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The Arctic is of special importance to the earth's ecosystem and the fact that it is changing rapidly due to climate change is of common concern of the international community. The changes in the Arctic environment affect the whole aspect of the north; ice, sea, vegetation, animals and humans. Recent years these changes have gained increasing attention and many organizations and affiliations have been established to deal with these changes. At the Arctic Portal a good access to these organizations and affiliations is provided through a comprehensive science database.

 
The start of Northern Co-operation

In the later part of the Soviet Union, President Mikhail Gorbachev held a speech in Murmansk, which gave the impetus for the current inter governmental cooperation, especially in the field of natural sciences, resource use and environmental protection. This led to the so-called “Rovaniemi Process” in the year 1989, and was the beginning of Arctic Intergovernmental cooperation. In a meeting in Rovaniemi, the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy was signed in 1991 and the initial focus was on environmental protection and sustainable development. Later on, the Arctic Council was formed in 1996. The Arctic Council is meant to deal with common Arctic issues of the Arctic States, with the involvement of Arctic Indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants. These issues are, in particular, sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.

Reference: Arctic Council
Reference: Arctic Human Development Report

 
Natural Sciences and Climate change

ACAP

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The Arctic Contaminants Action Program (ACAP) is a working group of the Arctic Council. The goal of ACAP is to reduce emissions of pollutants into the environment in order to reduce the identified pollution risks.

 

 

ACD

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The Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) project is a multi-disciplinary, multi-national forum to exchange ideas and information. The overall objective of ACD is to improve our understanding of circum-Arctic coastal dynamics as a function of environmental forcing, coastal geology and cryology and morphodynamic behavior.

 

 

ACIA

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Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) is an international project of the Arctic Council and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), to evaluate and synthesize knowledge on climate variability, climate change, and increased ultraviolet radiation and their consequences.

 

 

AMAP

AMAP_headerThe Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) objective is providing reliable and sufficient information on the status of, and threats to, the Arctic environment. Providing scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants.

 

AMSA

amsa_logo1The Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment (AMSA) is circumpolar in focus and promotes cooperation and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders and relevant organizations. The assessment should cover all ship based activities and ship types in the Arctic

 

Arctic-HYDRA

Arctic_Hydra_logoThe Arctic-HYDRA project consists of a core network for the observation of the Arctic Hydrological Cycle. Impacts of a warming Arctic are already raising serious concerns about the stability of the sensitive balance between climate conditions, freshwater input, oceanic circulation and the state of cryospheric components.

 

 

CAFF

caff_logoConservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) mission is to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity, and communicate its findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, helping to promote practices which ensure the sustainability of the Arctic's living resources.

 

 

CBMP

 

cbmpThe purpose of the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) is to strive for the conservation of biological diversity in the Arctic, to halt or significantly reduce the loss of this biodiversity, and to provide information to the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, other Arctic residents, and stakeholders.

 

 

CBVM

logo-cbvmCircumBoreal Vegetation Mapping (CBVM) mission is to develop a global map of the circumboreal forest biome with a common legend. The reason for concentrating efforts to map boreal vegetation from all around the globe is to provide a common international framework for understanding the boreal region.

 

 

EPPR

EPPR_headerThe Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (EPPR) Working Group is to deal with the prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies in the Arctic. The work has focused mainly on oil and gas transportation and extraction, and on radiological and other hazards.

 

IASC

iasc_logoIASC, the International Arctic Science Committee, is a non-governmental organization whose aim is to encourage and facilitate cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research, in all countries engaged in Arctic research and in all areas of the Arctic region.

 

 

IASSA

iassa_logoInternational Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) was founded in 1990 in Fairbanks, Alaska, at a meeting held in conjunction with the 7th Inuit Studies Conference. The creation of IASSA follows the suggestion, made at the Conference on Coordination of Research in the Arctic held in Leningrad in 1988, to establish an international association to represent Arctic social scientists.The Arctic is defined as all Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of the world. The social sciences encompass disciplines relating to behavioral, psychological, cultural, anthropological, archaeological, linguistic, historical, social, legal, economic, environmental, and political subjects, as well as health, education, the arts and humanities, and related subjects.

