Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Land use impact on polar and sub-polar geosystems: extent, significance, perspectives  (LUPOG)

Outline
The polar and sub-polar environments are expected to experience significant changes within the next decades. This is due to various global factors such as changing climate and increased atmospheric CO2, but it is also caused by direct human impact on a regional and local basis, in particular in terms of increased pressure on nature and its resources. In many sites, both in the Arctic and in the Antarctic, land use is already intensive and probably will even get more intensive in the future, because:- Infrastructure, construction and transportation costs are decreasing, while technical facilities and living standards are improving;- Political pressure for resource exploration, mining and transportation is growing;- Tourist activities both on individual and on guided basis are increasing.The related impacts in these areas are typically either located in spots (e.g. airstrips, tourist centres) or in corridors (e.g. roads, hiking trails, pipelines), but also spatially distributed (e.g. settlements, mining areas). Any of these land use types effects significant changes in the natural geosystems, especially in hydrology, permafrost, snow cover, soils, geomorphology, and regional and local climate (e.g. water contamination, permafrost degradation). To maintain a landscape use that insures sustainability for the natural systems and protection against natural hazards for the users an understanding, observation, controlling and modelling of the geosystems reactions on the human impacts is of major importance. To cope with these problems, an international research programme is suggested, which involves three stages:1.) An assessment of actual and projected future land use in polar and sub-polar areas will provide basic data on impacts and their consequences on the above mentioned geosystem partitions. Since in many sites local assessment data is available, this stage primarily has the character of a standardised data collection and analysis. The assessment is aimed to classify land use types and to identify their typical impact separated by geosystem types.2.) A monitoring system is suitable to assist the evaluation of future changes in land use in polar areas and their impact on the geosystems. This should be standardised and consist of comparable monitoring programmes and on remote sensing techniques. 3.) To facilitate the evaluation of actual and future land use impacts a best practise manual should be produced as a deliverable of the above stages. This can also benefit from the existing elaborate knowledge concerning land use impact in various polar and subpolar regions.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The suggested programme is intended to monitor the current state of land use by circumpolar citizens and by non-permanent humans and the impact of this practice on geosystems. This includes a construction of a legacy on a monitoring system. Based on this analysis and predicted climatic shifts, future changes in human impacts will be evaluated and sustainable mitigation and management strategies for land use that recognises geosystem functions will be examined. Co-operation with regional governments and communities in the development of activities ensures transferability and engagement with the findings and with the monitoring legacy.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The suggested project is a joint initiative of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on Cold Region Environments (CRE). The commission consists of members from 11 countries (Argentina, Canada, China, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, USA). The commissions work covers Physical and Human Geography.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Monitoring of land use is envisaged for Siberia, Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, Antarctic (mainly Peninsula) and other spots of intense impact. Field work is concentrated on intensively used areas, so that logistics will be a minor problem.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 05/07 – 10/07            
Antarctic: 12/07 – 02/08            

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Logistic requirements are limited to transportation of researchers and minor equipment to field investigation sites. Extensive satellite data and other spatial data sets are required, but can easily be shared with other project groups. Recognising the costs inherent in international co-ordination, the budget includes a 15% administrative levy.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
The envisaged construction of a monitoring system consisting of GIS and remote sensing data based land use impact model is intended to be used as a best practice planning tool for future impact assessments by related governmental and non-governmental organisations.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Own national polar operator
Another national polar operator
Commercial operator

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The German chair of the initiating CRE commission has asked for the endorsement by the German IPY commission. The other concerned national commissions will be informed.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Exp

This is a new project, however it builds on the extensive northern experience of the IGU Commission Members, and in the initial steps will benefit from their on-going work at existing sites in developing the monitoring protocol. Related research activities are planned to be undertaken prior to IPY.

How will the project be organised and managed?
The project will be formally housed at the CRE commission chair affiliations, with satellite national/regional offices in the IGU Commission on Cold Region Environments (CRE) Member’s home institutions. Extensive national networks will be developed and a distributed networking approach to project management will be adopted. Funding management responsibility will be allocated to each national/regional office and corresponding budget entitlement will be agreed upon at the outset. Each national IGU Commission Member will co-ordinate with the assistance of a national LUPOG project Advisory Committee. The budget provides a administration levy of 15%.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
In each jurisdiction there exist northern research institutes, some with legal authority to grant research licenses. These bodies will be the primary partners in jointly developing strategies for education, outreach, and communications. Furthermore, cooperation with local schools and indigenous people will be encouraged.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
An essential part of the planned project is the construction of an elaborate data base of land use and its impact on geosystems. This web based database intended to be open for the scientific community during the IPY and open to all interested people after the IPY period.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding is planned to be managed through national science funding organisation and delegated to the Research Office of the home institution of the IGU Commission Member. For the EU members a related funding is anticipated.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
Recognising the critical importance of land use practices to the livelihoods of indigenous peoples of the north, communication with the National Organisations representing Inuit, Sami and the Russian Small Peoples of the North will be essential. Their traditional knowledge must be invited into the LUPOG Project at the outset, and they will be invited to be active in the education, outreach and communications as well.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Martin Gude
Department of Geography, University of Jena
Löbdergraben 32
Jena
07743
Germany

Tel: ++49 (0) 3641 948 80
Mobile: ++49 (0) 173 3943 12
Fax: ++49 (0) 3641 948 81
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation