctic Council Working Group, the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) presented the Actions for Arctic Biodiversity 2013-2021: implementing the recommendations of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (Actions for Biodiversity). This Actions for Biodiversity guides how the Arctic Council addresses biodiversity issues and describes actions to be undertaken in response to the findings of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA).

Workplan 2021-2023
The following work plan outlines the projects and activities CAFF plans to undertake for the 2021-2023 Russian Federation’s Arctic Council Chairmanship. It may be amended by the CAFF Board according to new opportunities and priorities. CAFF’s mandate and associated activities are integral to the success of Russia’s Chairmanship priorities.

Working with Indigenous Communities on Migratory Birds - case studies of relevance to the Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI). 

MAY 2021

 This mid term evaluation provides a summary of 2019-2020 activities and advice for implementation for the Arctic Migratory Birds Intiative (AMBI).

MAY 2021

Revised after mid-term evaluation January 2021.

Note: This document provides a list of objectives and actions that have been revised after the 2019-2020 AMBI Mid-term evaluation. Actions were revised to offer better clarity and provide opportunities for changing context and increasedopportunity for implementation.

This document is intended to be an accompanying document to the original Work Plan 2019-2025, which contains more information and context for AMBI activities.

MAY 2021

In 2017, the State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report (SAMBR) synthesized data about biodiversity in Arctic marine ecosystems around the circumpolar Arctic. SAMBR highlighted observed changes and relevant monitoring gaps. This document provides an update on the status of marine mammals in the circumpolar Arctic from 2015– 2020 (scientific references for factual information and a more detailed version of the text herein can be found in Kovacs et al. 2021).

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Reprot Chapter 3.4: Mammals

Lead authors: James Lawler, Christine Cuyler, Douglas MacNearney.

Contributing authors: Dominique Berteaux, Dorothee Ehrich, Anne Gunn, Jan Rowell, Don Russel, Niels Martin Schmidt

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report Chapter 3.3: Birds

Lead authors: Knud Falk, Paul A. Smith, Casey T. Burns

Contributing Authors: Anthony D. Fox, Alastair Franke, Eva Fuglei, Karl O. Jacobsen, Richard B. Lanctot, James O. Leafloor, Laura McKinnon, Hans Meltofte, Adam C. Smith, Mikhail Soloviev, Aleksandr A. Sokolov.

State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report: Chapter 3.2 Arthropods

Authors: Stephen J. Coulson, Mark A.K. Gillespie and Toke T. Høye

STate of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report Chapter 3.1: Vegetation

Lead authors: Virve Ravolainen, Anne D. Bjorkman

Contributing authors: Donald Walker, Howard Epstein, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub

The State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report(START) is a product of the Circumpolar BiodiversityMonitoring Program (CBMP) Terrestrial Group of the arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna(CAFF) Working Group. The START assesses the status and trends of terrestrial Focal Ecosystem Components(FECs)—including vegetation, arthropods, birds, and mammals—across the Arctic, identify gaps in monitoring coverage towards implementation of the CBMP’s ArcticTerrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan; and provides key findings and advice for monitoring. The START is based upon primarily published data, from a special issue of Ambio containing 13 articles by more than 180 scientists.

PHASE 2 REPORT
May 2021

Arctic wetlands are globally important as wildlife habitats and migration pathways, and through the role they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, biodiversity, carbon storage and other ecosystem services

Update Seabirds
Circumpolar Seabird Expert Group (CBird)
CBMP-Marine

In 2017, the State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Report (SAMBR) synthesized data about biodiversity in Arctic marine ecosystems around the circumpolar Arctic. SAMBR highlighted observed changes and relevant monitoring gaps using data compiled through 2015 (CAFF 2017). This document provides an update on the status of seabirds in the circumpolar Arctic using data from 2016–2019.

Brünnich’s guillemot is an abundant pan-Arctic seabird, but several Atlantic breeding populations are declining by up to 6% per year. They are subject to traditional hunting in the wintering areas off west Greenland and Newfoundland, as well as chronic oil pollution in eastern Canada. Until recently, poor knowledge of the winter distribution has limited the possibility to assess the impact of these mortality sources on specific breeding populations.

