Expert Group Documents

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.

Reference: Walker, Donald A.; Daniëls, Fred J.A.; Matveyeva, Nadezhda V.; `ibík, Jozef; Walker, Marilyn D.; Breen, Amy L.; Druckenmiller, Lisa A.; Raynolds, Martha K.; Bültmann, Helga; Hennekens, Stephan; Buchhorn, Marcel; Epstein, Howard E.; Ermokhina, Ksenia; Fosaa, Anna M.; Heiðmarsson, Starri; Heim, Birgit; Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg S.; Koroleva, Natalia; Lévesque, Esther; MacKenzie, William H.; Henry, Greg H.R.; Nilsen, Lennart; Peet, Robert; Razzhivin, Volodya; Talbot, Stephen S.; Telyatnikov, Mikhail; Thannheiser, Dietbert; Webber, Patrick J.; Wirth, Lisa M. 2017. Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Classification. Phytocoenologia. DOI: 10.1127/phyto/2017/0192

Provides a summary overview of the Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) Circumpolar Flyway in a scientific poster.

The Circumboreal Vegetation Mapping (CBVM) project is an international collaboration among vegetation scientists to create a new vegetation map of the boreal region at a 1:7.5 million scale with a common legend and mapping protocol. This report and map contributes to the CBVM effort by developing maps of bioclimatic zones, geographic sectors with similar floristic variability, and vegetation in boreal Alaska, Yukon, northwestern British Columbia, and a mountainous portion of southwest Northwest Territoriestermed the Alaska-Yukon region. It further develops the mapping from the initial classification and proto-type mapping efforts for southwestern Alaska and western Canada to this broader area.

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 document contains 20 abstracts from papers presented by scientists at the Alaskan Arctic Vegetation Archive meeting in Boulder, Colorado 14-16 October, 2014.

Proceedings of the Arctic Vegetation Archive to develop a global database of Arctic vegetation plots.

As part of the East Asian Flora Symposium, that took place in Vladivostok, Russia, from September 23 to 27 in 2012, a CBVM session was held on Thursday September 27. This documents provides a summary of the discussions and presentations.

A compilation of workshop papers, abstracts and summaries of the Circumboreal Vegetation Map (CBVM), the Global Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA), the International Arctic Vegetation Database (IAVD), the red list of vascular plants and development of the Arctic Plant Portal.

A list of abstracts and discussion from presentations during the Second International Workshop on Circumpolar Vegetation Classification and Mapping workshop.

This report summarizes population status and trends for 19 populations of Arctic seabirds within the AEWA area. It is a 2014 update of the 2011 CAFF report that was compiled as an input to the 2012 African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) Report on the Conservation Status of Migratory Birds in the Agreement Area (abbreviated Conservation Status Report, CSR) being prepared by Wetlands International 

Outlines the goals, objectives, and descriptions of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Expert Working Groups: CAFF's Flora Group (CFG), the Circumpolar Seabird Working Group (CBird), the Circumpolar Protected Areas Network (CPAN).

A summary report produced by Wetlands International of the CAFF Workshop on Migratory Arctic Birds, Songli, Norway, September 10-11, 2000. The workshop aimed to facilitate improved co-ordination and collaboration among Arctic countries sharing migratory bird species and/or populations with those countries outside the Arctic that are responsible for Arctic breeding birds during the non-breeding season.

This document will faciliatate the implementation of initiatives under the Circumpolar Portected Areas Network (CPAN) to establish an adequate and well managed network of protected areas that have a high probability of maintainng the dynmaic biodiversity of the Arctic region in perpetuity.

The first progress report from the Circumpolar Protected Areas Network (CPAN).

Principles and guidelines to facilitate a common regional approach to area protection among the eight Arctic countries and to selecting and designing important sites within the Arctic.

An update report describing actions taken by the CAFF countries to establish new protected areas since the publication of the 1997 CPAN Progress Report.

The CPAN Charter, idnetifying the goals, objectives and administration of CAFF's protected areas expert working group.

A report to the CAFF Board on the progress of CFG activities during 2006.

A report to the CAFF Board detailing the progress of CFG activities during 2003. 

A report to the CAFF Board detailing progress on CFG activities during 2002.

A progress report for the CAFF Board summarizing CFG's 2005 activities.

An update to the CAFF Board on CBird activities.

The proceedings of CBird's fifteenth meeting.

Proceedings of CBird's 14th meeting.

Proceedings of CBird's thirteenth meeting in Stockholm Sweden.

The proceedings of CBird's eleventh annual meeting.

The proceedings from the eighth CBird meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.

The proceedings of CBird's ninth annual meeting.

The CBird newsletter, a tool for exchanging seabird information and publishing summaries of CBird activities.

