Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment  (CARMA)

Outline
The objectives of CARMA are to: 1. Support the development, design, testing and implementation of standardize protocols to assess the impacts of global change on Human-Rangifer Systems, 2. Facilitate two years of standardized and intensive monitoring (using protocols developed in # 1) across the Circumpolar Arctic, 3. Facilitate the exchange of users of Rangifer to compare observations and experiences across regions, 4. Undertake a circumpolar assessment and produce a synthesis report on the status of Human-Rangifer Systems, highlighting stressors, degrees of resilience, and vulnerabilities, 5. Report on the evaluation of the project to The CARMA Network, with recommendations on goals and strategies on the development of the program for the next decade. Presently there are over 4 million wild and 1.8 million domestic reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) inhabiting the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions of Earth. This keystone species has and continues to be of high economic and cultural value to nearly every indigenous group of the Arctic. Recent profound changes occurring in the North have the potential to jeopardize the important relationship between Rangifer, the land, and northern peoples. In November 2004, a concerned circumpolar group of social scientists, ecologists and biologists, abiotic specialists, indigenous leaders, and resource managers met in Vancouver, Canada to launch an organization to track and assess the impacts of change on “Human-Rangifer Systems.” This group, The CARMA Network (CircumArctic Rangifer Monitoring and Assessment Network), defined its mission as: Through cooperation, both geographically and across disciplines, to monitor and assess the impacts of global change on the Human-Rangifer System across the Circumarctic. At present knowledge of many of the Arctic’s significant Rangifer populations is fragmentary and the relationship among the peoples dependant upon these populations is largely undocumented. Therefore, the CARMA Network proposes an IPY initiative that launches an extensive two-year coordinated program that will provide a solid baseline of information on representative Rangifer populations and the human communities dependent upon them. The CARMA Network will operate with the following principles: o Keep it simple, relevant to the needs of Arctic residents, and 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. Research 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? • What are the key social-ecological thresholds of critical change in these systems? • How can these systems be managed to enhance cultural sustainability and adaptive capacity? We consider this IPY project as a process of “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 project, the CARMA Network will produce a comprehensive comparative analysis of Circumarctic Rangifer populations which will be the tangible legacy upon which the CARMA Network can develop into the 21st Century. See www.rangifer.net/CARMA

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Four of the six IPY themes are integral to CARMA • Status: The project will result in a comprehensive assessment of the status of The circumarctic Human-Rangifer System • Change: The focus will be to monitor, assess and communicate the impacts of global change on the Human-Rangifer System. • Linkages: Our approach is multi-disciplinary and multi-scale, linking changes at the global scale and impacts at the regional and community levels • Human Societies: CARMA is focused on social-ecological systems, which include human residents such as indigenous hunters and herders.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
CARMA will be circumpolar in scope, involving an extensive and newly established network. An International Steering Committee with representation from the United States (Kofinas), Canada, Norway, Russia, Finland, and Greenland is currently involved. (See Appendix 1 and 2)

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Given the fugitive characteristics of wild Rangifer populations, CARMA will take a regional approach to monitoring and assessment, working with site-based observatories (e.g. ITEX sites) as needed. The initial focus will be on regions defined by tundra-dwelling Rangifer herds of the Arctic. Opportunities to broaden the focus to include other wild Rangifer populations and domestic and semi-domestic Rangifer will be explored as will opportunities to involve research of South Georgia’s Rangifer population. The CARMA IPY initiative will facilitate a coordinated effort over a two-year period. Our approach is to: March 2005-2006: o Engage CARMA partners to define a standard set of indicators spanning the range from satellite-based to community-based o Identify critical questions worthy of analysis in the CARMA process o Compile current data through relational Rangifer database o Conduct an assessment on the current status and past trends related to these indicators, March 2006-2007 o Test the collection and analysis protocols in select locations o Assemble, analyze, and report on these collections, refining where necessary; March 2007-2009 (IPY YEARS) o Annually, conduct a coordinated collection project, so that partners are collecting the same indicators in a standardized manner. o Conduct intensive comparative studies to synthesize findings and generate generalizable findings about regional Human-Rangifer Systems o Facilitate annual exchanges of resident representatives (hunters and herders) to compare observations and experiences among regions. 2010 and beyond o Continue to develop the program as informed by the IPY experience and directed by participants

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: see 2.1      see 2.1      see 2.1
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
We propose that each participating country support all in-country activities and also make a contribution to program coordination where possible. We propose that Canada and the USA serve as coordinating organizations, with the Environment Canada and the Institute of Arctic Biology / University of Alaska Fairbanks, acting as the coordinating institutions within those countries.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes. The intent of CARMA IPY is to create a well functioning monitoring and assessment network that continues into the future.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
National agency
Commercial operator
Own support
Other sources of support

Logistic support to be undertaken by participation organizations.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Country representatives of CARMA (i.e. members of The CARMA Network Steering Committee) have forwarded CARMA proposals to their respective IPY country committees for review. These countries include Canada, USA, Norway, Greenland, Russia, and Finland. It is our understanding that none of IPY National Committees has yet formally endorse submitted proposals.

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?
Expansion

Yes. From two parallel efforts: • The research plan of the IASC “Human Role In Reindeer/Caribou Systems Project” (Kofinas et al. 2000; www.rangifer.net). • A directive of Arctic Council ministers in 1998 for CAFF to “identify elements of a program to monitor circumpolar biodiversity” and to “assess the effects of climate change on Arctic ecosystems.” Subsequent to the AC’s directive, CAFF identified the monitoring of Human-Rangifer Systems as one of its key elements of biodiversity monitoring.

How will the project be organised and managed?
• Two lead organizations, Canadian Wildlife Service/Yukon Region of Environment Canada and the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, assume responsibility for coordination of the CARMA Network. • An International Steering Committee assumes oversight of the network’s activities. Steering Committee members also serve as chairs of three working groups (i. biological studies working group; ii. community steering working group; iii. remote sensing steering working group), each assuming responsibility for developing protocol for monitoring and assessment. • An additional working group of senior researchers and community elders provides overall guidance on programs. • Annual gatherings of all network members serve to set short- and long-range plans and work towards synthesis.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
In additional to the annual gathering described above, cutting edge methods of internet communication will be employed for intra-group and outreach communication (e.g., uploading of data, posting of reports, accessing of datasets, listing of network members, etc.). A preliminary draft of our CARMA web resource is posted at www.rangifer.net/CARMA. In addition, an exchange program will be established allowing caribou/reindeer users to sharing experiences with and learn from users of other regions.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Issues regarding data management and data sharing were discussed at length at our November 2004 CARMA Network meeting. As a part of that process, we have engaged members of the ITEX program to learn from their experience. Working groups will define data management protocol and work with all participants to devise an agreed upon plan.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
As noted above, activities will be supported by participating countries, with CARMA’s country representatives taking leadership for securing funding at that level. Proposals for funds to coordinate CARMA activities and undertake synthesis research will be submitted to the US National Science Foundation and to Canada’s IPY Funding. We are currently exploring the options for funding to support work in Russia. We anticipate that contributing funding for coordination will be provided by all participating countries.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
CARMA is working with other IPY initiatives to find ways to complement efforts. One of these is “ANTLER,” which is focused on the social dimensions of reindeer herding. Others include Flagship Observatories, such as Toolik Field Station in Alaska and an IPY proposal for a network of indigenous knowledge observatories

PROPOSER DETAILS

Dr Gary Kofinas
PO Box 75700
Fairbanks
9977507000
USA

Tel: 907 474 7078
Mobile: no
Fax: 907 474 6769
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation