Highlights and images for 12 October 2018

On Friday, 12 October, the Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018 gathered in Rovaniemi, Finland, for the last day of the event. In the morning, participants attended parallel sessions, discussing:

• mainstreaming biodiversity data in the extractive industries;
• resilience of pastoral ecosystems and livelihoods of nomadic herders;
• success stories of transboundary and cross-cultural cooperation in the Beringian region;
• improving knowledge on the marine Arctic environment;
• addressing conflicts between people and polar bears;
• guidelines for ecosystem approaches to management in the Arctic;
• building social-ecological resilience;
• lessons from Arctic biodiversity monitoring programs; and
• challenges and opportunities for Arctic ocean protection.

To conclude the congress, a final session was convened to share thoughts on main lessons from the event and ideas about the way forward. Neville Ash, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), emphasized the congress took a broad view of biodiversity and acknowledged the mutual reinforcement of sustainable use and conservation. Tom Barry, CAFF, said the congress successfully fostered vibrant discussions among a diversity of actors. He noted discussions are underway to hold a third edition of the congress, highlighting it would provide a great opportunity to assess the status of Arctic biodiversity halfway through the ten year timeline for tackling climate change identified in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.Closing the event, Aulikki Alanen, Ministry of Environment, Finland, lauded participants for having “truly lived the Rovaniemi spirit of strong environmental protection in the Arctic.”

IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB+ Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage and has provided a summary report from the Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

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Aulikki Alanen, Ministry of Environment, Finland

Neville Ash, Director, UNEP-WCMC

Proteus Partnership: Mainstreaming Biodiversity Information in the Extractives Sector

Jürgen Weissenberger, Equinor

Melania Buffagni, Eni

Matt Jones, UNEP-WCMC

Neville Ash, UNEP-WCMC

Leading by Example: Lessons from Arctic Biodiversity Monitoring Programs and Assessments

Knud Falk, Arctic Falcons Specialist Group

Aleksandr Sokolov, Russian Academy of Sciences

Niels Martin Schmidt, Aarhus University

Eeva Soininen, University of Tromsø

Nomadic Herders: Enhancing the Resilience of Pastoral Ecosystems and Livelihoods of Nomadic Herders

Kathrine Johnsen, GRID-Arendal, and Svein Mathiesen, Association of World Reindeer Herders

Anna Skarin, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Mikael Kuhmonen, Sami reindeer herder

Between Sessions

CAFF team and congress organizers group photo

Around the Venue