The incorporation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Arctic Council: Lip service?

Polar Record ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeniia (Jen) Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
Indigenous Methods

Abstract The utilization of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in wildlife management has been a prominent topic for several decades. Since its establishment, Arctic Council (AC) has emphasized the importance of TEK and its utilization in its work. Yet, the process of knowledge coproduction in the AC has never been assessed. To what extent has TEK been meaningfully incorporated into the AC? The research uses qualitative content analysis to analyze the AC working groups’ meeting minutes, reports, scientific reports and assessments as well as reports released by Permanent Participants in order to investigate how the TEK has been incorporated into the AC. The study investigates that the process of knowledge coproduction in the AC turned into lip service, and suggests the set of recommendations that could potentially guide the TEK projects in the process of knowledge co-production. These recommendations, including the use of participatory methodology, the use of Indigenous methods, a recognition that TEK is local, application to policy, and better cross-cultural communication, could result in the more meaningful integration of TEK into scientific projects as well as wildlife management policies.

scholarly journals Traditional Ecological Knowledge

2021 ◽  
pp. 181-194
Author(s):  
Corinna Casi ◽  
Hanna Ellen Guttorm ◽  
Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Environmental Knowledge ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Brazilian Amazonia ◽  
Dynamic Relationship

This chapter argues that the concept of Traditional Ecological Knowlegde means more than the accumulated environmental knowledge and comprehension of natural phenomena. Rather, it is constituted by a set of evolving beliefs and practices that understands its own dynamic relationship with other beings in the environment. The examples of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) illustrated in this chapter include Apurinã and Manchineri communities in Brazilian Amazonia, and Sámi communities in the Arctic.

The Use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Context of Participatory Wildlife Management

Ethnozoology ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 497-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie van Vliet ◽  
Laurane L’haridon ◽  
Juanita Gomez ◽  
Liliana Vanegas ◽  
François Sandrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Ecological Knowledge

Improving the work of the Arctic Council: challenges and recommendations

Polar Record ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svein Vigeland Rottem
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Sources Of Pollution ◽  
Harmful Emissions ◽  
Action Programme ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Objective Being

Abstract The Arctic Contaminants Action Programme (ACAP), originally intended to follow up the work of AMAP (the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) on identifying the sources of pollution, became an official working group under the Arctic Council in 2006. ACAP has focussed on pollution from Russian sources, the main objective being to accelerate the reduction of national emissions of various environmental pollutants and climate forcers. Basically, ACAP initiates projects with a scientific basis in AMAP assessments of the health of the Arctic. The idea behind the creation of ACAP was to channel the work of the Arctic Council in a more practical direction and to improve the use of the knowledge produced by AMAP. ACAP is one of only two Council working groups not to have been specifically evaluated and analysed by external bodies and academics. This article undertakes a critical analysis of ACAP and argues that there are great potentials for improving its work. ACAP has established a forum where it has been possible to facilitate pilot projects aimed at limiting harmful emissions; this work should be strengthened.

scholarly journals Using traditional ecological knowledge to understand and adapt to climate and biodiversity change on the Pacific coast of North America

AMBIO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (12) ◽  
pp. 1447-1469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Rawn Wyllie de Echeverria ◽  
Thomas F. Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Biodiversity Changes

Abstract We investigate the perceptions and impacts of climate change on 11 Indigenous communities in Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska. This coastal region constitutes an extremely dynamic and resilient social-ecological system where Indigenous Peoples have been adjusting to changing climate and biodiversity for millennia. The region is a bellwether for biodiversity changes in coastal, forest, and montane environments that link the arctic to more southerly latitudes on the Pacific coast. Ninety-six Elders and resource users were interviewed to record Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and observations regarding weather, landscape, and resource changes, especially as concerns what we term Cultural Keystone Indicator Species (CKIS), which provide a unique lens into the effects of environmental change. Our findings show that Indigenous residents of these communities are aware of significant environmental changes over their lifetimes, and an acceleration in changes over the last 15–20 years, not only in weather patterns, but also in the behaviour, distributions, and availability of important plants and animals. Within a broader ecological and social context of dwelling, we suggest ways this knowledge can assist communities in responding to future environmental changes using a range of place-based adaptation modes.

scholarly journals Singapore and the Arctic: Is the Gibraltar of the East Going to Materialize its Geopolitical Ambitions?

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Viguier
Keyword(s):  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
Arctic Policy

The Arctic is becoming the new place to be for states, companies and academics, as the ice retreat is uncovering new strategic and geopolitical stakes. Arctic sates have already updated their Arctic policies, including their geopolitical stakes and Asian states with an Observer status to the Arctic Council are following the trend, but few of them don’t have an Arctic policy yet, Singapore being one of them. Highly participative within the Arctic Council’s working groups and building a strong cooperation, Singapore still remains mysterious in its approach. Then, what are the Gibraltar of the East’s geopolitical ambitions in the Arctic?

Coordinated Ocean Stewardship in the Arctic: Needs, Challenges and Possible Models for an Arctic Ocean Coordinating Agreement

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betsy Baker ◽  
Brooks Yeager
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Marine Management ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
The Right ◽  
The North Pacific

AbstractThis article proposes an Arctic Ocean Coordinating Agreement (AOCA) as a framework for more effective coordination and sharing of practices regarding national conservation and management policies in the marine Arctic. It envisions a nimble, versatile body that operates without creating new institutions and focuses instead on convening and coordinating existing individuals and institutions whose expertise can assist the Arctic states with questions that the Arctic states define. The AOCA could incorporate aspects of regional seas agreements (RSAs) into a less formal regional arrangement that would differ significantly from traditional RSAs. Identifying the Arctic Council as the right entity to launch AOCA discussions, the article proposes that an AOCA should draw on entities already engaged in work relevant to the emerging challenges in the Arctic Ocean: the Helsinki and OSPAR Commissions, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), and other institutions that have successfully convened appropriate sets of actors for targeted responses to shared marine management concerns around the world.

An Overview of National and International Environmental Laws pertaining to Arctic States and Their Work with the Arctic Council

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Hayley-Bo Dorrian-Bak
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
The Arctic Region

The latest International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published in August 2021 demonstrated that the Arctic region drastically feels the impacts of climate change. Several laws and policies contribute to the governance of the reduction of emissions which impact the Arctic polar region. This work will analyse the inclusion of language relating to the Arctic region in several key Arctic countries’ climate policies and in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) submitted in requirement of being parties to the Paris Agreement. Arctic policies of these same countries will then be analysed to determine the degree to which they stipulate action relating to the Arctic environment. Finally, the several research projects and initiatives conducted by the Arctic Council’s two working groups, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and the Arctic Contaminants Action Programme (ACAP), will be overviewed to demonstrate their contributions to the best available science and practice in the region. This paper will look into how, and to what extent, the research of the Arctic Council working groups can be considered a mechanism of soft law in Arctic environmental governance. Consideration will also be given to how this relates to soft law governance stemming from the Law of the Sea (LOSC).

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