Arctic Council Working Group 
Integrated Ecosystem Assessment in shared Arctic seas
- Reviewed national approaches to Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) in Arctic LMEs.
- Looked at progress on IEA in LMEs that straddle national boundaries: the Beaufort Sea and the Barents Sea.
EA Workshops
Workshop report · 7th EA Expert Group Workshop
Values and Valuation for Ecosystem-Based Management in the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems
How can the many values people hold for the Arctic Ocean be recognised and used in ecosystem-based management? This report summarises the 7th joint PAME-CAFF-AMAP-SDWG Ecosystem Approach (EA) Expert Group workshop, which brought together Arctic Indigenous Peoples, scientists, managers and policy experts to discuss values, valuation methods and governance for the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs).
Workshop goal“To focus on how diverse value systems are recognized, incorporated, and operationalized in ecosystem-based management (EBM) in Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs).”
Key takeaways
- Make values explicit. Diverse Arctic values should be made visible through sustained, diverse participation, with transparent trade-offs documented across scales.
- Indigenous Peoples as rights holders. Meaningful inclusion means recognising Indigenous knowledge, governance systems and decision-making authority, not just participation.
- Beyond monetary valuation. Nature values are plural; ecological, cultural, relational and intrinsic values need methods alongside economic ones.
- Start with relationship and place. Community-driven, place-based approaches are key to valuation in the Arctic.
- Next step. Participants recommended a compact “Best Practices for Values in Arctic EBM” guidance package.
Workshop report · Follow-up to the 3rd International EA Conference
Managing Arctic marine ecosystems requires international, multidisciplinary, and cross-sectoral cooperation
The third International Conference on Ecosystem Approach to Management in Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems was convened in 2024. Among many outcomes (see the conference report), the conference highlighted the importance of effective international cooperation to ensure a safe and sustainable future for the Arctic. To follow up on the conference outcomes and prepare for continued work, the Norwegian Chairship and international partners convened a workshop in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 10–12 December 2024.
Workshop aimTo identify effective ways to promote international collaboration for producing, accessing, synthesizing, and sharing scientific knowledge among organizations and Arctic Council Working Groups involved in the production of relevant knowledge, and those using this knowledge as a basis for advice on management in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO).
At the workshop
- 39 participants. 28 attendees in person and 11 online, representing Arctic governance, scientific communities and Indigenous Peoples.
- Information needs. What information institutions with mandates to provide management advice or make management decisions for the CAO need.
- Who can deliver it. Which institutions can produce and deliver this information.
- Working better together. How the collection, assessment, synthesis and sharing of relevant information can be made more effective across organizations and Arctic Council Working Groups.
Workshop report · 6th EA Workshop
Methodology and status of development of ecological (quality) objectives for Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems
Documents
orkshop (Seattle, 9-11 January 2018)
All links filled in. Paste into the page body using the editor's "Source" view. -->
Workshop report · 6th EA Workshop
Methodology and status of development of ecological (quality) objectives for Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems
Documents
Workshop report · 5th EA Workshop
Methodology and status of development of ecological (quality) objectives for Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems
Documents
Presentations (PDF)
- Ecological objectives: role in the ecosystem approach to managementHein Rune Skjoldal and Phil Mundy
- Objectives in US Federal and State of Alaska legislation and managementCathy Coon (BOEM, USA) & Phil Mundy (NOAA, USA)
- Ecological Objectives and Integrated Management Plans for Norwegian SeasCecilie von Quillefeldt (NPI)
- Using Ecological Targets to Inform Management Decisions in the Canadian ArcticBethany Schroeder (DFO, Canada)
- Ecological Objectives in EU MSFD and HELCOMHermanni Kaartokallio (Finnish Environment Institute)
- Sámi Values & Traditional KnowledgeAsta Balto
- Wildlife Management System in NunavutMoshi Kotierk (Government of Nunavut)
- Co-management perspectives from Arctic Canada: A beluga tale…Lisa Loseto (DFO-Canada)
Earlier EA workshops (2011–2014)
The first four workshops of the Ecosystem Approach (EA) Expert Group laid the groundwork for ecosystem-based management in the Arctic: mapping the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), building integrated assessment, and tackling the data needed to assess Arctic marine ecosystems.
Data and data management for Arctic ecosystem assessment
- Mapped the status of data for ecosystem assessment, from individual LMEs up to the pan-Arctic scale.
- Found biological data generally adequate only below the LME scale, and best where fisheries and international cooperation exist, as in the Barents Sea.
- Highlighted data access and sharing as key, with US–Russia monitoring cooperation in the Northern Bering–Chukchi Seas and a US–Canada IEA in the Beaufort Sea as priorities.
Integrated assessment as the core of the ecosystem approach
- Brought 25 participants together on integrated monitoring and assessment at the ecosystem scale.
- Supported Large Marine Ecosystems as the main units for applying the ecosystem approach in the Arctic.
- Identified data availability, access and quality as key, leading to the 3rd workshop on data.
Mapping the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems
- Reviewed the boundaries of the Arctic LMEs and produced a revised working map.
- Started an inventory of existing ecosystem status reports for each LME.
- Recommended broadening the expert group to other Arctic Council Working Groups, which PAME agreed.