Arctic Council Working Group Recommendations
| Project | Type | # | Outcome | Report | Year | FEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 1 | Methods to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds – Standardized methods (OSPAR 2015; Provencher et al. 2017, 2019) should be used where possible to make data comparable across spatially and temporally. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 1.1 | Ensure sustainable harvest. 1.1.1. Regulate hunting/harvest of adults to ensure sustainable outtake, and to implement hunting/harvest moratorium for populations in decline. 1.1.2. Reduce bycatch in hunting and accidental harvest. 1.1.3. Monitor harvest of kittiwakes and conduct surveys to assess the impact on populations. | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | 3.1 | Secure breeding cliffs from erosion and sea level rise. 3.1.1. Create alternative breeding sites for kittiwakes where breeding cliffs are threatened by erosion. This might also benefit kittiwakes in terms of reduction of predation and/or human conflicts. | International Black-legged Kittiwake - Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2021 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Advice | Reporting Guidelines
| International Ivory Gull Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 2008 | ||
| CBird: Seabird Expert Group | Action | 3.2 | Non-consumptive use: 5. Ensure that non-consumptive uses of murres are sustainable. 6. Implement management plans for areas of eco-tourism activity. 7. Implement standard guidelines to minimize the impact of disturbance at murre colonies | International Murre Conservation Strategy and Action Plan | 1996 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Action | 6 | Mitigate habitat impairment from destruction and degradation of coastal habitats and productive landscapes 6.1 Evaluate the impacts of habitat loss and degradation from agriculture, aquaculture, renewable energy production and tourism development on shorebirds and their habitats in Latin America 6.2 Ensure mitigation measures are incorporated into development decisions 6.3 Designate important sites under appropriate international conservation frameworks (e.g. Ramsar Convention, WHSRN, World Heritage) 6.4 Work with communities and governments to protect important sites | AMBI Work Plan 2019-2025: Americas Flyway | 2021 | |
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Key finding | 5 | Pollution from both long-range transport and local sources threatens the health of Arctic species and ecosystems. | Arctic Biodiversity Assessment: Report for Policy Makers | 2013 | |
| Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) | Recommendation | 12 | Evaluate the range of services provided by Arctic biodiversity in order to determine the costs associated with biodiversity loss and the value of effective conservation in order to assess change and support improved decision making. | Arctic Biodiversity Assessment: Report for Policy Makers | 2013 | |
| 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 | 5.1 | Policy focus: Key Finding 5.1. Policy related to increasing and changing development patterns in the Arctic wouldbenefit from incorporation of consideration of ecosystem services. Participants in this scoping projectidentified a list of policy areas for further consideration, and two of these were assessed as ‘policyexamples’ through a TEEB approach, at a broad scoping level: expanding shipping and oil and gasdevelopment in the marine environment, and industrial development in the North American Arctic.) | The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for the Arctic: A Scoping Study Executive Summary | 2015 | |
| CBMP Terrestrial Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | The most urgent priorities for the future are to (i) improve our knowledge of population distributions to better inform our definitions of discrete flyway populations; (ii) implement effective mechanisms to at least periodically measure abundance for all northern hemisphere goose populations to assess trends over time; (iii) initiate research to identify factors responsible for declining trends in populations of concern, and (iv) evaluate potential negative effects of overabundant goose populations on habitat and sympatric species. | A Global Audit of the Status and Trends of Arctic And Northern Hemisphere Goose Populations | 2018 | ||
| CBMP Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring | Key finding | In countries where routine government monitoring is limited or does not occur, data must come from other sources (e.g., academic research), where unsecure funding often leads to single-event sampling, meaning that change over time cannot be examined. | State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2016 | ||
| CBMP Marine Biodiversity Monitoring | Advice | Traditional and Local Knowledge (TLK): Utilizing Traditional and Local Knowledge and involvement of TK holders allows for increased understanding of relationships and changes underway in Arctic ecosystems, current and historical trends, and serves to build valuable partnerships on the ground in Arctic communities.
| State of the Arctic Marine Biodiversity: Key Findings and Advice for Monitoring | 2017 |