This document outlines the need for youth engagement and why it is valuable; it also addresses some key considerations and possible opportunities that CAFF should take into account as it implements future work. This strategy is directed to the CAFF Management Board and the broader Working Group and was developed with direct input from youth leaders who served as key advisers in developing this document. While youth can be defined across a broad spectrum of ages, CAFF has historically focused its work on three sub-groups including:

• School-aged children between 5 and 17
• University / early-career youth between 18 and 25
• Post docs and other early-career experts between 23 and 35

Comprehensive biodiversity data can inform decision- and policy-making. While many such data already exist, the challenge lies in finding, accessing, and making sense of existing, but dispersed pieces of data. Data are not always encoded in accordance with international data standards and best practices and often lack the necessary contextual metadata required to correctly apply and interpret it. Accessing Arctic biodiversity data from a range of sources and in variable formats can require a lot of effort from users to gather and assemble information.

The project goal is to provide guidance for the incorporation of biodiversity objectives and provisions into plans, operations, and other aspects of mining activities in the Arctic.

CAFF addresses the conservation of Arctic biodiversity and communicates its findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, helping to promote practices which ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources.

The Arctic SDI is the collaborative initiative of the National Mapping Agencies of the eight Arctic nations (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the USA) with a goal to promote partner-based development of an Arctic spatial data infrastructure. The Arctic SDI has been endorsed by the Arctic Council Senior Arctic Officials since November 2009 and is part of the general scientific and technical collaboration among the Arctic nations.

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is the biodiversity monitoring program of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council.
The overall goal of the CBMP is to facilitate more rapid detection, understanding, prediction, communication, and response to the significant biodiversity-related trends and pressures in the Arctic. CBMP does this by:

• Standardizing, coordinating, and enhancing existing Arctic monitoring efforts;
• Collecting and harmonizing relevant biodiversity data, including increasing data accessibility, thereby improving the ability to detect and understand significant trends; and,
• Reporting to, and communicating with, key decision makers and stakeholders, thereby enabling effective conservation and adaptation responses to changes in Arctic biodiversity.

The State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report (START) is a product of the Circumpolar Biodiversity MonitoringThe State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report (START) is a product of the Circumpolar Biodiversity MonitoringProgram (CBMP) Terrestrial Group of the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group.The overall goal of the START is to assess the status and trends of terrestrial Focal Ecosystem Components (FECs)—including species of vegetation, arthropods, birds and mammals—across the Arctic, and identify gaps in monitoringcoverage towards implementation of the CBMP’s Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan (CBMP Terrestrial Plan).This report is a summary of key findings and advice for monitoring based on the START.

北極渡り鳥イニシアティブ（AMBI）は、北極評議会の生物多様性作業部会である北極圏植物相・動物相保存作業部会（CAFF）のプロジェクトである。AMBI は、減少しつつある北極圏で繁殖する渡り鳥の保全状況を改善し、長期にわたって確実に持続可能となることを目指して策定された。AMBI は人々が共有する天然資源・文化財保全を通じて、渡り鳥が生計と精神の源であるような社会にとってもプラスの影響を与えることができるであろう。

2013 年の北極生物多様性評価によると、北極圏の多くの移動性の種、特に東アジア・オーストラリア地域のフライウェイを使う渡り鳥が、北極圏の外で、乱獲や生息地の改変という脅威にさらされている。

AMBI は、北極生物多様性評価の勧告8「広範囲に渡る移動性種の越冬地及び中継地並びにフライウェイとその他の渡り経路において、多くの渡り性の種の生息地の劣化や乱獲などの脅威を軽減する」の実施を提案している。

AMBI では、次の4つのフライウェイでの活動を計画している。

• アフリカ・ユーラシア地域フライウェイ
• 南北アメリカ地域フライウェイ
• 周極地域フライウェイ
• 東アジア・オーストラリア地域フライウェイ及び中央アジア地域フライウェイ

