Minimizing conflicts with livestock husbandry is the most important challenge for the conservation of wolverines. In Fennoscandia, few areas exist within the wolverines’ range where there is no conflict potential with sheep and/or domestic reindeer. For example in Norway, the practice is to leave sheep unattended on mountain pastures to graze during summer. Higher stock numbers and the loss of herding and livestock guarding traditions have increa...

There are thought to be between 20,000 and 25,000 bears in the world, which occur in19 relatively discrete sub-populations, some of which are shared between nations. Topping the food chain in the Arctic, the polar bear is exposed to high levels of pollutants that are magnified with each step higher in the food web (a process known as biomagnification). Recent studies have suggested that the immune system may be weaker in polar bears with higher l...

Seven species of marine mammals live in the Arctic year-round – the bowhead whale, beluga whale, narwhal, ringed seal, beaded seal, walrus, and polar bear - and many more migrate to the Arctic seasonally. Many marine mammals aggregate in specific areas across the Arctic, for example to feed, or for whelping, pupping or moulting. A common feature of marine mammals in the Arctic is that they are associated with sea ice, although the ecological rela...

The averages of the scenarios in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) are presented in this figure, for the year 2090, with the surface temperatures over land, the size of the polar ice cap, and the outer limits of permafrost.

Large-scale commercial harvests are restricted to harp and hooded seals, except for the hooded seal population in the Jan Mayen area of the Greenland Sea. Both species faced intense commercial hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries, first for oil, and later mainly for the highly prized pelts of pups.Seal products nowadays also include a significant aphrodisiac trade (particularly for harp seal sex organs), and seal oil has become a popular health...

The thick-billed murre and common murre have ranges 1,000,000 km2 and number in the millions or tens of millions of breeding pairs. However global populations are declining, although increases have occurred in some regions. These seabirds, together with other species of alcids, face a number of direct and indirect marine and terrestrial threats, which influence their survival and reproductive success. These include transboundary pollutants, by-ca...

Distribution and observed trends of wild Rangifer populations throughout the circumpolar Arctic (from The Circum Arctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network, CARMA). Currently wild reindeer and caribou have declined by about 33% since populations (herds) peaked in the 1990s and early 2000s (3.8 million compared to 5.6 million) which followed almost universal increases in the 1970s and 1980s. In Arctic Eurasia reindeer herding represents a l...

The Arctic plays host to a vast array of biodiversity, including many globally significant populations. Included among these are more than half of the world´s shorebird species, 80% of the global goose populations, several million reindeer and caribou, and many unique mammals, such as the polar bear. During the short summer breeding season, 279 species of birds arrive from as far away as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America to ...

Language not only communicates, it defines culture, nature, history, humanity, and ancestry. The indigenous languages of the Arctic have been formed and shaped in close contact with their environment. They are a valuable source of information and a wealth of knowledge on human interactions with nature is encoded in these languages. If a language is lost, a world is lost. This deep knowledge and interconnectedness is expressed in Arctic song, subs...

The land mass in the Arctic - Greenland and parts of Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Nordic countries - surrounds the Arctic Ocean. In the low Arctic, down to the temperate regions, the taiga coniferous forests represents a vast band of deep forests. North of the taiga, the tundra of the Arctic - with low vegetation, shrubs and various degrees of permafrosts spreads out. Beyond the tundra, there might be barren regions with only rock and few plant...

Protected areas have long been viewed as a key element for maintaining and conserving Arctic biodiversity and the functioning landscapes upon which species depend. Arctic protected areas have been established in strategically important and representative areas, helping to maintain crucial ecological features, e.g., caribou migration and calving areas, shorebird and waterfowl staging and nesting sites, seabird colonies, and critical components of ...

The Arctic represents the northermost area of the World, the Arctic Ocean and the land areas that surrounds it. The region is characterized but cold temperatures, and ice and snow. The summers are short, but with long periods of daylight (midnight sun). The winters are long and cold and with periods with no sun (polar night). The Arctic Ocean is one basin that is mostly covered by sea ice, and is connected to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The ...

Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are a main component of international environmental governance. The number of MEAs created in response to global environmental challenges has risen steadily since the UN Conference on the Human Environment (UNCED) in 1972.

The Arctic plays host to a vast array of biodiversity, including many globally significant populations. Included among these are more than half of the world´s shorebird species, 80% of the global goose populations, several million reindeer and caribou, and many unique mammals, such as the polar bear. During the short summer breeding season, 279 species of birds arrive from as far away as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America to ...

The Arctic is a region not easily delineated by one boundary or definition - it includes the Arctic Ocean and the land areas around it, including Greenland, Eurasia and North America. A climate definition of the Arctic is the 10 centigrade July isotherm. This limit roughly coincides with the treeline and represents a change in growing conditions for plants. As visible in the map, this also includes mountainous and alpine areas. The map also prese...

The effects climate change has on different countries are not proportional to their respective contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, they vary greatly and in some cases the effects may even be positive in specific regions. This presents a general paradox: the countries that are the highest emitters suffer less impact, while those that are lower emitters experience the greatest impact. Metropolitan areas in the region are experiencing...

In 2007, 15.8% of the supply of primary energy in Latin America and the Caribbean came from renewable fuels and waste (solid and liquid biomass, biogas, and industrial and urban waste). This is higher than the worldwide average of 9.5% for the same year. Of the region’s countries, Haiti, Paraguay, Nicaragua and Guatemala each obtain more than 50% of their primary energy from renewable fuels and waste. It is important to note, however, that this f...

Despite showing signs of slowing at the global level, the present pace of deforestation continues to be a source of serious concern for Latin America and the Caribbean. While the region’s forests represent one of the most important potential sources for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, it equally accounted for approximately 70% of the world’s decrease in forests between 2005 and 2010 (FAO 2010). The global forest resource assessment (FRA) con...

In 2005, per capita emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean, not taking emissions associated with land use changes into account, amounted to 5.5 MtCO2-e, with Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela having the highest levels of per capita emissions. On the other end of the spectrum, Guatemala, El Salvador and Haiti had the lowest emission levels in the region.

Between 1959 and 1996, the snowcapped volcano of Santa Isabel in Colombia showed a 44% decrease in its ice-covered peak. This process of decrease in ice has continued, causing it to lose its attraction as a tourist site, with significant economic consequences.