All Monitoring Documents

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.The 

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

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.

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

The State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report (SAFBR), is a product of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) Freshwater Group of the Arctic Councils Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group. The SAFBR provides a synthesis of the state of knowledge about biodiversity in Arctic freshwater ecosystems (e.g., lakes, rivers, and associated wetlands), identifying detectable changes and important gaps in our ability to assess biodiversity across a number of Focal Ecosystem Components (FECs; see Box 1): fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, planktonic algae, diatoms (algae), and macrophytes. The overall goal of the SAFBR is to assess the current status and trends of freshwater biodiversity of FECs across the Arctic on a circumpolar scale.

This is the workshop report for the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program Coastal Expert Monitoring Group and Nordic Workshop, Tromsø, Norway, January 9-10, 2018.

The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program's (CBMP) Strategic Plan is intended to explain the overarching goals of the CBMP for the period 2018-2021, and to outline actions to deliver on those goals. It will guide the management of the program and help ensure the programs continued relevance to the needs of the Arctic States, Permanent Participants, scientific and Arctic communities, and other partners.

Proceedings report of the Coastal Expert Monitoring Group's expert workshop in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A., October 11-13, 2017.

This report describes the progress over the past year to implement the CBMP Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan and the workplan for the year ahead.

Marine Fishes of the Arctic Region is intended for all who do research in and monitoring of marine eco­systems in the Arctic. It presents accounts for 205 species with maps of global distribution and descriptions of morphology and habitat, as well as a photographic identification guide. Information on 24 other species present only in the fringes of the Arctic Region or taxonomically problematic is given in the introductions to the fish families. As the Arctic continues to warm, more cold-temperate species are expected to enter the region and the distribution of true Arctic species will likely retract as the area of ice-covered cold water shrinks. The maps in this atlas can be used to compare future changes in distributions. The identification guide will be particu­larly helpful for identifying cold-water species, since fewer identification tools are available for this group of fishes. 

Marine Fishes of the Arctic Region is intended for all who do research in and monitoring of marine eco­systems in the Arctic. It presents accounts for 205 species with maps of global distribution and descriptions of morphology and habitat, as well as a photographic identification guide. Information on 24 other species present only in the fringes of the Arctic Region or taxonomically problematic is given in the introductions to the fish families. As the Arctic continues to warm, more cold-temperate species are expected to enter the region and the distribution of true Arctic species will likely retract as the area of ice-covered cold water shrinks. The maps in this atlas can be used to compare future changes in distributions. The identification guide will be particu­larly helpful for identifying cold-water species, since fewer identification tools are available for this group of fishes.

A 2017 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Greenland.

A 2017 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

A 2017 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Norway.

The International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT)
is an EU funded initiative working towards building capacity to help identify, understand,
predict and respond to environmental changes across the Arctic.
INTERACT Work Package (WP) 7 Improving and harmonizing biodiversity monitoring is led
by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Arctic Council Working Group. The
overall goal of WP7 is to test the circumpolar Freshwater and Terrestrial Arctic biodiversity
monitoring plans of CAFFs cornerstone program, the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring
Program (CBMP), at INTERACT stations.
The goal of the CBMP monitoring plans is to harmonize and integrate efforts to monitor the
Arctic's living resources through a network of scientists, governments, Indigenous
organizations, and conservation groups. Through this harmonization and integration, the
monitoring plans facilitate more rapid detection, communication, and response to the
significant pressures affecting the circumpolar world.

This report describes the progress over the past year to implement the CBMP Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

A 2015-2016 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Iceland.

A 2015-2016 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the Kingdom of Denmark.  

A 2015-2016 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada. 

The full proceedings report of the Coastal Expert Monitoring Group's expert workshop in Ottawa, Canada, Feb. 29- March 3, 2016

This report describes the progress towards implementation of the CBMP-Marine Plan in 2016 and a work plan for the coming year.

A 2016 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Sweden. 

A 2016 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the USA. 

A 2015 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Norway.  

A 2015 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Iceland. 

