Transcript Module 7: Observations, Sustainability and the Impacts of Change

Module 7: International
Stewardship Initiatives
Premises
• Most environmental issues in the Arctic
are international in nature. Why??
• Multidisciplinary efforts
• The duality of knowledge: scientific and
traditional
Concepts
Environmental Stewardship
• Long-term management aimed at
preserving and enhancing the quality of an
environment, including the biodiversity
• Capture the ideas of “caretaking”,
“protection of natural systems”, and
“sustainability”
Food for Thought
• Why does stewardship matter so much for
people in the North?
“When people obtain their food from the wild, as
they do in the Arctic, their health is directly
linked to the condition of the land and the
animals”
• From course material of Bachelor of Circumpolar
Studies 312
• In the Arctic, people own land “in common”
Readings
• Box 7.1: One example of stewardship
(handout)
• Box 27 (textbook): Threats to Arctic
biodiversity
Traditional Knowledge vs. Scientific
Knowledge
• A clash of knowledge systems, or an added
value for environmental stewardship
Concepts
Traditional Knowledge
• A cumulative body of knowledge and beliefs
handed down through generations by cultural
transmission, about the relationship of living
things (including humans) with one another and
with their environment. TK is an attribute of
societies with historical continuity in resource
use practices
Key aspects:
• Holistic
• May include beliefs
• May include mythology
Concepts
Scientific knowledge
• New knowledge predicated upon physical
evidence based on observations and
experiments
Scientific Method
• Fundamental to the investigation and
acquisition of new knowledge based upon
physical evidence
• Use of observations, hypotheses, and
logic to propose explanations for natural
phenomena in the form of theories
• Unprejudiced  experiments can be
repeated by any researcher
Scientific Method
1) Observation and description of a phenomenon or
group of phenomena.
2) Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the
phenomena.
3) Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other
phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of
new observations.
4) Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by
several independent experimenters and properly
performed experiments.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until there are no discrepancies
between theory and experiment/observation.
Stewardship and Risk
• Long-term stewardship of lands and
biodiversity is essentially RISK
MANAGEMENT
• Risk management is a delicate mix of
science, legislation, and politics (within
and among jurisdictions)
• Risk assessment is ideally a knowledge
based process; however risk management
always involves interpretation of data,
economics, and politics
Case Study
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme
AMAP
http://amap.no
• An international effort to assess risks and pollution level
of Arctic environments (Canada, Denmark, Finland,
Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, USA)
• Key reports
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1998, Arctic Pollution Issues
2002, A State of the Arctic Environment
2003, Human Health in the Arctic
2004, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Arctic
AMAP
Conclusion:
• Arctic is at risk
• Some species (e.g. gulls, polar bears) are
already affected to varying degrees
• Some POPs, radionuclides, and lead are
declining in Arctic biota
• Some POPs (new ones) and mercury are
on the rise
Dilemma of Policy-Makers
• Policy-makers work in law, where “proof” is an
ideal
• Science provides evidence – not proof
• Despite the accumulation of voluminous
evidence, decision makers are at times
dissuaded from action by a lack of “proof”
• The precautionary principle – better safe than
sorry – was developed in response to this
fundamental dilemma in environmental policymaking
Arctic Environmental Protection
Strategy (1991)
• International effort
• Objectives:
– Protect the Arctic ecosystem
– Protection, enhancement and restoration of natural
resources
– To recognize and accommodate the traditional and
cultural needs, values and practices of the indigenous
peoples
– Review the state of the Arctic
– Identify, reduce, and ultimately eliminate pollution
Five Working Groups of the Arctic
Council
Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy
Arctic Council
SDWG
AMAP
PAME
CAFF
EPPR
•Sustainable Development Working Group
•Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme
•Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment
•Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna
•Emergency, Prevention, Preparedness and Response
Reading
Improving regional governance and
democratic processes
Focus:
• Regional cooperation
• A forum for governments and indigenous
people
Species Survival Commission
(SSC)
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www.iucn.org
World’s greatest source of information about
species and their conservation needs
A network of some 7000 members dedicated to
stop the loss of plants, animals and their habitats
120 Specialist Groups and Task Forces
SSC is the largest of the 6 commissions of IUCN
– the World Conservation Union
What does SSC do?
• Produces the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species
• Provides technical and scientific advice
• Publishes Species Action Plans and Policy
Guidelines
• Implements on-ground conservation
projects
Take Home Messages
1. Protection and management of Arctic
ecosystems is more than science. It is a
mix of science, politics, economics, etc.
2. Cooperation is key in Arctic environment
(Why?)
3. Dual knowledge base