Highlights and images for 10 October 2018

On Wednesday, 10 October, participants of the Arctic Biodiversity Congress 2018 gathered in Rovaniemi, Finland, to attend the second day of the event. In the morning several parallel sessions took place on some of the following items:

• the Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative;
• Arctic ocean acidification;
• making Arctic data accessible and reusable; and
• biodiversity in the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean.

During lunch time, participants were invited to join a session titled “Beyond the Blue Planet: Frozen Worlds” hosted by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Natural History Unit, which called for input from scientists, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities for preparing the new TV series on cryosphere regions. In the afternoon, the plenary session “the Arctic in a Global Context: Biodiversity Targets, Sustainable Development Goals and a Post-2020 Agenda” underscored the transformational character of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which ensures that sustainable development is no longer a matter of only environmental ministries, pointing, inter alia, to the increased engagement of the private sector. Panellists also highlighted the need to “keep it simple” when communicating research findings. Following this debate, the Arctic Economic Council Investments and Infrastructure Working Group hosted a session on responsible investment in the Arctic. Parallel sessions in the afternoon then addressed, among other issues:

• οil spill prevention;
• the Arctic Invasive Alien Species Plan; and
• Arctic marine protected areas.

At the end of the day, participants attended a poster session and were welcomed at the Pilke Science Center for a reception.

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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Plenary Panel - the Arctic in a Global Context: Biodiversity Targets, Sustainable Development Goals and a Post-2020 Agenda

Martha Rojas Urrego, Secretary-General, Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention)

Melanie Virtue, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS)

Martin Breum, panel moderator

Dalee Sambo Dorough, Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council

Worldwide Partnerships to Conserve Migratory Birds: the Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative

Anders Braa, Norwegian Environment Agency

Doug Watkins, Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative

Sergio Rejado Albaina, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF)

Amie Black, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Biodiversity in the High Seas of the Central Arctic Ocean - Advancements in Management and Improved Understanding for the Future

David VanderZwaag, Dalhousie University

Henry Huntington, Pew Charitable Trusts

Hein Rune Skjoldal, Norwegian Institute of Marine Research

Maya Gold, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Beyond the Blue Planet: Frozen Worlds, BBC Natural History Unit

Sarah Conner, BBC Natural History Unit

Courtney Price, CAFF

Arctic Marine Protected Areas: Identification, Effectiveness, Co-management and Cooperation

Tom Barry, Executive Secretary, CAFF

Irina Onufrenya, WWF Russia

Neville Ash, Director, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre

Tom Christensen, Aarhus University

Kayla Hansen-Craik, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation - Inuvialuit Joint Secretariat

Boris Solovyev, Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Between Sessions

Around the Venue