Arctic Peoples

In a newly released report from AMAP “Update on Selected Climate Issues of Concern - Observations, Short-lived Climate Forcers, Arctic Carbon Cycle and Predictive Capability” (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme). (A copy of the report is available on AMAPs homepage.) Recent results from Arctic carbon cycle research is presented and it is stated that improved understanding of the carbon dynamics is needed to modeling Arctic carbon cycle impact on global climate change.

Climate change may alter the natural cycling of carbon (C) in ecosystems in the Arctic. The Arctic carbon cycle is an important factor in the global climate system. Significant amount of carbon has been accumulated over thousands of years and stored in permafrost soils because of the process of cryoturbation, which moves organic matter into the deeper soil layers. Other processes, such as decomposition, wildfires, and logging, cause release of carbon into the atmosphere and, thus, act as carbon sources. At present the Arctic is a sink for carbon however climate warming - and thawing of the permafrost and accelerating decomposition processes - could disrupt the balance between accumulation of carbon in Arctic soils and emission of CO2 back into the atmosphere. Read the rest of this entry »

The Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council have proposed the establishment of an Indigenous Peoples Community Action Initiative (IPCAP Initiative). RAIPON has been the driving force. The Initiative was welcomed by the Arctic Council Ministerial Meetings in Salekhard (October 2006) and in Tromsø (March 2009) where it is stated in the Tromsø Declaration that the Ministers: “.. Welcome with appreciation the creation of a new Project Steering Group to address contaminants in indigenous peoples’ communities in remote areas of the Arctic…”

At the ACAP (Arctic Contamination Action Programme) meeting in Ottawa in September 2009, the development of the Indigenous People Contaminants Action Program Initiative was discussed by representatives from government and from RAIPON .

The IPCAP Initiative has been placed under the ACAP Working Group although there are linkages to two other working groups under Arctic Council : AMAP and SDWG. ACAP is an action program and so is the IPCAP initiative also thought to be for hazardous waste management and treatment in indigenous communities in remote area in the Arctic. The Initiative proposes actions to identify and remove local sources of contamination and thereby improve the environment and the human safety and health conditions in indigenous communities. Read the rest of this entry »

The Sakha Republic’s Department of Culture and Education hosted the “Arctic Indigenous Siberian Languages Symposium” in September of 2009. The symposium was a Russian follow-up to the Arctic Councils “Arctic Indigenous Languages Symposium” held in Tromsø in November 2008. It was arranged in collaboration with the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North ( RAIPON ).

The symposium focused on indigenous languages in the Sakha Republic, which is home to 26 indigenous languages. Several research groups from Sakha presented their research results and their on-going work. Presentations outlined the systematic approach to document these indigenous languages and the initiated revitalization of some of them. The linguistic rights, written formulation, development of textbooks, focus on different cultural expressions and printing of literature and textbooks were among the issues discussed.

Teaching in indigenous languages is being intensified in the Sakha Republic through language policies and a systematic approach in developing educational materials. The Sakha Republic has extensive working relationships with the neighboring political entities and with the international research community dealing with those issues. Read the rest of this entry »

As the climate in the Arctic changes and the Greenlandic Ice sheet and sea ice melts at a more rapid rate and scale than expected mean model projections, the Ministers of the Arctic Council member states have established a task force on short-lived climate-forcing agents (SLCF’s) in a meeting in Tromsø in April, 2009. The mandate from the Tromsø Declaration reads:

“Decide to establish a task force on short-lived climate forcers to identify existing and new measures to reduce emissions of these forcers and recommend further immediate actions that can be taken and to report on progress at the next Ministerial meeting”

Black Carbon is one of the short-lived climate forcing agents (tropospheric ozone and methane are SLCF’s too). Black Carbon is an air pollutant composed of very fine particles of carbon that can be released into the air in aerosol form. Black Carbon is created by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (diesel and coal particularly), bio-fuels, and biomass. Carbon dioxide (CO2), on the other hand is the most well-known greenhouse gas, but is not as such a toxic substance. In fact, plants utilize CO2 in the photosynthesis. The problem with CO2 is its accumulation in the atmosphere and its ways of heating it up. Read the rest of this entry »