CAFF 2010: Arctic Biodiversity trends: selected indicators of change

Geographical coverage

Geographical scale of the assessment Regional
Country or countries covered Canada, Greenland, Russia, Iceland, Norway, United States, Finland, Sweden
Any other necessary information or explanation for identifying the location of the assessment, including site or region name

Conceptual framework, methodology and scope

Assessment objectives

In 2001, the Arctic Council´s Conservation of ArcticFlora and Fauna (CAFF) Working Group published thereport Arctic Flora and Fauna: Status and Conservation[7], the first truly circumpolar overview of Arcticbiodiversity. The report provided, “a clear understandingof the importance of the Earth´s largest ecoregion and status in the face of a rapidly changing world”. The report observed that while much of the Arctic was in natural state and that the impacts of human activity wererelatively minor, individuals, species, and ecosystemsthroughout the Arctic faced threats from many causes,and that the long-term consequences of human impactswere unknown. It particularly noted that the informationnecessary to determine status and trends of Arctic faunawas fragmentary, and almost entirely non-existent for flora.

Mandate for the assessment

Conceptual framework and/or methodology used for the assessment

URL or copy of conceptual framework developed or adapted

http://arcticbiodiversity.is/abt2010/index.php/en/the-report

System(s) assessed

  • Marine
  • Coastal
  • Island
  • Inland water
  • Forest and woodland
  • Grassland
  • Dryland
  • Polar

Species groups assessed

Ecosystem services/functions assessed

Provisioning

Regulating

Supporting Services/Functions

Cultural Services

Scope of assessment includes

Drivers of change in systems and services

Yes

Impacts of change in services on human well-being

Yes

Options for responding/interventions to the trends observed

Yes

Explicit consideration of the role of biodiversity in the systems and services covered by the assessment

Yes

Timing of the assessment

Year assessment started

2010

Year assessment finished

2010

If ongoing, year assessment is anticipated to finish

Periodicity of assessment

Unknown

Assessment outputs

Report(s)

Communication materials (e.g. brochure, presentations, posters, audio-visual media)

Journal publications

Training materials

Other documents/outputs

Tools and processes

Tools and approaches used in the assessment

Process used for stakeholder engagement in the assessment process and which component

Key stakeholder groups engaged

The number of people directly involved in the assessment process

Incorporation of scientific and other types of knowledge

Supporting documentation for specific approaches, methodology or criteria developed and/or used to integrate knowledge systems into the assessment

Assessment reports peer reviewed

No

Data

Accessibility of data used in assessment

Policy impact

Impacts the assessment has had on policy and/or decision making, as evidenced through policy references and actions

Independent or other review on policy impact of the assessment

No

Lessons learnt for future assessments from these reviews

Capacity building

Capacity building needs identified during the assessment

Actions taken by the assessment to build capacity

How have gaps in capacity been communicated to the different stakeholders

Knowledge generation

Gaps in knowledge identified from the assessment

How gaps in knowledge have been communicated to the different stakeholders

Additional relevant information