This atlas and guide presents results of the Russian American Long-Term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA) fish investigations conducted by bottom trawl in the Pacific Arctic region northward from Bering Strait. Species accounts provide documentation of the biodiversity and geographic distribution baselines with maps supported by citation of voucher specimens, catch records, and literature; habitat and morphological descriptions; and remarks on taxonomic issues with implications from DNA barcoding. Pages of fish photographs with labeled features are grouped separately in an identification guide. 

The proceedings of the Coastal Expert Monitoring Group's expert workshop in Ottawa, Canada, Feb. 29- March 3, 2016. The following document provides a summary of the workshop activities and outcomes, and will be followed by a more complete Workshop Report.

This report describes the progress over the past year to implement the CBMP Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Norway.

This background paper outlines how the CBMP's Coastal Plan will be created and develops a framework for integrated and cost-effective monitoring of Arctic coastal biodiversity.

A 2015 update on the implementation of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.  

This document summarizes the work of the Bering Sea Sub-Network (BSSN) II project, which provided a means for remote Indigenous villages around the Bering Sea to communicate their observations about the environment and subsistence harvest.

This report summarizes the initial set of satellite data products included in the CAFF Land Cover Change (LCC) Initiative. The LCC Initiative has been developed to harness the potential of remote sensing for use in Arctic biodiversity monitoring and assessment activities. 

A circumpolar plan to monitor seabird populations, created by CAFF's CBird Expert Group as part of the marine component of CAFF's Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program.

This report describes the progress towards implementation of the CBMP-Terrestrial Plan in 2014 and a work plan for the coming year  

This report describes the progress towards implementation of the CBMP-Marine Plan in 2014 and a work plan for the coming year 

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the Kingdom of Denmark.  

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the USA.  

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Sweden.  

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Iceland.  

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in the USA. 

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Norway. 

A 2014 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

Mise en oeuvre du plan de surveillance de la biodiversité marine dans lArctique : mise à jour au Canada en 2013

A 2013 update of the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

Mise en oeuvre du plan de surveillance de la biodiversité marine dans lArctique : mise à jour au Canada en 2012

A 2012 update on the implementation of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in Canada.

A progress report of the Land Cover Change Index, an initiative to create a framework to harness remote sensing potential for use in Arctic biodiversity monitoring and assessment activities. This document reports on progress made in Phase 1 of this initiative 2013-2015.

An update on the activities and actions surrounding the implementation of the Arctic Biodiversity Data Service (ABDS).

A progress report to the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting, Iqaluit, Canada, April 2015 on CAFF's traditional knowledge and community-based monitoring work.

This report describes the progress that has been made in 2014 to implement the CBMP Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

This report describes the progress towards implementation of the CBMP-Freshwater plan in 2014 

This document details Swedish involvement in implementing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan for the year 2013.

The Canadian Arctic Marine Biodiversity Plan (Canadian Marine Plan) is the Canadian contribution to the Arctic Council Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna’s Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program, Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

The overall objective of the Canadian Arctic Marine Biodiversity Plan (Canadian Marine Plan) is to improve our ability to detect and understand the causes of long-term changes in the structure and function of Canadian arctic marine ecosystems. The Canadian Marine Plan integrates existing scientific and community-based marine biodiversity data and information. 

A brochure describing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). 

This document details Canadian involvement in implementing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013. 

Implementation of the CBMP-Marine Plan began in late 2011, and this report describes the progress that has been made during the second year of implementation (2013).

This document details Canadian involvement in implementing the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details the background, purpose, development, structure and outcomes of the CBMP Terrestrial Steering Group meeting in Akureyri, Iceland February 2014 to implement the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan.

This document details American involvement in implementing the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Icelandic involvement in implementing the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Norwegian involvement in implementing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Finnish involvement in implementing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Icelandic involvement in implementing the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Norwegian involvement in implementing the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

This document details Greenlandic involvement in implementing the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Monitoring Plan in 2013.

A brochure highlighting the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring Plan of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP)