Full Proposals for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Proposed IPY Activity Details

1.0 PROPOSER INFORMATION

(Activity ID No: 162)

1.1 Title of Activity
Starting the clock for the CARMA Network: Impacts on Human-Rangifer Systems in the Circumarctic.

1.2 Short Form Title of Proposed Activity
“CARMA” – CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network

1.3 Activity Leader Details
Don Russell
Environment Canada
Canada

1.4 Lead International Organisation(s) (if applicable)
Institute of Arctic Biology / University of Alaska Fairbanks
UNEP – GRID Arendal, Norway

1.5 Other Countries involved in the activity
Russia
USA
Canada
Greenland/Denmark
Norway
Finland

1.6 Expression of Intent ID #'s brought together in this proposed activity
505,531,135,66,29,556,569,672,38,705, 358,139,435, FP # 360

1.7 Location of Field Activities
Arctic

1.8 Which IPY themes are addressed
1. Current state of the environment
2. Change in the polar regions
3. Polar-global linkages/tele-connections
6. The human dimension in polar regions

1.9 What is the main IPY target addressed by this activity
4. Legacy

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2.0 SUMMARY OF THE ACTIVITY

Presently there are over 4 million wild and 1.8 million domestic reindeer and caribou inhabiting the earth’s arctic regions. This keystone species has been an economic and cultural mainstay of nearly every indigenous group in the Arctic. Recent profound changes have been occurring in the North with the potential to jeopardize the relationship forged over countless generations between Rangifer, the land and the people.

In late 2004 a concerned circumpolar group of social scientists, biologists, ecologists, abiotic specialists, aboriginal leaders, and resource managers met in Vancouver, Canada to launch an organization to track and assess the impacts of the changes that are occurring. This group, the CARMA Network (CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment network www.taiga.net/CARMA ) defined its mission:

To monitor and assess the impacts of global change on the human/Rangifer system across the Arctic through cooperation, both geographically and across disciplines.

At present, knowledge of many of the Arctic’s significant Rangifer populations is fragmented and the relationship among the peoples dependent upon these populations is largely undocumented. Therefore, the CARMA Network proposes an extensive two-year coordinated program through IPY that will
1) provide a solid baseline of information on representative Rangifer populations and the human communities dependent upon them
2) establish an on-going monitoring and assessment network of these systems

To meet these objectives, the following operating principles are proposed:
o Keep it simple, relevant to the needs of Arctic residents; keep it transparent
o Conduct monitoring and assessment using an interdisciplinary approach
o Include and integrate local/traditional knowledge, industry research, field-based biological studies, and remote sensing research
o Focus initially on wild Rangifer populations and those human communities that use the Rangifer resource
o Build on existing monitoring and assessment programs
o Serve as a central depository for historical and current information on indicators
o Develop and standardized protocols for collecting, documenting, and assembling indicators
o Provide annual analysis on indicators by region and “value-added” indicators that all regions can share
o Use a comparative approach to address research questions and advance common understanding of the Arctic System
o Serve as a resource for policy makers facing regional decisions related to Human-Rangifer Systems

Questions to be addressed include (but are not limited to):

• What are the most predictive indicators of change in the resilience of Human-Rangifer Systems?
• How will the combined heterogeneity of regional climate forces and ecological conditions affect availability and use of wild Rangifer?
• How do we best measure the cumulative effect of landscape-level human activity, climate change, and management policies on the Human-Rangifer Systems?
• How may disease and parasites that are affected by climate change potentially affect the health of caribou?
• What are the key social-ecological thresholds of critical change in these systems?
• How can these systems be managed to enhance sustainability and adaptive capacity?

We consider such a project as “starting the clock” across the North, where information gathering is coordinated and comparable, where protocols are standardized, tested and utilized. At the completion of the IPY period, CARMA will produce a comprehensive comparative analysis of Circumarctic Rangifer populations, which will be the tangible legacy upon which the CARMA Network can proceed into the 21st Century.

2.1 What is the evidence of inter-disciplinarity in this activity?
The CARMA Network has members from indigenous organizations, social scientists, biologists, ecologists, veterinarians, remote sensing and meteorological specialists. At its organizational meeting in November 2004, biological, community and remote sensing monitoring working groups were formed. The objective of the activity is to assess social-ecological systems.

As well, CARMA (#505) has contacted the following projects and has shared information on approach to projects and possible linkages. There has been no formal merging of projects as in many cases they have unique objectives. However, if funded, CARMA will monitor the progress of these projects. CARMA has made arrangements for the leaders of the two most applicable projects (531 and 135) to attend the next CARMA meeting and identify linkages and synergies.

• #531 Arctic Vulnerability Network Study: Reindeer Herding in a Changing Climate - Coping Mechanisms and Adaptive Capacity (RENNET)

• #135 ANTLER Network Secretariat and Workshop Series (ANTLER)

2.2 What will be the significant advances/developments from this activity? What will be the major deliverables? What are the outputs for your peers?
The CARMA Network will initially focus on systems involving wild Rangifer populations, with monitoring undertaken across the Circumarctic North. Funding obtained through the IPY process will allow countries to set up standardized observation systems for select herds/communities, and advance the science of comparative analysis for the Human- Rangifer Systems. This activity will provide a valuable baseline database which will be the foundation upon which CARMA can proceed beyond the IPY timeframe. Major deliverables for this proposal will include:
• Standardized protocols for agreed upon indicators, developed and tested
• Comprehensive retrospective database
• Years of coordinated baseline monitoring
• Comparative assessment of circumarctic herds: state of knowledge, critical data gaps identified, key stressors, vulnerabilities to various forces for change

2.3 Outline the geographical location(s) for the proposed field work (approximate coordinates will be helpful if possible)

2.4 Define the approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities?

2.5 What major logistic support/facilities will be required for this project?

Further details – There are no new bricks and mortar requirements for the program. The CARMA Network will require data management services and communication tools.

2.6 How will the required logistics be supplied? Have operators been approached?

2.7 If working in the Arctic regions, has there been contact with local indigenous groups or relevant authorities regarding access?
Yes. Major indigenous groups participated in the CARMA Network at the inaugural meeting in November 2004, and others sent expressions of support. CARMA is engaging these groups primarily through regional indigenous organizations and co-management bodies. On a circumarctic scale, UNEP/GRID-Arendal is informing and involving international indigenous organizations in CARMA through the Permanent Participants at Arctic Council.

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3.0 STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVITY

3.1 Origin of the activity
This is a pulse of activity during 2007-2009 within an existing programme

If part of an existing programme please name the programme – CARMA

3.2 How will the activity be organised and managed? Describe the proposed management structure and means for coordinating across the cluster
CARMA will be coordinated by Environment Canada (CANADA), University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UNITED STATES) and GRID – Arendal (NORWAY). Within CARMA, 3 Working Groups have been set up:
• Community/local knowledge
• Biological/field based studies
• Remote Sensing

These groups will be responsible for coordinating the identification of indicators, ensure standardized protocols are developed, and ensure retrospective data are incorporated into a data management structure.

The CARMA Coordinating Committee will work with partners and working group leaders to integrate findings and produce reports.

Data Management will be undertaken in cooperation with the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) in Cambridge, U.K. as part of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CMBP). Assistance with community data will be undertaken with support from the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic ( ELOKA).

The two other major Rangifer IPY projects (RENNET- Norway) and (ANTLER- Finland) will operate as separate clusters but coordinators of CARMA and these two projects will meet regularly and act as overall coordinators of all three projects to ensure that there is no duplication and that valuable experience and information are transferred and available. The CARMA Network will also seek interactions with other relevant IPY initiatives such as CAVIAR and GOA.

3.3 Will the activity leave a legacy of infrastructure and if so in what form?
There is no physical infrastructure (mortar and brick) envisioned for this project. The legacy of the project will be on-going operations of the CARMA Network

3.4 Will the activity involve nations other than traditional polar nations? How will this be addressed?
Presently only the U. K. is involved through the WCDC in Cambridge.

3.5 Will this activity be linked with other IPY core activities? If yes please specify
CARMA (#505) has contacted the following projects and has shared information on approach to projects and possible linkages. There has been no formal merging of projects as in many cases they have unique objectives. However, if funded, CARMA will monitor the progress of these projects. CARMA has made arrangements for the leaders of the two most applicable projects (531 and 135) to attend the next CARMA meeting and identify linkages and synergies.

• #531 Arctic Vulnerability Network Study: Reindeer Herding in a Changing Climate - Coping Mechanisms and Adaptive Capacity (RENNET)

• #135 ANTLER Network Secretariat and Workshop Series (ANTLER)

Other programs include:

3.6 How will the activity manage its data? Is there a viable plan and which data management organisations/structures will be involved?
Data management will be coordinated through the World Conservation Data Centre in Cambridge, U.K. Within the next few months, we will be working with the WCDC over an extended period of time to explore options and compatibilities of our existing data with WCDC’s protocols. We will also work with the “Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic” (ELOKA) to address special issues of data management regarding local/traditional knowledge.

3.7 Data Policy Agreement
Will this activity sign up to the IPY draft Data Policy (see website)
Yes

3.8 How will the activity contribute to developing the next generation of polar scientists, logisticians, etc.?
Graduate students will participate in the development and testing of protocols and the assessment process of the program. Several institutions have indicated that their graduate students would like to participate in the program. They include:
• University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Arctic Biology,
• University of Lapland, Arctic Centre,
• University of St Petersburg State, institute of Geography
• University of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,
• University of British Columbia, Faculty of Geography
• University of Northern British Colombia, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies.

3.9 How will this activity address education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?

Outreach and education activities will take place at two levels:
1. As a flagship network for the CBMP, CARMA’s activities and results will be integrated and distributed through newsletters, reports and web-based data systems through CAFF.. Reporting will include annual CBMP reports on conditions and trends of biodiversity in the Arctic. This work in turn will feed into United Nations Environment Programme reporting systems (GEO).
2. Outreach and communications through CARMA’s own initiatives, including the development of information sharing and synthesis systems through the Rangifer website, and including print publications. This will be lead by UNEP/GRID-Arendal.

3.10 What are the proposed sources of funding for this activity?
Government of Canada,
Canada's NSERC,
USA's National Sceince Foundation,
CAFF,
Norwegian Nordic Council,
EU,
Others .

3.11 Additional Comments
The CARMA Network hopes to build a model for integrated, international and interdisciplinary collaboration, operating at scales of local to global process. In this way we not only hope to contribute to our understanding of Human-Rangifer systems, we also hope to improve methods for research and contribute to the future of circumpolar monitoring and research.

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4.0 CONSORTIUM INFORMATION

4.1 Contact Details

Lead Contact
Mr Don Russell
Environment Canada
91780 Alaska Highway Whitehorse, Yukon,
Y1A 5B7
Canada

Tel:          867-393-6801
Mobile:   N/A
Fax:         867-393-7970
Email:       Don.russell@ec.gc.ca

Second Contact
Dr Gary Kofinas
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Institute of Arctic Biology / University of Alaska Fairbanks PO Box 757000 301 Irving Building #1 Fairbanks, Alaska
99775-7000
USA

Tel:          907 474 7078
Mobile:   307 690 5103
Fax:         907 474 6967
Email:      gary.kofinas@uaf.edu

4.2 Other significant consortium members and their affiliation