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is the Arctic biodiversity monitoring program of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council. Through their network of scientists, Indigenous Knowledge holders, Indigenous organizations, and conservation groups, the CBMP coordinates, collects and synthesizes existing monitoring data from the Arctic States. The reports produced by CAFF-CBMP are designed to assist policy- and decision-making at the global, national, regional and local levels. The CBMP thereby plays a key role in supporting CAFF’s mandate to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, communicate findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, and promote practices that ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources. CBMP-Coastal is one of four CBMP working groups under CAFF and is chaired by Canada and the U.S.

Plastic ingestion by seabirds in the circumpolar Arctic: A review

January 2021

Review of plastic pollution policies of Arctic countries in relation to seabirds

January 2021

Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region.

January 2021

In 2013, CAFF produced the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA). This assessment identified the primary factors impacting biodiversity across the Arctic and included recommendations to policy makers on how to address those stressors. One of the stressors is development, including resource extraction. Recommendation #4 of the ABA encourages all those working on development activities in the Arctic to incorporate biodiversity considerations in their planning and operations.

CBird addresses and coordinates work onCBird addresses and coordinates work onproblems related to seabird studies andconservation which are nationally relevant inRussia.

CBird listed Icelandic monitoring programs inCBird listed Icelandic monitoring programs inthe Circumpolar Seabird Monitoring Plan. TheSeabird Information Network by Cbird/CAFFprovides an international platform and contextfor the publication of Icelandic results.

CBird background processes, e.g. AMBI andCBird background processes, e.g. AMBI andCBMP Marine, are important also in nationalwork, and CAFF facilitates disseminationof information about population changes,monitoring and conservation. Synergiescould be obtained as to seabird monitoringthat feeds into e.g. HELCOM and EUreportings.

More in the report.

The UK’s involvement in the CAFF CBIRD expert The UK’s involvement in the CAFF CBIRD expertgroup is driven by the following priorities:

Based on its Arctic Policy, Japan aims to make fullBased on its Arctic Policy, Japan aims to make fulluse of its strength in science and technology andpromote Arctic Research to contribute to policydecision making and problem solving. Scientificinput and partnership via strengthened researchand projects such as the Arctic Challenge forSustainability Project (ArCS) with CBird activitiesunder CAFF is an excellent opportunity for us tocontribute as an observer country to the ArcticCouncil.

The national priorities in the Faroes are to preserve the nature at the same time as some species are exploited for food and leisure time activities.

Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative, Americas Work Plan, Revised 2021

Note: This document provides a list of objectives and actions that have been revised after the 2019-2020 AMBI Mid-term evaluation. Actions were revised to offer better clarity and provide opportunities for changing context and increased pportunity for implementation. This document is intended to be an accompanying document to the original Work Plan, which contains more information and context for AMBI activities.

Iniciativa de Aves Migratorias del Ártico – Plan de Trabajo Revisado de la Ruta Migratoria de las Américas 2019-2023 

Nota: Este documento presenta una lista de objetivos y acciones que han sido revisados tras la evaluación de medio término de AMBI en 2020-2021. Las acciones fueron revisadas para ofrecer una mejor claridad, brindar oportunidades de cambio de contexto y mayor oportunidad de implementación. Este documento pretende ser un documento de acompañamiento del Plan de Trabajo original, que contiene más información y contexto para las actividades de AMBI.

Under AMBI Circumpolar Flyway Work Plan objective 4, action 1, this project, Plastic pollution and seabirds, is focused onUnder AMBI Circumpolar Flyway Work Plan objective 4, action 1, this project, Plastic pollution and seabirds, is focused onsupporting work that will increase our understanding and ability to respond accordingly to the distribution and effects ofplastic pollution on Arctic seabirds and seaducks.

