Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic: Perspectives from the Barents Area

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Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic: Perspectives from the Barents Area

•• Uncertainty does not preclude action; it should inform action. Although its exact form cannot be known, it is inevitable that the future will bring change.This highlights the importance of strengthening the capacity to develop the knowledge base and take action. Given the many uncertainties related to the direction, magnitude and consequences of change in environmental, political, societal, economic and culture conditions, there is a need to further develop approaches for assessing and managing uncertainty. Important considerations include developing an understanding of the complexity of governance required to mainstream climate change adaptation across different sectors and management levels. Adaptation andmitigation processes must proceed in parallel The Barents area is strongly integrated with the world economy and will thus be strongly influenced by global actors and megatrends, as well as by business and industrial activities in the area and beyond. The implications of environmental and socio-economic change in the Barents area will depend on the region’s natural and human resources, their institutional characteristics and the policies adopted. The key strategies and tools described here can help inform decision-makers in government,civil society,business and academia as they prepare for the changes anticipated in theArctic. It is important to note, however, that adaptation has its limits. Mitigation effort at the national and international level will improve the chances of successful adaptation at the local level, by decreasing the rate of change to which ecosystems and human systems must adapt, and eventually by limiting the amplitude of that change.

•• Integrating local, traditional and scientific knowledge to support policy is vital. Indigenous and local people, especially those active in renewable resource management, experience the effects of climatic changes first-hand owing to their close connection to the environment that provides food, livelihood and cultural and social identity.To ensure successful adaptation within the Barents area to current and expected changes, local, traditional and scientific knowledge must serve as the backdrop for understanding the challenges and for developing responses. Local and indigenous institutions should expect and thus prepare for new challenges to arrive with the changing Arctic. There is a need to integrate local and traditional knowledge into education. •• Access to and co-production of knowledge is needed. Improved monitoring systems and co-production of knowledge by fully integrating different groups in adaptation processes is key to maintaining and making use of the rich, varied and valuable body of knowledge held within the Barents area. •• Strengthening the interactions between science and policy is necessary at all levels. Comprehensive, relevant and usable knowledge is needed to support continuous social learning and the development of adaptation governance at multiple levels. Knowledge production and dissemination remains a key instrument in dealing with climate change. New networks and partnerships for knowledge production and communication are needed to advance social learning and adaptive measures. However, funding of adaptation development and clarification of responsibilities and authority remains a major task. •• Resilience should be protected and strengthened. Strengthened resilience improves the capacity to adapt to as yet unknown conditions. By assuming change in planning and managing, and by generating knowledge and capacity for ongoing learning, ecosystems and livelihoods are equipped with greater capacity to respond to disruptive developments or events. Diversity plays an important role by providing a wider range of options for the future. Resilience can be strengthened through safeguarding or incentivizing biodiversity and diversity in markets, cultures and knowledge and culture. •• Cooperation together with mainstreaming and acknowledging complexity may capture adaptation opportunities. There are no one-size fits all methods for conceptualizing, measuring and assessing adaptive capacity or resilience. There is a need for the research and policy communities to work together to develop new interactive tools that can be used in decision-making processes at different levels of governance, from local communities to the international level. Climate change adaptation should be integrated into existing policy and governance.Suchmainstreamingmay capture opportunities for adaptation that might not otherwise be identified. For effective governance to take place, a clear distribution of responsibility for adaptation at different levels is necessary. Conflict resolutionmechanisms that can be used to negotiate among actors with diverging priorities are also important.