Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group of the Arctic Council

CAFF and Community Based Monitoring

CAFFCAFF• Biodiversity Working group of the

Arctic Council• Established 1992 under the Arctic

Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS)

• Mandate is to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, and to communicate the findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, helping to promote practices which ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s resources.

Current ProjectsCurrent Projects

• Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA)– Final report schedulled 2013– Development of short film in co-operation with UNEP Grid

Arendal• Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP)

CBMPCBMP

• CAFF activities related to Community Based Monitoring are through it‘s cornerstone project the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP)

• The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is an international network of scientists, government agencies, Indigenous organizations and conservation groups working together to harmonize and integrate efforts to monitor the Arctic's living resources.

• The Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is, first and foremost, a coordinating entity for:– Existing Arctic biodiversity monitoring programs;– Addressing gaps in knowledge through the identification of

new programs;– Gathering, integrating, and analyzing data; and,– Communicating results.

• Arctic biodiversity is under growing pressure from both climate change and resource development

• Existing monitoring in the Arctic is largely uncoordinated, limiting our our ability to effectively monitor, understand and respond to biodiversity trends at the circumpolar scale

• Toward this end the CBMP is developing four biodiversity monitoring plans– Marine– Freshwater– Coastal– Terrestrial

• To provide a holistic perspective on Arctic biodiversity an important element of the process is incorporation of Community Based Monitoring (CBM).

• Pan Arctic integrated monitoring plans.

• CBM has significant contributions to make to circumpolar monitoring efforts.

• The Arctic Council´s Permanent Participants and other Indigenous and local organizations desire a strong CBM element wtihin the CBMP.

• Maximizing the contributions of circumpolar peoples to the CBMP will help ensure that the program is relevant and responsive to local concerns.

Primary Goals With Respect toCBM

1. To incorporate data, interpretation, and expertise from CBM in the CBMP’s efforts to detect, understand and report on significant Arctic biodiversity trends.

2. To make CBMP data, interpretation, and expertise available to CBM efforts.

3. To promote the extension and/or replication of established CBM approaches and programs to other regions of the Arctic in conjunction with existing monitoring networks.

Project 2011Project 2011

Meta database of biodiversity monitoring in the Arctic

• In order to build such a database the CBMP has established a co-operation with ELOKA– ELOKA will provide technical expertise for managing metadata records

and provide access to datasets to the CPMP data portal

• Representatives from the Arctic Council Permanent Participants are being approached– Identifying key Arctic Biodiversity Monitoring Programs– Inputting the list of records for consolidation by the database service

managers.

ProductProduct

• Searchable website of known circumpolar CBM/ LTK biodiversity monitoring programs in the north

• Accessible database for interoperability/ integration with CBMP’s dataportal.

Anticipated OutcomeAnticipated Outcome

• Improved participation of CBM/ LTK in CBMP Expert Monitoring Groups

• Improved involvement of CBM/ LTK when recommending arctic monitoring indicators for the integrated monitoring plans.

• Enhanced capacity for PP’s to evaluate state of CBM/ LTK in the north for future assessments and reporting requirements.

• Provides a model for coordinating arctic CBM/ LTK metadata management.

• Improved access to examples of CBM/ LTK biodiversity monitoring for communities and researchers seeking to conduct research in the north.

• Enhanced linkages of individual CBM/ LTK programs with each other spatially and by theme.