The black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla, hereafter kittiwake) is a small pelagic seabird and is the most numerous gull species in the world. It has a circumpolar distribution, and breeds in the arctic and boreal zones of the Northern Hemisphere. It’s breeding distribution is widespread and ranges across the North Atlantic from the west coast to the Barents Sea, including Arctic Canada, Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, mainland Norway, Svalbard, Murman Coast, Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. In the Pacific, the kittiwake breeds in the Russian Far East and Alaska, USA. The kittiwake spends most of the non-breeding period offshore. Most of those breeding in the North Atlantic spend the winter in the North-West Atlantic, over the shelf, slope and deep waters off Newfoundland and Labrador and south of Greenland, whereas the Pacific birds stay in cool, productive waters north of the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone.

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) organizes its efforts around the major ecosystems of the Arctic: marine, freshwater, terrestrial, and coastal. For each ecosystem, a monitoring plan has been approved by the Arctic Councils' Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group's management board and are in implementation. The CAFF board is composed of national representatives of the eight Arctic States and Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council. The marine group and the freshwater group have published their state of the Arctic reports and the terrestrial group is expected to release their report in 2020 with the coastal to follow in the coming years. The state of the Arctic reports are assessments of their relative ecosystem, state of monitoring and provide recommendations on moving forward. The CBMP has developed a Strategic Plan (2018-2021). The CBMP Strategic Plan has the goal of keeping CBMP relevant and sustainable in the future and follows recommendations and implementation actions from the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) report (Christensen et al. 2018).

The Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan (2011) is an agreement among Arctic States to compile, harmonize and compare results from existing Arctic marine biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring efforts across the Arctic region. This work is coordinated under the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) of the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group. The CBMP is a network of scientists and traditional knowledge holders from governments, Indigenous organizations, academic institutions, and conservation groups that monitor the Arctic’s living resources.

During 2019, CAFF published the State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report (Lento et al. 2019), as well as an excerpt of the full report that focused on key findings and advice for monitoring (CAFF 2019). These reports provide the circumpolar, scientific analyses of the changes in Arctic landscapes and their lakes and rivers, and summarize key findings for decision- makers, respectively. Another major product of CBMP-Freshwater was the compilation of the freshwater database, containing all the data that had been collected and harmonized, and that underlie the analyses in the full State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report. At this stage it is timely for CBMP-Freshwater to look ahead and plan for the future. Therefore, this report details the work plan for CBMP-Freshwater for the years 2020–2024.

A North Atlantic study of seabird bycatch in lumpsucker gillnet fisheries

Christensen-Dalsgaard, S., Anker-Nilssen, T., Crawford, R., Bond, A., Sigurðsson, G.M., Glemarec, G., Hansen,Christensen-Dalsgaard, S., Anker-Nilssen, T., Crawford, R., Bond, A., Sigurðsson, G.M., Glemarec, G., Hansen,E.S., Kadin, M., Kindt-Larsen, L., Mallory, M., Merkel, F.R., Petersen, A., Provencher, J., Bærum, K.M. 2019. What’sthe catch with lumpsuckers? A North Atlantic study of seabird bycatch in lumpsucker gillnet fisheries. BiologicalConservation: Volume 240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108278

Morten Frederiksen, Jannie F. Linnebjerg, Flemming R. Merkel, Sabina I. Wilhelm & Gregory J. Robertson (2019).Morten Frederiksen, Jannie F. Linnebjerg, Flemming R. Merkel, Sabina I. Wilhelm & Gregory J. Robertson (2019).Quantifying the relative impact of hunting and oiling on Brünnich’s guillemots in the Nothwest Atlantic. PolarResearch 38: 3378. Doi: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v38.3378

Arctic FIRE led by the Gwich'in Council International aims to improve the understanding of fire ecology, the impacts in Arctic States and to communities represented by the Permanent Participants, and to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildland fire. The project seeks to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Arctic flora and fauna by mapping annual acreage burned, and developing an annual digital Arctic Fire Monitoring Journal that includes relevant Arctic fire ecology and fire-related Indigenous Knowledge research, and to evaluate the impacts of wildland fires on Arctic ecosystems, air quality, and climate change.

