The Coastal Expert Monitoring Group's (CEMG) goal is to promote, facilitate, coordinate and harmonize coastal biodiversity monitoring activities among circumpolar countries and Permanent Participants, and to improve ongoing communication amongst and between scientists, community experts, traditional knowledge holders, managers and disciplines both inside and outside the Arctic.

The CEMG is responsible for the development and publication of the Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan, anticipated to be released in 2016. 

Objectives

The Coastal Expert Monitoring Group (CEMG) will:

• Develop a multi-disciplinary, multi-knowledge base, integrated, pan-Arctic, long-term biodiversity monitoring plan that:
  • Responds to identified science, TK, and user questions and user needs;
  • Identifies and aligns with specific monitoring and management objectives as defined by scientists and TK holders;
  • Identifies a suite of focal ecosystem components to focus monitoring on and a suite of priority parameters for each focal ecosystem component;
  • Using both TK and science identifies a small suite of Coastal ecosystem indicators (derived from the parameters) that can be used to report on the state and quality of Coastal arctic ecosystems;
  • Using both TK and science identifies optimal sampling schemes for the chosen parameters;
  • Makes use of existing monitoring capacity and information (scientific, TK, and community-based,).
  • Identifies key abiotic parameters relevant to Coastal biodiversity that need continual monitoring; and,
  • Identifies and, where possible, addresses current gaps in coverage (both elemental, spatial and temporal).
• Develop an implementation plan for the monitoring plan that identifies timelines, costs, organizational structure and partners.

Coastal Expert Monitoring Group (CEMG) Members

*indicates current chair