Advances on the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment

The Circumpolar Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Management Board met in Nuuk, Greenland February 12-14 to advance work on the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment. Arctic Council Ministers requested CAFF to undertake an Arctic Biodiversity Assessment at their meeting in Salekhard in 2006. 

"CAFF is very pleased with the Ministers' strong support for CAFF's work", said Inge Thaulow, CAFF Chair from Greenland. "Monitoring and assessment of Arctic species and ecosystems is necessary to understand and manage environmental change in the Arctic, as well as at the global level."

The Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) is part of follow-up to the biodiversity-related recommendations set forth in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment and will provide a synthesis of the most current scientific research, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge, on Arctic biodiversity.   

The CAFF Management Board also agreed on steps to further develop CAFF's Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP). The CBMP is a mechanism for enhancing and coordinating long-term biodiversity monitoring efforts across the Arctic and will be a major source of information for the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment.