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New treaty bans commercial fishing in the Arctic for 16 years

The European Union and nine other countries, including the US and Russia, approved an international agreement on Thursday (14 February) that will prohibit commercial vessels from fishing in the Arctic in order to preserve the region’s fragile ecosystem.

New state-of-the-art technology collects a unique time series from methane seeps in the Arctic

A new study published in Ocean Science conducted by CAGE Ph.D. candidate Knut Ola Dølven and co-authors presents time-series data from two methane seep sites offshore western Svalbard, in the Arctic.

New Initiatives to Conserve and Protect Earth’s Agricultural Biodiversity for Future Generations.

Norway has launched the Svalbard International Seed Vault, which will act as a safety net in case seeds already stored in commercial gene banks are destroyed, or are decimated in a global catastrophe. Norway’s “Noah’s Ark” project aims to safeguard crop diversity by storing about 1.5 billion se ...

New Information and Web-based Technologies - The Arctic Region Workshop, 19-22 November 2007, Quebec City, Canada

Reference: SCBD/SEL/OJ/OH/CR/60736 (2007-142)
To: CBD National Focal Points

Pursuant to paragraphs B.II.13 and C.6.(a) of Decision VIII/5, as well as paragraphs 3.(c).(ii) and 8 of Decision VII/14, I have the honour to inform you that the Secretariat has received, to-date, a total of US$ 70,091.30 from donors in support of the participation of indigenous representative ...

Nature has no borders – transboundary cooperation to safeguard arctic and boreal biodiversity

A key theme #5 in the recently released Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA) concerns identifying and safeguarding important areas for biodiversity. This concerns the need to advance the protection of large areas of ecologically important marine, terrestrial and freshwater habitats, taking into ...

Mysterious ocean-floor trails show Arctic sponges on the move

The aquatic animal known as the sponge is often described as entirely sessile: once they've settled in a spot and matured, they aren't generally thought of as moving around. But, according to a new study in the journal Current Biology on April 26—in which researchers describe mysterious trails o ...

Melting of polar ice shifting Earth itself, not just sea levels

The melting of polar ice is not only shifting the levels of our oceans, it is changing the planet Earth itself. Newly minted Ph.D. Sophie Coulson and her colleagues explained in a recent paper in Geophysical Research Letters that, as glacial ice from Greenland, Antarctica, and the Arctic Islands ...

Living with climate catastrophe

From stronger storms to Arctic warming to California fires, rising atmospheric carbon levels mean there's no escaping the fallout from global warming. Now, we're plunged into a new world of managing the consequences.

List of Selected Participants for the International Expert Meeting on Responses to Climate Change for Indigenous and Local Communities and the Impact on their Traditional Knowledge related to Biological Diversity - The Arctic Region, Helsinki, Finland, 25-28 March 2008

Reference: SCBD/SEL/OJ/ac/62607 (2008-028)
To: CBD National Focal Points and Indigenous and Local Communities

Thanks to the generous financial support from the Government of Finland, an international expert meeting for the Arctic region on “responses to climate change for indigenous and local communities, and the impact on their traditional knowledge related to biological diversity”, will be held in Hel ...

Life in the Arctic: the reindeer herders struggling against the climate crisis –

As the arctic warms four times faster than the global average, Europe’s only indigenous population is under threat. For centuries, the Sámi people have herded reindeer throughout northern Europe.

Lesson from Arctic sea-ice prediction in 2020: Subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction remains challenging

As an indicator and amplifier of global climate change, the Arctic's health and stability is the cornerstone of the stability of our climate system. It has far-reaching impacts on ecosystems, coastal resilience and human settlements in the middle and high latitudes.

Latest Discovery: Fish & Quid Found in the Central Arctic Ocean

Small fish are abundant in the 200-600 m deep Atlantic water layer of the Amundsen Basin, according to a unique hydroacoustic dataset collected by the EFICA Consortium, which revealed a "deep scattering layer" (DSL) consisting of zooplanktion and fish along the MOSAiC expedition's 3170 km long t ...

Largest hole in ozone layer above Arctic closes: How it happened and what it means

The polar vortex led to the concentration of excessive ozone-depleting substances that combined with the extreme cold leading to the creation of this large hole in the Ozone layer over the North Pole.

Landmark Arctic fisheries agreement enters into force

In June, the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement entered into force, bringing to fruition a diplomatic effort that began more than a decade ago.

International Scientists on Red Alert As Arctic Grows Greener

New research techniques are being adopted by scientists tackling the most visible impact of climate change — the so-called greening of Arctic regions.

International Polar Year and the Convention on Biological Diversity

The side event will create greater awareness about polar biodiversity and the threats it faces and will highlight the results and outcomes of the CBD events on the Arctic as a contribution to the International Polar Year.

Influences of summer warming and nutrient availability on Salix glauca L. growth in Greenland along an ice to sea gradient

The combined effects of climate change and nutrient availability on Arctic vegetation growth are poorly understood. Archaeological sites in the Arctic could represent unique nutrient hotspots for studying the long-term effect of nutrient enrichment.

In the Arctic, 'everything is changing,' massive animal tracking study finds

Animals across the Arctic are changing where and when they breed, migrate and forage in response to climate change, says a new study unveiling the massive scale of the change. The changes mean humans in the Arctic may have to adapt and adjust everything from hunting seasons to conservation to la ...

Ice lenses may cause many Arctic landslides

Climate change is driving periods of unusually high temperature across large swaths of the planet. These heat waves are especially detrimental in the Arctic, where they can push surface temperatures in regions of significant permafrost past the melting point of ice lenses.

Hunting toxic chemicals in the Arctic

At first, it was a simple question: what exactly did oil pollution do to gray seals off the coast of Norway?

How horses can save the permafrost

Permafrost soils in the Arctic are thawing. As they do, large, additional quantities of greenhouse gases could be released, accelerating climate change. In Russia, experiments are now being conducted in which herds of horses, bison and reindeer are being used to combat this effect.

How climate change is transforming ecosystems in the Arctic and beyond

In the last five years, scientists have observed sea animals dying off at an alarming rate in the northern Pacific waters.

How Will Climate Change Affect Arctic Stream Slime?

Rising temperatures and thawing permafrost will change nutrient concentrations in Arctic waterways, which will influence the growth of biogeochemically important biofilms.

How Climate Change Might Impact Disease Outbreak in Antarctic Fish

Scientists investigate a particular kind of fish that has evolved to survive in the severe arctic climate. However, on a field trip in 2018, they discovered an unusual phenomenon: several of the fish had terrible skin tumors.

How Arctic sea ducks develop herd immunity from avian cholera

Herd immunity, when a threshold proportion of a population becomes immune to a disease-causing organism, reducing or stopping further transmission, is very much in the news. Avian cholera much less so.

High concentrations of 'forever' chemicals being released from ice melt into the Arctic Ocean

Known as 'forever' chemicals due to the fact they do not break down in the environment, poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in a wide range of products and processes from fire proofing to stain resistant surfaces.

Hidden source of carbon found at the Arctic coast

A previously unknown significant source of carbon just discovered in the Arctic has scientists marveling at a once overlooked contributor to local coastal ecosystems—and concerned about what it may mean in an era of climate change.

Here's how one group of polar bears is adapting to climate change

Rising temperatures are melting the Arctic sea-ice on which polar bears hunt, limiting their access to food. A recent study has found a remote population of polar bears that have adapted to hunt on chunks of glacier ice.

Grad student finds adding fresh carbon to permafrost triggers carbon loss

Permafrost underlies nearly 85 percent of Alaska and nearly a quarter of the landmass in the northern hemisphere. This perennially frozen soil contains twice as much carbon as is found in the Earth's atmosphere. Since the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet, understanding c ...

Global warming may have already passed irreversible tipping point

Global warning may have already passed an irreversible tipping point, the scientist who led the biggest-ever expedition to the Arctic has warned.

Glaciers and arctic ice are vanishing. Time to get radical before it's too late

Forget “early warning signs” and “canaries in coal mines” – we’re now well into the middle of the climate change era, with its epic reshaping of our home planet. Monday’s news, from two separate studies, made it clear that the frozen portions of the earth are now in violent and dramatic flux.

Five facts to help you understand sea ice

One way that scientists monitor climate change is through the measure of sea ice extent. Sea ice extent is the area of ice that covers the Arctic Ocean at a given time. Sea ice plays an important role in reflecting sunlight back into space, regulating ocean and air temperature, circulating ocean ...

First Person: The ‘Human Swan’ inspiring climate action

Australian biologist Sacha Dench has been nicknamed “the Human Swan”, in recognition of her record-breaking, 7,000 kilometre, paramotor (motorized paraglider) flight, tracking Bewick swans across 11 countries, from Arctic Russian to the UK. Ahead of International Day for Biological Diversity, Ms ...

Estonians to sail to the Arctic to draw attention to climate change

In the summer of 2021, a group of Estonian sailors and scientists are planning a sailing trip to the Arctic; the purpose of the trip is to draw attention to climate change in the region.

Erosion due to climate change is destroying the Arctic coastline

We may lose up to three meters of coastline in the Arctic every year by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change. The authors also warn about bigger waves due to increasing temperatures, making the coastline very vulner ...

Eavesdropping on whales in the high Arctic

Whales are huge, but they live in an even larger environment—the world's oceans. Researchers use a range of tools to study their whereabouts, including satellite tracking, aerial surveys, sightings and deploying individual hydrophones to listen for their calls.

EU's Arctic policy is not 'convenience' but necessity

The reason for the increased attention is that the Arctic is becoming a new stage for some of the most defining issues of our time: climate change, the urgent need for inclusive and sustainable development, and geopolitics.

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IUCN/NRDC Workshop to Identify Areas of Ecological and Biological Significance or Vulnerability in the Arctic

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Finland submission: Specially Designed Marina Areas in the Arctic High Seas

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Russian Federation Submission: Atlas of Marine and Coastal Biological Diversity of the Russian Arctic

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Saami Council Submission: Sensitive Sea Areas in Arctic Norway

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UNU TK Initiative Submission: Traditional knowledge relating to Arctic marine species and habitats

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Ivanov, A. N. and V.A. Spiridonov. An approach to marine bioregionalization in the Russian Arctic for the purposes of planning marine protected areas and other areas in need of protection

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Report of the Arctic Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas

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Report of the Arctic Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas

Defending the defenders: tropical forests in the front line

“Climate change is hitting hardest those who have done least to cause it, especially the world’s indigenous peoples from the Arctic to the tropics,” said renowned actor and activist Alec Baldwin speaking at the 18th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York o ...

Dam it: beavers head north to the Arctic as tundra continues to heat up

The transformation of the rapidly warming Arctic is being accelerated by a wave of thousands of newcomers that are waddling and paddling northwards: beavers.

Cracks in Arctic sea ice turn low clouds on and off

The prevailing view has been that more leads are associated with more low-level clouds during winter. But University of Utah atmospheric scientists noticed something strange in their study of these leads: when lead occurrence was greater, there were fewer, not more clouds.

Crab-22: how Norway's fisheries got rich – but on an invasive species

The Norwegian fishing village of Bugøynes, 310 miles north of the Arctic Circle and a frigid, dark place for much of the year, was on the edge of ruin.

Corrigendum - International Expert Meeting on Responses to Climate Change for Indigenous and Local Communities and the impact on their Traditional Knowledge related to Biological Diversity The Arctic Region, Helsinki, Finland, 25-28 March 2008

Reference: SCBD/SEL/OJ/SG/61053 (2007-153)
To: CBD National Focal Points and Indigenous and Local Communities

I am pleased to inform Parties, international agencies, indigenous and local community representatives, and other stakeholders, that thanks to the generous financial support from the Government of Finland, an international expert meeting for the Arctic region on “responses to climate change for ...