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Home Background 1st Flyer 2nd Flyer Programme Scientific Committee Follow-Up |
Arctic Coastal Zones at Risk
The Arctic research organizations IASC (International Arctic Science Committee) and
AMAP (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme), together with LOICZ,
the Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone research project and the International Human Dimensions Programme
on Global Environmental Change IHDP will jointly organize a scientific workshop aimed at the impact of Global Warming on Arctic Coastal Zones.Of particular interest is the response of Arctic geophysical and ecosystem features to effects of Global Warming i.e., the decreasing sea ice cover, the destabilisation of permafrost systems and increased exposure of the coast to storms. Embedded in this context will be the important issue of reactions of human societies to these Arctic changes. This includes both adaptation to changing living conditions bearing threats and options for human welfare as well as new forms of land and sea use such as enhanced access to resource extraction, or the increasing ship traffic along the coast. In the working groups, physical, biological-ecological as well as socio-economic perspectives will be addressed. The physical perspectives of Global Change comprise changes in environmental forcing (by sea ice, wind and waves, rising sea level etc.), in permafrost stability, morphodynamics and river discharge into the Arctic Sea. The biological-ecological perspective covers biodiversity issues, biogeochemical cycles including pollution, ecosystem functioning and thresholds, and ecosystem goods and services. The socio-economic perspectives look upon new forms of land and sea use, governance systems linked to decision-making in the coastal zone (scales and participation), effectiveness of management, and adaptation strategies and frameworks. Outcome The Workshop report will comprise assessment, prognosis, and human responses of/to Arctic Change and thus be a link between and coastal focus update of the existing ACIA (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment) and AHDR (Arctic Human Development Report) reports, focused on Arctic coasts and people. The report will be published as issue No. 30 of the LOICZ Report and Studies Series and will comprise 1) the workgroup results and 2) Extended abstracts of the workgroup members. The keynote lectures will be condensed into a Special Issue of "Polar Research". |