The Arctic Wetlands and Indigenous Peoples Study (AWIPS) is part the Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands Initiative (RMAWI), a project led by the Swedish Ministry of the Environment and Energy and the Stockholm Environment Institute through the Arctic Council´s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group on biodiversity. AWIPS aims to capture the fundamental role Indigenous Peoples play in biodiversity conservation through engagement in Arctic wetland protected areas management.

The Circumpolar Seabird Monitoring Plan (Irons et al. 2015; CAFF Monitoring Report No. 17) included the USA seabird monitoring sites and actions, which are primarily implemented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In turn, the USFWS, through collaboration with other CBird members, refined their monitoring scheme to facilitate comparisons across circumpolar regions, with a focus on three key Focal Ecosystem Components - thick-billed murres, common murres, and black-legged kittiwakes.

The UK's involvement in the CAFF CBIRD group is driven by the following priorities:

our UK Arctic Policy Framework which has a commitment to help understand and protect the Arctic environment and is based on the principle of respect for the sovereign rights of the Arctic States, the indigenous peoples and others who live there, and for the Arctic environment;

our implementation of multi-lateral environmental agreements which are relevant to the Arctic (AEWA, CBD, CITES and others) including related targets such as the Aichi targets;

our desire to cooperate in the conservation of migratory wildlife we share with the Arctic; and,

our willingness to share the data we gather, whether from the UK or elsewhere, on such shared wildlife.

CBird addresses and coordinates work on issues related to seabird management and research that are very relevant for seabird research and management at the national level in Norway. Issues of particular relevance for Norway are international status assessments (e.g. SAMBR), species-specific conservation strategies and action plans (eiders, guillemots, ivory gull), assessments of seabird harvest and bycatch of seabirds in fisheries, and the development of a joint seabird monitoring programme for the circumpolar Arctic.

CBird helps putting the national work into a larger context and facilitates contact between scientist and managers in the Arctic countries.

Based on its Arctic Policy, Japan aims to make full use of its strength in science and technology and promote Arctic Research to contribute to policy decision making and problem solving.

Avian monitoring status and species prioritization were compiled in a report by Guðmundsson & Skarphéðinsson (2012).

CBird listed the current Icelandic seabird monitoring programs in the Circumpolar Seabird Monitoring Plan (Irons et al. 2015, CAFF Monitoring Report No.17).

A national priority for Greenland is to balance the preservation of wildlife while still allowing human exploitation on some of the same resources. Among the seabirds, several important havested species are shared with other Arctic countries, implying that the responsibility to secure a sustainable harvest is also shared between countries.

The French National Roadmap for the Arctic defines the protection of the marine environment as well as research and scientific cooperation as two of the French policy priorities in the Arctic and is thereby in agreement with CBird objectives. CBird objectives are also compatible with research work carried on seabirds by teams funded by the French Polar Institute and the CNRS. Research works are operated in Svalbard, Greenland, Norway and built-up collaboration with Arctic nations. These activities are also in line with the French Arctic Initiative work plan exposing the main axes of research to be explored by the French scientific community in order to further understand the major issues affecting the Arctic.

CBird background processes, e.g. AMBI, are important also in national work. In addition, significant synergies could be obtained as to seabird monitoring that nationally feed into e.g. HELCOM and EU reportings. While the Baltic Sea falls outside many Arctic sea area delineations, it hosts several CBird target species, many of which also are among national priorities.

The national priorities in the Faroes are to preserve the nature at the same time as some species are exploited for food and leisuretime activities. However, to do this properly in a sustainable way, regarding seabirds, we need much more information about the different seabird populations, for example their sizes, fluctuations and breeding biology. Most of the information is from the island Skúvoy, which is in the middle of the Faroe Islands, and the results about fluctuations in the guillemots, kittiwakes and fulmars are from a study area (figure 1) on this island. Now that tourism is rapidly increasing and boat trips to the seabird cliffs and hiking trips through seabird colonies are among the most attractive leisure-time activities it is a challenge to implement rules to minimize disturbance caused by these activities.

