ARCTIC PEOPLES MUST BE CONSULTED ON ADAPTATION TO WARMING, SAYS UN-BACKED GROUP

ARCTIC PEOPLES MUST BE CONSULTED ON ADAPTATION TO WARMING, SAYS UN-BACKED GROUP
New York, Mar 13 2009 1:00PM

Indigenous Arctic peoples must be consulted on ways to preserve their ways of life and boost employment opportunities as the northern ice retreats due to climate change, a group of experts convened by the United Nations cultural agency has agreed.

"Action formulated to address Arctic issues must begin from an understanding that many of the peoples of the Arctic have self-governing institutions," according to recommendations issued by participants at the meeting organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

"These peoples and their institutions have immense creativity and seek to advance the self-determination, prosperity and aspirations of their communities and their regions," they added.

According to UNESCO, rapidly changing climate in the Arctic is putting pressure on hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in the circumpolar north.

The agency noted that for decades they have been witnessing a dramatic shift during the Arctic Ocean's open water season, as sea ice retreats further and further from coasts. Industrial development and shipping are expected to rise in its place.

The four-day meeting hosted by Monaco in early March sought to address the concerns of the Arctic communities and identify strategies for the sustainable development of the region, bringing together experts in the social and natural sciences, ethics, education, and international affairs with representatives of indigenous peoples.

The recommendations of the group include establishing "a working/advisory group to develop dialogue and strategy on the challenges of climate change for circumpolar indigenous peoples, including safeguarding intangible heritage and building synergies between indigenous and scientific knowledge."

Other objectives range from promoting employment opportunities through the conservation of traditional activities to improving the access of researchers to exclusive economic zones in the Arctic area.

Participants at the meeting included representatives of the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the Saami Parliament, the Arctic Council, UNESCO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition, all Arctic States (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) were represented as well as other concerned States, some from Europe but some from as far south as New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan.

The Director General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, opened the discussions, applauding the bold mandate of the meeting. "Adaptation and response have become an unavoidable necessity. The development of appropriate adaptation and response strategies has therefore emerged as a central preoccupation of all actors, including the UN system," he said.
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INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR SPURS CRITICAL RESEARCH ON GLOBAL WARMING – UN AGENCY

INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR SPURS CRITICAL RESEARCH ON GLOBAL WARMING – UN AGENCY
New York, Feb 25 2009 5:00PM

Research produced during the International Polar Year 2007-2008 shows clearly that the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctic are losing mass, providing a critical boost to knowledge of global warming, the United Nations' climate agency said today.

"The International Polar Year 2007 – 2008 came at a crossroads for the planet's future" said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which today released a study entitled "The State of Polar Research" jointly with the International Council for Science (ICSU).

"The new evidence resulting from polar research will strengthen the scientific basis on which we build future actions," Mr. Jarraud added.

A joint project of WMO and the ICSU, the International Polar Year (IPY) garnered international funding support of about $1.2 billion over the two-year period aimed at a better understanding of the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

More than 160 multi-disciplinary research projects, developed by scientists of more than 60 countries, have been carried out over the two-year period that will end in March 2009.

The new research shows that the warming of the Antarctic is much more widespread than previously known, and it now appears that the rate of ice loss from Greenland is increasing.

A freshening of the bottom water near Antarctica is consistent with increased ice melt from that continent and could affect ocean circulation, the research finds.

The report also identified large pools of carbon stored as methane in permafrost which, if thawed, threatens to become another massive source of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

In addition to lending insight into climate change, the new research has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species' evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas, WMO said.

According to the agency, the Year will leave a legacy of enhanced observational capacity, stronger links across disciplines and communities, and an energized new generation of polar researchers.

"The work begun by IPY must continue" said Mr. Jarraud. "Internationally coordinated action related to the polar regions will still be needed in the next decades," he said, adding that a major IPY science conference will take place in Oslo in June 2010.
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