IPA

IPA_LOGOThe International Permafrost Association has as its objectives to foster the dissemination of knowledge concerning permafrost and to promote cooperation among persons and national or international organizations engaged in scientific investigation and engineering work on permafrost.

 

 

PAME

pame_logoThe program for the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) was established with the mandate to address policy and non-emergency pollution prevention and control measures related to the protection of the Arctic marine environment from both land and sea-based activities.

 

SAON

Saon_logoSustained Arctic Observing Network (SAON) is composed of representatives of international organizations, agencies, and northern residents involved in research and operational and local observing, that has been formed to develop a set of recommendations on how to achieve long-term Arctic-wide observing activities that provide free, open, and timely access to high-quality data that will realize pan-Arctic and global value-added services and provide societal benefits.

 

SDWG

 

SDWG_logo_topThe Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) is a working group of the Arctic Council. The aspects of the SDWG are health issues, sustainable economic activities, children and youth, management of natural and living resources and infrastructure development.
 
Social Sciences and Organisations

AHDR

AHDRThe Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR ) is a comprehensive assessment of human well-being covering the entire Arctic region. The report contains 11 substantive chapters, an introduction, a conclusion and a Summary of Major Findings, based on contributions from some 90 scientists located in all the member states of the Arctic Council. All the contents of the report are available online.



ArcticStat

arcticstatArcticStat is a permanent, public and independent statistical database dealing with the countries, regions and populations of the Circumpolar Arctic. ArcticStat database is a portal that takes users directly to the table they are looking for, whether it is located on the web site of a statistics agency or in the ArcticStat database.

EALÁT

ealtEALÁT is a Reindeer Herders Vulnerability Network Study and is a project that examines reindeer pastoralism in the light of climate change, in particular, on the integration of reindeer herders' knowledge in the study and analysis of their ability to adapt to environmental variability and change.



IASSA

iassa_logoInternational Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) was founded in 1990 in Fairbanks, Alaska, at a meeting held in conjunction with the 7th Inuit Studies Conference. The creation of IASSA follows the suggestion, made at the Conference on Coordination of Research in the Arctic held in Leningrad in 1988, to establish an international association to represent Arctic social scientists.The Arctic is defined as all Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of the world. The social sciences encompass disciplines relating to behavioral, psychological, cultural, anthropological, archaeological, linguistic, historical, social, legal, economic, environmental, and political subjects, as well as health, education, the arts and humanities, and related subjects.

Nordregio

NordregioNordregio is a European centre for research, education and documentation on spatial development, established by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nordregio´s goal is to develop and communicate relevant knowledge to authorities within regional development and planning in the Nordic countries.

NRF

nrflogoThe Northern Research Forum (NRF) provides a platform for effective, policy-relevant discussion and the sharing of research on northern issues. Meetings are held biennially with the participation of a wide variety of scientists, policy makers and representatives of other stakeholders.



SLICA

The Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic, or SLiCA, is an international joint effort of research and indigenous people to measure and understand living conditions in the Arctic. This website is intended to promote the use and understanding of SLiCA data.

 

The Arctic Is

The Arctic Is, is a web resource on human-environment relationship in the Arctic.The Arctic Is web site, provides a new perspective on the Arctic region and the critical issues facing it today. The articles in this site are arranged into general overviews, more specific Topics, and illustrative Case Studies. The site is availible in English, German, French, Danish and Icelandic.

 


International Polar Year

University of Akureyri

Northern forum

University of the Arctic

Arctic Council

International Arctic Science Committee

Norden.org - Official co-operation in the Nordic region

Arctic Portal
Arctic Portal - info(at)arcticportal.org - designed by Teikn Design

 

 

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