The CBird North Atlantic Murre Harvest Model will inform assessment and development of national and international harvest management strategies for declining populations of thick-billed murre. Ensuring sustainable harvest levels aligns with Environment and Climate Change Canada's mandate, the goals of AMBI, and the CBird Strategy and Action Plan for Murres.

CAFF Monitoring Series Report nr. 31. August 2019

The Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan approved by the Foreign Ministers of the Arctic Council in May 2019 is an agreement across Arctic States to compile, harmonize and assess results from existing coastal biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring efforts, and to design a long term plan to comprehensively monitor and report change in Arctic coastal ecosystems.

Integrating Activities for Advanced Communities
D7.2- DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE Rif FIELD STATION

Project No.730938 INTERACT

Rif Field Station Ecosystem MonitoringRif Field Station Ecosystem MonitoringFreshwater and Terrestrial Monitoring Plan
May 2018

Developed with the direction of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) as part of INTERACT Work Package 7

Work Package 7: Improving and harmonizing biodiversity monitoring International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT)
Aarhus University, Copenhagen, April 25-26, 2018

Work Package 7: Improving and harmonizing biodiversity monitoring International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT)
Raufarhöfn, June 11-12, 2019

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme (CBMP) plays a key role in supporting CAFFs mandate to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, communicate findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, and help to promote practices that ensure the sustainability of the Arctics living resources.

The Actions for Arctic Biodiversity, 2013-2021 (Action Plan) comprises the implementation plan for the ABA recommendations. It is a living document that is reviewed and updated every two years. The plan is not meant to be exhaustive or to replace working group work plans; rather it is complimentary, emphasizing specific actions that address ABA recommendations.

A 2019 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the United States.

A 2019 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Norway.

A 2019 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Iceland.

A 2019 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

A 2019 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Greenland.

An Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA) and an Arctic Vegetation Classification (AVC) are needed to support several of the biodiversity activities of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and circumpolar activities of the International Arctic Science Committees Terrestrial Working Group (IASC TWG). Activities include recording and monitoring arctic plant-community diversity and distributions, wildlife habitat studies, and modelling the changes in the structure and function of the vegetation as the arctic climate changes.

This crosswalk analysis compares AMBI programme objectives and actions with those identified in complementary migratory bird agreements, conservation plans, environmental cooperation frameworks, and development agreements in the East Asian-Australasian flyway region.

This crosswalk analysis compares AMBIprogramme objectives and actions with those identified in complementary migratory bird agreements, conservation plans, environmental cooperation frameworks, and development agreements in the African-Eurasian flyway region.

The Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative African-Eurasian Flyway Workplan 2019-2023 available in English, French (Français), Portuguese (Português), and Spanish (Español). 

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Report, references

State of Arctic Biodiversity Freshwater Biodiversity Report, state of Arctic freshwater biodiveristy Monitoring chapter

State of Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, freshwater biodiversity synthesis chapter.

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, fish chapter

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, benthic macroinvertebrates chapter.

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, zooplankton chapter

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, macrophytes chapter

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, plankton chapter

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report, Algae from benthic samples chapter.

State of Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report Status and trends chapter containing algae, plankton, macrophytes, zooplankton, benthic macroinvertebrate, and fish.

State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report: drivers of change in Arctic freshwaters chapter

Introduction to the State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report.

Executive Summary of the State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report

Acknowledgements for the State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report.

The Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan (Coastal Monitoring Plan) is the fourth and final circumpolar biodiversity monitoring plan to be completed under the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). The Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan is a long-term, integrated, multi-disciplinary, circumpolar plan that relies on science and Traditional Knowledge to monitor changes occuring in Arctic coastal biodiveristy and has direct and relevant application for communities, industry, governments, and other users.

This document provides an update on activities pertaining to the Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, May 2019.

A progress on CAFF's activities to implement the Actions for Arctic Biodiversity during 2017-2019.

Progress report on CAFF's activities on the Arctic Biodiversity Data Service (ABDS) 2017-2019.