IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) Coverage
IISD RS has produced daily web coverage and a summary report from the Arctic Biodiversity Congress. In order to download our report, click the HTML or PDF icons below.


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7 December

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Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2014

2-4 December 2014 | Trondheim, Norway

Daily Web Coverage

Introduction | 2 December | 3 December | 4 December | Summary

Highlights for Tuesday, 2 December 2014

The Arctic Biodiversity Congress opened today in Trondheim, Norway. The meeting is co-chaired by Risa Smith, chair of the Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group, Finn Katerås, Norwegian Environment Agency, and Tom Barry, CAFF Secretariat.

Delegates heard plenary statements and a panel discussion in the morning and attended parallel sessions throughout the afternoon.

Opening addresses were delivered by: Tine Sundtoft, Minister for Climate and Environment, Norway; Vincent Rigby, chair of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council; Áile Jávo, president of the Saami Council; Hans Meltofte, chief scientist of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment; Mette Wilkie, UN Environment Programme; Braulio De Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity; and Congress Co-Chair Risa Smith.

The afternoon parallel sessions focused on, among other things: partnerships in the Arctic, predominantly regarding oil exploration and development; the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Network; invasive species; traditional knowledge and the co-production of knowledge; polar bear management; planning for risk; and ecosystem stewardship and resilience.

Reindeer above the Arctic circle in Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Kate Harris

Funding for coverage of the Arctic Biodiversity Congress has been provided by the
Arctic Council’s Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

Opening Plenary

Participants fill the room for the opening plenary

Risa Smith, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Chair and Arctic Biodiversity Congress Co-Chair

Tine Sundtoft, Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway

Vincent Rigby, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials of the Arctic Council

Tom Barry, CAFF Secretariat

Áile Jávo, President, Saami Council

Else Berit Eikeland, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

First round of panelists for the "Arctic ecosystems in a global perspective" discussion. L-R: Bud Cribley (US), Director, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska; Okalik Eegeesiak (Canada), Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council; Pernille Møller (Greenland), Director, Department of Nature and Climate, Ministry of Environment and Nature; and Tomas Orri Ragnarsson (Iceland), Arctic Senior Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Second round of panelists for the "Arctic ecosystems in a global perspective" discussion. L-R: Moderator Else Berit Eikeland, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Maarten Loonen (Netherlands), Arctic Centre, University of Groningen; Masaki Uchida (Japan), National Institute of Polar Research; and Choon Beng How (Singapore), National Parks Board.