This report is a technical account of a Gap Analysis Project conducted for the Russian Arctic in 1997-1999 in support of the Circumpolar Protected Areas Network (CPAN) of CAFF. It updates the status and spatial distribution of protected areas within the CAFF area of the Russian Federation and provides, in 22 GIs based maps and several data sets, a wealth of information relevant for present and future management decisions related to habitat conservation in the Russian Arctic.

This report provides an overview of porposals made by CAFF countries for new and/or enlarged protected areas in the Arctic.

An assessment on the status of protected areas in the Arctic, as of 1994.

This documents the vascular flora of the Arctic to identify rare taxa endemic to the region, establish an annotated list of these taxa, and determine the level of protection currently afforded these plants.

A compilation of abstractis, charter and recommendations presented at the CFG First International Workshop: Uppsala, Sweden: March 27-29, 2001.

A compilation of abstracts presented at the meeting on topics including the Circumboreal Vegetation Map (CBVM), database generation, GLORIA, and the CircumArctic Vegetation Map (CAVM).

A compilation of abstracts presented at the meeting on topics including the Circumboreal Vegetation Mapping (CBVM) project, Red Lists, and database development.

A compilation of abstracts, charter and recommendations on the Circumboreal Vegetation Map (CBVM).

The status and trend of indicator species #21, changes in protected areas, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

The status and trend of indicator species #19, seabird harvest, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

Proposes objectives, means, details of data ownership, and initial analytical tools of sharing seabird information across the Arctic on the internet to improve conservation efforts by providing a tool to analize seabird status and trends information on a circumpolar scale.

A report that aims to facilitate circumpolar implementation of initiatives to conserve, protect and restore murre populations in the Arctic.

An Internaitonal Ivory Gull Conservation Strategy and Action Plan developed to gain more insight into how this under-studied bird responds to increasing threats from disappearance of sea ice habitat, natural resource exploration and increased contaminant loads and to facilitate circumpolar implementation of initiatives to conserve and protect the Ivory Gull in the circumpolar Arctic.

The status and trend of indicator species #12, reproductive phenology in terrestrial ecosystem, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

The status and trend of indicator species #11, greening of the Arctic, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

The concept paper behind the International Arctic Vegetation Database (IAVD), and international project to produce a complete database on vascular plants, bryophytes and liches that exist in the Arctic.

Drastic decline in eider populations, combined with their circumpolar distribution, increased hunting pressures and cultural significance led CBird to develop a Circumpolar Eider Conservation Strategy and Action Plan to facilitate circumpolar efforts to conserve, protect and restore eider populations.

The status and trend of indicator species #5, seabirds - common eider, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

The status and trend of indicator species #4, seabirds - murre/guillemots, in the Arctic Biodiversity Trend 2010 report.

The CBVM intends to produce an internationally agreed upon circumboreal vegetation map with a common legend and language for use in decision making.

As assessment of seabird harvest in the Arctic by the Circumpolar Seabird Group (CBird).

This paper reviews the principles, mechanisms and criteria used by CAFF countries to establish protected areas.

This report compiles information on proposed protected areas and an analysis of gaps in the network of existing and proposed protected areas using Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques.

This report introduces the topic of incidental take of seabirds in commercial fisheries and describes the fisheries industries, seabird bycatch and impacts in Alaska (U.S.A.), Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia, and provides national recommendations.

The report analyzes various human activities and the disturbances they may cause in Arctic seabird colonies and makes recommendations to reduce the harm in such activities.

This report describes the migratory birds of the Arctic, their migration systems, and how they are already protected under international legislation when they leave the Arctic.

The CAFF Working Group of the Arctic Council hosted this workshop on the incidental catch of seabirds in the waters of Arctic countries in response to recommendations put forth in the recent CAFF Technical Report No. 1 entitled Incidental Take of Seabirds in Commercial Fisheries in the Arctic Countries. A second focus of the workshop was longline incidental catch, in response to The International Plan of Action for Reducing Incidental Catch of Seabirds in Longline Fisheries a voluntary instrument of the FAO.

This technical report introduces the topic of seabird harvest regimes and describes the seabird harvest regimes and impacts in Alaska (U.S.A.), Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Russia, and provides national recommendations.

Descriptions of the natural physical, natural ecological, economic, cultural, subsistence use, educations, landscape, societal, scientific and recreational values of Arctic protected areas.

A report discussing the multitude of values found in Arctic protected areas. It presents case studies that demonstrate how protected areas conserve such values.

A description for a cooperative banding program project between the Arctic countries.

An initial examination of the literature pertaining to the traditional, historical, and contemporary Aleut use of plant resources.

A total checklist of lichens and lichenicolous fungi in the circumpolar Arctic and a preliminary list of rare and endemic lichens.

A summary of the population status and trends for 19 populations of Arctic seabirds.

A framework document for developing an integrated monitoring framework for seabirds.