CBMP Freshwater Steering Group meets in Copenhagen

This week, the Freshwater Steering Group of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) meets in Copenhagen, Denmark. The CBMP is an initiative of working group CAFF (Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna; caff.is). It 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 CBMP focuses its efforts on five key program areas:

• Data management (the Arctic Biodiversity Data Service)
• Capacity building
• Reporting
• Coordination and integration of Arctic monitoring
• Communication, education and outreach

The portion of the CBMP that is concerned with freshwater ecosystems has developed an Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan, which is focused on assessing how pressures such as climate change, contaminants, introduced alien species, increased UV radiation exposure and resource development affect freshwater species and ecosystems.

The Freshwater Steering Group, which meets in Copenhagen this week, is responsible for the implementation of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Monitoring Plan. Its goal is to promote, facilitate, coordinate and harmonize freshwater biodiversity monitoring activities among circumpolar countries and to improve ongoing communication amongst and between scientists, community experts, managers and disciplines both inside and outside the Arctic. It is also preparing to produce a State of the Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity Report (scheduled for release in 2018).

The Group is co-chaired by Canadians Joseph Culp (Environment Canada) and Jennifer Lento (University of New Brunswick) and Swede Willem Goedkoop (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).