Global consequences of changing climate conditions for water-related ecosystems in the Arctic

Date/time: December 4, 13:00-14:30

Room: Rema 1000

Session organizer: Tobias Salathe, Ramsar Secretariat

The session brings together experts from different fields, studying physical processes, species and communities, how ecosystems function, and how humans impact water-related ecosystems and their capacities for resilience and adaptation.

This session will consist of a facilitated interdisciplinary panel discussion.

A first round of discussion will ask speakers to comment on how their field addresses: 

• How to understand and measure changes in fragile Arctic ecosystems and the services they provide?
• What roles Arctic wetlands play for climate change adaptation and mitigatation of negative effects?
• What monitoring of status, trends and threats to Arctic wetlands and their biodiversity is needed?
• How to increase public awareness and understanding of the need for the environmental measures to be undertaken?

Discussion will proceed around the following questions, providing answers from the different disciplines to a selection of the key findings of the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment among this list:

• What decisive action is needed to sustain vast, relatively undisturbed Arctic ecosystems?
• How to cope with the warming climate in the Arctic and its effects on biodiversity?
• How to prevent overharvesting and habitat alteration for Arctic migratory species?
• How to avoid disturbance and habitat degradation to maintain ecosystem services?
• Priorities to prevent and diminish pollution threatening Arctic ecosystems and species?
• Which invasive alien species are threatening the Arctic, and what to do?
• Recommendations for sound population management (rather than overharvesting)?
• What monitoring of populations, ecosystems and their stressors is needed?
• Which comprehensive solutions and forms of international cooperation are needed?

Round Table Discussion

• Tobias Salathe, Ramsar Secretariat:  pdf Introduction and discussion questions (1.13 MB)
• Michael Becker, McGill University:  pdf The ecology of decaying ice wedges (2.78 MB)
• Yulia Bespalaya, Russian Academy of Sciences: Biodiversity, ecology and adaptive capability of freshwater bivalves in the extreme climatic conditions in the Arctic region
• Chelsea Chisholm, University of Copenhagen: Phenological shifts in tundra plant communities due to thermokarst in the Canadian High Arctic
• Sergius Kuzmin, Russian Academy of Sciences:  pdf Amphibian and reptile biodiversity in the Russian sub-Arctic and Arctic regions (1.66 MB)
• Hilary White, Wilfred Laurier University:  pdf Characterizing the influence of climate change on shallow lakes in Wapusk National Park, northern Manitoba, Canada (997 KB)
• Raymond Valente, Royal Dutch Shell:  pdf Mitigating environmental impacts to Arctic wetlands from oil and gas development activities (498 KB)

Session theme: Arctic change, resilience and adaptation