Arctic Council Working Group Recommendations
| Project | Type | # | Outcome | Report | Year | FEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Action | 8 | Reduce stressors on migratory species range-wide, including habitat degradation and overharvesting on wintering and staging areas and along flyways and other migration routes. a. Pursue or strengthen formal migratory bird cooperation agreements and other specific actions on a flyway level between Arctic and non-Arctic states with first priority given to the East Asian flyway. b. Collaborate with relevant international commissions, conventions, networks and other organizations sharing an interest in the conservation of Arctic migratory species to identify and implement appropriate conservation actions. c. Develop and implement joint management and recovery plans for threatened species with relevant non-Arctic states and entities. d. Identify and advance the conservation of key wintering and staging habitats for migratory birds, particularly wetlands. | Actions for Arctic Biodiversity, 2013-2021: Implementing the recommendations of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment | 2015 | |
| Key finding | Conservation of biodiversity and of the ecosystem services it provides requires a long-term perspective and sustained actions at many different temporal and spatial scales. | Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2014, Co-Chairs Report | 2014 | |||
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Action | CHALLENGE There is no consistent approach to working with Traditional Knowledge and Wisdom. POTENTIAL ACTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES Create best practices through demonstration projects and on-the-ground work, including an evaluation of past projects and analysis of what worked and what didn’t. | Arctic Traditional Knowledge and Wisdom: Changes in the North American Arctic | 2017 | ||
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 4 | Shorebirds are in decline overall (-10%), with negative trends in the Americas and East Asia (-10% and -70%). Populations of this group are faring better in Africa-Eurasia, where abundance is 40% higher compared to 1970. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 3 | Anthropogenic climate change is a serious threat to Arctic wetland ecosystems and exacerbates many other threats. Widespread climate change impacts in Arctic wetlands are ongoing and projected to increase in this century and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to limit these impacts. Climate-driven permafrost thaw and increased drought conditions impacting wetland ecosystems will cause greater fire occurrences and shifts in hydrological flows, affecting wetland ecosystem services and biodiversity. Sea level change and declines in sea ice are driving increases in coastal erosion that threatens many coastal wetlands. Thawing permafrost is projected to transform peatlands from a net sink of greenhouse gases to a net source lasting for several centuries. | 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) | Key finding | 1.2.2 | Arctic Indigenous Wetlands Use: Indigenous Peoples have significant ties to wetland protected areas in the Arctic and acknowledging and fostering these relationships in partnership with management authorities can strengthen outcomes. | Arctic Wetlands and Indigenous Peoples Study: An assessment of Indigenous engagement in wetland protected areas | 2021 | |
| Arctic TEEB | Key finding | 2.3 | Arctic ecosystem services: Although syntheses, guidelines and analyses of policy options at the pan-Arctic scale can raise the profile of ecosystem services and provide direction, work on ecosystem services is most effective when it builds on analysis at smaller scales. | The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic: A Scoping Study Executive Summary | 2015 | |
| Arctic TEEB | Key finding | 3.6 | Governance: Key Finding 3.6. Mainstreaming of nature’s values by means of ecosystem services requires adjustments to existing policies and instruments as well as the development of new ones. | The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic: A Scoping Study Executive Summary | 2015 | |
| CBMP Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | “Grey” geese (Anser) comprise 35 populations of 8.1-8.4 million individuals, of which 15 have declined in the last 10 years, especially in East Asia. | A Global Audit of the Status and Trends of Arctic And Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations | 2018 | ||
| Key finding | 6 | Regulations that impact communities ought to be flexible to allow for adaptation to change and ought to include meaningful local voice through instruments such as co-management to support the food security and sovereignty of indigenous communities | Project Summary: Bering Sea Sub-Network II | 2015 | ||
| CBMP Marine Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | Northward movement is easier for more mobile openwater species. Open water species such as polar cod, are more mobile compared to those linked to shelf regions, such as benthic species including some fishes for which suitable habitat may be unavailable if they move northward. | State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2017 | ||
| CBMP Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | Climate change is the overwhelming driver of change in terrestrial Arctic ecosystems, causing diverse, unpredictable, and significant impacts that are expected to intensify. | State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2021 | ||
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | 1 | Facilitate a move to more flexible, adaptable wildlife and habitat management and marine spatial planning approaches that respond effectively to rapid changes in Arctic biodiversity. | Life Linked to Ice: A guide to sea-ice-associated biodiversity in this time of rapid change | 2013 | ||
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 3 | Monitoring temporal trends in plastic ingestion: The northern fulmar, thick-billed murre and black-legged kittiwake should be monitored for temporal trends in plastic pollution ingestion. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 1.3 | Reduce the threat from environmental pollution.1.3.1. Collaborate with the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) to study and monitor contaminants that potentially can cause mortality or reproduction problems and seek ways to reduce their adverse impacts. 1.3.2. Improve techniques and procedures preventing oil spills at sea (operational, accidental and chronical) and/or reducing ecological consequences. 1.3.3. Introduce ship traffic regulations in order to facilitate a shift to light fuel in sensitive areas. Encourage adoption andimplementation of a ban to use heavy oil fuel in Artic waters by International Maritime Organization (IMO). | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 3.3 | Protect and manage key habitats on landand at sea as a significant contribution to safeguard populations. 3.3.1. Prepare a summary of protected areas containing important kittiwake habitats. 3.3.2. Evaluate the potential of ongoing tools such as the Framework for a Pan-Arctic Network of Marine Protected Areas and other mechanisms to protect habitats important to kittiwakes. 3.3.3. Identify important kittiwake habitats on land and at sea still requiring protection and designate them under national and international systems of protected areas (e.g. Birdlife International’s Important Bird Areas or OSPAR). 3.3.4. Identify, evaluate and implement additional conservation mechanisms such as treaties, agreements, regulations, and policies of value. Consider also collaboration with AMBI. | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Action | 4.2 | Non consumptive use: 6. Evaluate risks from human activities. 7. Encourage non-consumptive uses of eiders | Circumpolar Eider Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 1997 | |
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Action | 3.4 | Habitat protection and enhancement 12. Identify important murre colonies and designate them under national and international systems of protected areas. 13. Promote the establishment of marine protected areas in important pelagic habitats for murres. 14. Contribute to the "Important Bird Areas" system to highlight important areas for murres. 15. Explore the establishment of an international network to identify and protect key areas for murres. 16. Ensure that conservation action will benefit populations, by assessing causes of population declines from an ecosystem perspective. 17. Undertake specific restoration activities to assist depressed populations to recover. | International Murre Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 1996 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Action | 4 | Reduce bycatch of seaducks in the Baltic Sea 4.1 Support the implementation of the AEWA Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter and Common Eider International Single Species Action Plans with respect to the identified activities regarding bycatch under the auspices of the AEWA European Seaduck International Working Group. | AMBI Work Plan 2019-2025: African Eurasian Flyway | 2021 |