3 October 2016
Ministerial Highlights Increased Cooperation on Arctic Science, Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples
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Science ministers from 25 countries and the European Union (EU) signed a Joint Statement on increased international cooperation on Arctic science and inclusion of indigenous peoples in Arctic science and decision-making.

The Joint Statement, which was signed at the White House Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM), is expected to help inform national policies on climate change mitigation and resilience, Arctic development and stewardship, and the needs of indigenous peoples.

USA Flag29 September 2016: Science ministers from 25 countries and the European Union (EU) signed a Joint Statement on increased international cooperation on Arctic science and inclusion of indigenous peoples in Arctic science and decision-making. The Joint Statement, which was signed at the White House Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM), is expected to help inform national policies on climate change mitigation and resilience, Arctic development and stewardship, and the needs of indigenous peoples.

Science ministers, chief science advisors, high-level officials and indigenous representatives from around the world participated in the ASM, which convened in Washington, DC, US, on 28 September, under the chairmanship of the US. The Ministerial aimed to increase international collaboration on Arctic science, research, observations monitoring and data-sharing.

The ASM, and the resulting Joint Statement, focused on four themes: Arctic science challenges and their regional and global implications; strengthening and integrating Arctic observations and data sharing; applying expanded scientific understanding of the Arctic to build regional resilience and shape global responses; and Arctic science as a vehicle for education on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and citizen empowerment. Participants discussed the state of research and knowledge on each theme and shared initiatives to advance understanding and cooperation on the issues.

“The Arctic is a principal, global driver of the climate system and is undergoing an unprecedented rate of change with consequences far beyond its boundaries,” said World Meteorological Organization (WMO) President David Grimes in a keynote address. He explained, “The changes in the Arctic are serving as a global indicator…and are happening at a much faster rate than we would have expected.” Grimes called for establishing an ‘Arctic observatory’ to “monitor, predict and cope with these changes.”

The ASM further aims to deepen international collaboration to address large-scale research questions and increase discovery. Within this context, countries highlighted various new initiatives at the ASM to increase the scale and pace of research on the Arctic, including: the first Arctic-wide digital elevation model (DEM), released by the US; a five-year EU project to develop an Integrated Arctic Observing System (INTAROS); two EU projects on understanding the impact of changes in the Arctic on the Northern Hemisphere’s weather and climate; and a five-year UK research programme on the effects of physical changes on marine ecosystems and biogeochemical functioning in the Arctic Ocean. The US will support ‘EyesNorth,’ to expand community-based observing, including the use of indigenous knowledge and local place-based knowledge to observe environmental change and community preparedness and response.

Canada, China, Denmark, the EU, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and representatives from Arctic indigenous peoples’ organizations signed the Joint Statement. [White House Fact Sheet] [White House Blog] [WMO Press Release] [US Arctic Executive Steering Committee Website]

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