Arctic Council Working Group Recommendations
| Project | Type | # | Outcome | Report | Year | FEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 4 | Although the majority of Arctic wetlands remain relatively intact, changes are already occurring across the Arctic and wetland resilience is needed to buffer further damage. Wetlands are vulnerable to substantial indirect damage e.g. through global warming, changes to p recipitation patterns, altered hydrological flows, and environmental pollutants. Such damage also constitutes a broader threat to migratory animal populations. These diverse threats to wetland ecosystems emphasize the need for landscape scale management with a focus on conservation, protection and maintained resilience. | 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) | Key finding | 1.2.3 | Arctic Indigenous Peoples and Wetlands Management: Most management and conservation plans, as well as other official information on wetland protected areas, fail to document Indigenous resource use in a systematic or functional way and as a result, do not provide a complete picture of resource use and management within the areas. | Arctic Wetlands and Indigenous Peoples Study: An assessment of Indigenous engagement in wetland protected areas | 2021 | |
| Arctic TEEB | Key finding | 2.4 | Arctic ecosystem services: Arctic ecosystem services provide benefits to a range of stakeholders at various scales, both directly and indirectly – and the stakeholders who benefit from services and those who affect the availability of the same services are not always the same. | The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic: A Scoping Study Executive Summary | 2015 | |
| Arctic TEEB | Key finding | 6.1 | Way forward: Engagement of Arctic Indigenous organizations and a broad range of stakeholders in participatory development of knowledge and policy alternatives is central to a successful TEEB Arctic study. Follow-up work to this scoping study should be structured so that those who wish to contribute can do so through a range of avenues. | The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic: A Scoping Study Executive Summary | 2015 | |
| CBMP Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | To interpret changes in population size, there is an increasing need to understand whether these are due to shifts in range, changes in reproductive success or changes in annual survival. | A Global Audit of the Status and Trends of Arctic And Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations | 2018 | ||
| CBMP Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | Instruments such as the European Water Framework Directive promote routine monitoring of lake and river FECs. But where a country, ecoregion, or FEC is not covered by such instruments, monitoring is irregular, has poor spatial coverage, or is absent. | State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2016 | ||
| CBMP Marine Biodiversity Monitoring | Advice | Knowledge gaps: Filling gaps in knowledge helps us better understand key elements and functions of the ecosystem that can help explain change and understand the system:
| State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2017 | ||
| CBMP Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring | Advice | Methods : Increased attention to methodology facilitates more precise and comparable results, standardized data collection, and ability to link regional monitoring to circumpolar efforts.
| State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2021 | ||
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Key finding | 5 | Changes in Arctic biodiversity are creating both challenges and opportunities for Arctic peoples. | Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010 – Selected indicators of change | 2010 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 4 | Monitoring nest incorporation and entanglement: Black-legged kittiwake and northern gannet (Morus bassanus) nests should be monitored for nest incorporation of and entanglement in plastic pollution. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 1.4 | Reduce predation. 1.4.1 Remove non-native predators in key breeding colonies. | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 4.1 | Improve feeding conditions. 4.1.1. Systematically identify important feeding grounds throughout the year. 4.1.2. Identify and quantify diet during breeding and non-breeding season. 4.1.3. Conduct comprehensive, multidisciplinary studies of environmental drivers in wintering grounds (climate and food availability). 4.1.4. Assess the direct and indirect effects of fisheries on kittiwakes. | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Action | 4.3 | Commercial activities: 8. Identify eiders populations and habitats at risk from oil pollution, 9. Reduce eider mortality caused by commercial fisheries activities. | Circumpolar Eider Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 1997 | |
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Action | 3.5 | Communications and consultation: 18. Determine appropriate communication approaches and produce materials to deliver specific messages. 19. Emphasize communication to operators of ships at sea, the fishing industry and tour boat operators. 20. Produce educational materials aimed specifically at children. 21. Issue joint scientific reports of activities relating to murre conservation. | International Murre Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 1996 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Action | 5 | Support measures under the AEWA Lesser White-fronted Goose (LWfG) International Working Group (IWG) to prevent illegal killing 5.1 Assist the AEWA LWfG IWG and the Birdlife Norwegian/Greek cooperation project cooperation project with the translation and dissemination of awareness-raising and education materials in key areas for the species within the Russian Arctic amongst indigenous and local communities. 5.2 Support the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat in engaging key Range States on a diplomatic level through Arctic Council member and observer country embassies | AMBI Work Plan 2019-2025: African Eurasian Flyway | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Action | 4 | Work with partners to increase the number and quality of population estimates of Arctic-breeding waterbirds in the Central and East Asian Flyways 4.1 (All countries): Work with partners such as EAAF Partnership, Wetlands International and other partners to improve population estimates for AMBI priority species by supporting collation of up-to-date information on estimates and trends. 4.2 (All countries): Cooperate with partners such as the EAAF Partnership Waterbird Monitoring Task Force, Wetlands International, BirdLife International and the Global Flyway Network to strengthen monitoring of Arctic-breeding migratory waterbirds along the flyway, particularly in the Yellow Sea and Southeast Asia. | AMBI Work Plan 2019-2025: Central and East Asian Flyways | 2021 | |
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Recommendation | 6 | Develop guidelines and implement appropriate spatial and temporal measures where necessary to reduce human disturbance to areas critical for sensitive life stages of Arctic species that are outside protected areas, for example along transportation corridors. Such areas include calving grounds, den sites, feeding grounds, migration routes and moulting areas. This also means safeguarding important habitats such as wetlands and polynyas. | Arctic Biodiversity Assessment: Report for Policy Makers | 2013 | |
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Action | 2 | Incorporate resilience and adaptation of biodiversity to climate change into plans for development in the Arctic. 2.1. Prepare a reference guide for resource managers on sea-ice-associated biodiversity in times of rapid change (Life Linked to Ice). 2.2. Arctic Resilience Report. 2.3. Prepare three regional assessments with information to assist local decision-makers andstakeholders to develop adaptation tools and strategies to deal with climate change andother environmental stressors and produce an overall integrated report on adaptationactions (Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic (AACA) Part C). 2.4. Ensure accessibility of science results relevant to maintaining and increasing resilience ofbiodiversity to climate change through the ABDS and outreach. 2.5. Follow-up on the recommendations of the Life linked to Ice and related research. | Actions for Arctic Biodiversity, 2013-2021: Implementing the recommendations of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment | 2015 | |
| Key finding | Biodiversity underpins sustainable development in the Arctic, including economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Although there is widespread understanding of the importance of economic development for the well-being of Arctic peoples, there is less understanding of the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, including livelihoods, food security and ecosystem services. Economic development in the Arctic should proceed within the constraints of ensuring the long term sustainability of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides. | Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2014, Co-Chairs Report | 2014 |