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  • Barents cooperation stressed at NArFU

    Barents cooperation stressed at NArFU

    NArFU conference

    Leading researches and experts, politicians, representatives from business and authorities are attending the conference “Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region in the field of education and research as a resource for regional development” which began yesterday.

    The conference is held in the Northern (Arctic) Federal University (NArFU). In a welcoming address Britt Vigdis Ekelu, vice President of Education in the University of Tromsø said that it was “very interesting for us to discuss our common past.

    Fruitful and extensive cooperation in the fields of medicine, education, biology, student exchange has been established between our universities during the years of collaboration,” she said, and stressed close cooperation in the region.

    The first plenary session was held later with the framework of the conference. Sverre Stub, Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway spoke about “Norway’s views on the Barents cooperation”. Andrej Shalev, Honorary Council of Norway in Archangelsk reviewed the last twenty years of Barents Cooperation.

    President UArctic Lars Kullerud held a lecture about “Circumpolar cooperation in higher education and research: University of the Arctic”. Katja Sukuvaara, Senior Advisor, Joint Managing Authority, Kolarctic ENPI CBC Programme spoke about the Kolarctic program.

    “Cooperation gave us an opportunity to normalize relationships between the countries in a small amount of time,” Sverre Stub said. “And the most important thing is that this cooperation has been gradually developing and involved more and more people. Contacts between people became the main basis of Barents region cooperation and turned to be the greatest achievement.”

    Later a panel discussion was held on the theme “Northern Universities for the development of the region: new realities – new perspectives”. A dialogue between the university community and politicians”. The discussion focused on the issues of Barents region cooperation, new challenges of education and research in the North, the role of universities in the development of international relationships. Special attention was paid to the problems of Barents region, such as population outflow.

    The first day of the conference be considered as having been a successful event not only because of the quality of the lectures and but also because of its international character. The participants praised a constructive and motivating atmosphere during the sessions and informal talks, according to the Narfu website.

    Source

    NArFU

  • International Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears

    International Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears

    Polar Bear

    Specialists Meet to Develop an International Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears

    Twenty-two scientists, managers and community experts from Russia, Norway, Canada, Greenland and the United States met in Edmonton, Canada

    on February 19th to 21st, 2011 to develop a Pan-Arctic Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears. The U.S. Marine Mammal Commission sponsored the workshop and the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF – www.caff.is) Working Group of the Arctic Council managed it. CAFF invited participants based on their expertise on polar bears and/or monitoring. Please download press package here

    The workshop focused on developing a coordinated and efficient pan-Arctic monitoring approach that would:

    • detect changes in polar bear populations across the Arctic,
    • implement standard assessment measures using community-based and scientific monitoring,
    • identify which subpopulations to monitor and the necessary frequency of monitoring,
    • use a suite of indicators to assess subpopulation status and trends,
    • identify the factors driving population changes, and
    • report the results to decision-makers from local communities to national government and regional bodies.

    Arctic ecosystems are changing rapidly and will continue to do so. Monitoring polar bears is a considerable challenge that will require substantial resources. To be successful, we must focus and prioritize circumpolar monitoring efforts and work together across national boundaries. Doing so is essential to better coordinate our assessment efforts, further our understanding, and convey the information needed to conserve and manage this remarkable species” said workshop organizer Dag Vongraven from the Norwegian Polar Institute.

    The results of the workshop will be used to develop a Pan-Arctic Polar Bear Monitoring Plan over the coming months (expected release September 2011). The draft plan will undergo comprehensive review prior to adoption.