| Project |
Type |
# |
Outcome |
Report |
Year |
FEC |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 1 | Arctic wetlands provide important ecosystem services to Arctic and global communities, including cooling the global climate. They provide clean water and buffer floods and droughts, support fisheries and hunting, support biodiversity, and act as long-term sinks for atmospheric carbon. Wetlands are an integral part of many Indigenous Peoples’ lives; they provide and sustain food security, including grazing for traditional reindeer herding. Recognition of wetlands’ importance, including in the Arctic, is growing as their role in sustaining a wide range of ecosystem services becomes better understood. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | | The key obstacles to scaling up and expanding wetlands restoration and management efforts in the Arctic are not due to a lack of knowledge about wetlands ecosystems processes and functions, or steps that can be taken to improve their status. Policy design and difficulties with implementation appear often to be obstacles, however, and accurate, up-to-date mapping is needed to target policy initiatives. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands Phase 2 Report | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 15 | Support the ongoing work with the Arctic SDI to
develop a pan-Arctic wetland map making use
of modern remote sensing and data processing
methods but supported by existing national and
local data and inventories. Work with individual
nations on a plan for incorporating this product
into their national systems. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 10 | Develop and share between Arctic states outreach
and communication strategies and tools to explain
the values of wetlands, the threats to wetlands
and provide examples of wetland restoration
success stories. Material for the full Arctic region
could be complemented with materials specific
to knowledge from different geographic regions,
communities, and Indigenous Peoples. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Recommendation | 5 | Use short-lists of known northern wetland sites
in need of protection, conservation or restoration
to support national-level action plans. Such
actions should be targeted to the most promising
sites, including those that may be located outside
the Arctic. Wetland protection, conservation and
restoration would be more effective if done in
direct collaboration with Indigenous Peoples,
Local Communities and/or stakeholders and
applied at the landscape level. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 13 | There are numerous models for providing
financial support to conservation or restoration of
wetlands. Each of the Arctic states has developed
ways to provide financial support for wetlands
conservation and restoration efforts. While some
of the particular strengths and benefits of each
set of policies, program or model are country
context-specific, many lessons are generalizable
and therefore useful for expanding collaboration
across the Arctic states. A systematic review
of these national-level restoration financing
initiatives would provide valuable insights into
development of effective tools. | Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands: Key Findings and Recommendations | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Advice | 2 | Developing Participation Plans:
Developing participation plans alongside
management and conservation plans may aid in
navigating long-term Indigenous engagement in
management efforts. | Arctic Wetlands and Indigenous Peoples Study: An assessment of Indigenous engagement in wetland protected areas | 2021 | |
| Resilience and Management of Arctic Wetlands (RAW) | Key finding | 8 | Improved public and policy maker understanding of wetland functions and vulnerability would likely foster greater interest in protecting and conserving Arctic wetlands and strengthen involvement in promoting sustainable wetland use. Yet, the ways in which public opinion and networks of interested commercial and civil society organizations influence the development and implementation of wetlands conservation, restoration and stewardship in the Arctic are
poorly understood. Systematic knowledge of the
array of interest organizations’ relationships to
wetlands and how they engage on questions of
balancing conservation and use would support
the development of more coherent and effective
policies. | 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 | |
| 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 | |
Arctic Council Working Group