Arctic Biodiversity Congress begins tomorrow

The Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group produced the landmark Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) in 2013. The ABA provides a comprehensive overview of current and potential future trends in Arctic biodiversity, along with policy recommendations. The assessment draws upon the work of many authors in many countries, and covers many different sectors in its twenty chapters on themes such as marine ecosystems, mammals, birds, fishes, and indigenous people and biodiversity in the Arctic.

As one major pillar of follow-up on the ABA, CAFF has developed the ABA Congress, which will take place in Trondheim, Norway from 2-4 December 2014. With more than 45 sessions covering diverse themes related to Arctic biodiversity, the Congress is expected to draw more than 400 participants including scientists, policy-makers, government officials, industry, civil society and indigenous peoples to discuss the main scientific findings in the ABA and help refine an implementation plan of action. The Congress will promote the conservation and sustainable use of Arctic biodiversity through dialogue among these stakeholders. Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials Vincent Rigby will be one of the opening speakers at the Congress.

[Click here to see the ABA Congress video.]

To accompany the ABA Congress, CAFF has presented the “Through the Lens” photography competition, bringing in hundreds of outstanding submissions in the categories of: business and science; Arctic biodiversity; landscape in the Arctic; and peoples of the North.

If you’re a Twitter user, you can keep track of the Congress proceedings using the #ABACongress hashtag. You can keep in touch with CAFF on Twitter and on Facebook as well.