The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of July 23, 2018

Parks Canada seeks Inuit input on management

Parks Canada announced that it would provide up to $900,000 CAD to the Qikiqtani Inuit Association to help them manage the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area, in Nunavut (EOTA). The funds will supply the new Guardian program, which will partner with First Nations and Inuit people to teach the importance and techniques of land and resource conservation. It will also focus on maintaining cultural traditions, historical sites, and the significant biodiversity of the region (Nunatsiaq, Cision).

Take 1: The Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area was established last year and is the largest protected marine area in Canada. The recent establishment of this park and the new program that engages with local Inuit communities aligns well with the Canadian government’s recent focus on improving the health of the world’s oceans and engaging more with Inuit leaders on land-use and conservation in national parks (EOTA).

Inuit Circumpolar Council General Assembly held in Utqiaġvik

Sixty-four Inuit delegates heard from experts on a range of topics from Inuit culture to economic development during the four-day Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) General Assembly in Utqiaġvik, Alaska last week. During the Assembly, the ICC also adopted the Utqiaġvik Declaration, which outlines the ICC’s activities for the next four years (APM). The Declaration emphasizes better engagement with international organizations like the United Nations and encourages diplomatic action to “declare the Arctic as a Peaceful Zone” (EOTA).

Take 2: Although separated by international borders, Inuit people in different regions share many of the same concerns and this is what makes the ICC so important. The ICC gives the Inuit people a unified voice that can represent their interests in a changing Arctic, now increasingly characterized by both cooperation and competition from international players.

First two gas tankers traverse Northern Sea Route from Russia to China

Openings in Arctic sea ice have allowed two Russian ice-breaking vessels to complete a shipment from the Yamal natural gas liquefaction plant in Russia to Nantong, China. The longstanding trade route between the two cities usually involves a 35 day journey west, however the new eastbound “Northern Sea Route” is only 19 days (Maritime Executive).

Take 3: The shorter travel time promises to lower costs and aid in efforts to further industrialize the area with other gas production plants along the new route (Maritime Executive). The lower costs and transportation time may also help NOVATEK develop more hydrocarbon fields in the region (IBO). The journey represents another step towards the future of niche shipping routes through Arctic waters (The Arctic Institute).

Arctic geese race north as climate warms

Scientists studying barnacle geese, a close relative of the Canada goose, are concerned about their migration to the Arctic. The geese make a month-long journey north every spring, but in recent years they have been skipping a regularly scheduled stop along the way. Scientists observed that the geese also sped up their journeys around the halfway point and suspect that this was caused by the birds taking note of greening vegetation, which signalled to the geese that they were running late (BBC).

Take 4: This is bad news for newly hatched barnacle geese chicks because their mothers need large body stores for nesting that they miss out on when they skip their stopover. The mother geese then try to make up the food difference, but this has been causing a delay in mating and nesting. In years with a large mismatch, chicks are born later and are missing out on the ‘peak food’ period and this is greatly reducing their short-term survival (Science Daily). This is just one example of the phenological mismatch that climate change is creating for migratory species, many of which depend on getting their timing just right in order to survive.

Temperature records broken as the Arctic continues to burn

Wildfires continue to rage across the Arctic, as Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway struggle to keep up. As Karen discussed in last week’s Take Five, Sweden has called in international help to tackle the flames, but the country remains at high risk for fires (The Independent). Finland and Russia are jointly tackling fires in their border regions (IBO) and Norway has called in their military to relieve worn out firefighters in some regions, following the recent death of a firefighter in the field (The Local).

Take 5: Temperature records are being broken around the world, including in Arctic regions like Siberia and Norway (EOTA, The Local). This summer has seen prolonged heat drying out the North, leaving behind highly flammable carbon stored in peatlands and forests, which are perfect fuel for wildfires. Scientists say that these extreme conditions are the ‘new normal’ and that we have to adapt to the conditions (EOTA), but with most fires being started by humans, it would appear that we aren’t yet adapting very well (ScienceMag).