© James Morgan / WWF-UK
ArcNet: How can it help?
ArcNet is a framework built with the Arctic marine ecosystems in mind. It is designed to support a healthy and biodiverse Arctic Ocean based on comprehensive, rigorous analysis and the best-available scientific data.
With climate change heating the Arctic nearly four times faster than the rest of the planet, governments must step up efforts to safeguard the Arctic Ocean.
Networks of marine protected and conserved areas are key to bolster the resilience of biodiversity and ecosystems to climate change and the human industrial activities that follow in the wake of the diminishing sea ice.
ArcNet’s framework considers the entire Arctic Ocean. It provides a vision for how multiple actors – governments, planners, communities, scientists and Indigenous knowledge holders – could act together to conserve biodiverse marine ecosystems.
ArcNet can help planners, governments and people across the Arctic to:
- Establish a network of protected and conserved marine areas across the Arctic Ocean.
- Cooperate and co-create marine management of the Arctic in a way that includes multiple perspectives from the very beginning.
- Address the conservation and protection needs of Arctic marine life, giving it the best chance of survival in the wake of climate change and mounting industrial pressures.
- Contribute to national and global conservation efforts, such as the UN Global Biodiversity Framework and the High Seas Treaty.
ArcNet’s proposal
© WWF
Based on rigorous research and extensive expert engagement, ArcNet developed a proposal to conserve Arctic marine biodiversity across the entire Arctic Ocean. The proposal identifies 83 priority areas that would make up a network of marine conserved and protected areas that would help safeguard Arctic biodiversity as illustrated in this map.
In order to meet global conservation goals – in a way that is just and fair – diverse perspectives and values must be included, and the underlying knowledge has to be transparent and open to amendments. ArcNet’s framework was designed not as an endpoint – but as a call to cooperate to establish and adapt the network.
ArcNet promotes dialogue and collaboration amongst all stakeholders in the region. To be successful, participation is required from:
- Marine scientists
- Holders of Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge
- Marine managers
- Conservation professionals
- Industry
- And people living in the Arctic
ArcNet is designed to be adapted to new and diverse knowledge as well as changing conditions. It supports open and inclusive cooperation between governments and marine rightsholders and stakeholders – with the goal to spur broad participation and cooperation to establish a network of protected and conserved areas across the entire Arctic Ocean .
Conservation managers, planners and scientists who are interested in ArcNet methodology can explore the technical resources available.
ArcNet in Action
Questions? Interest in implementing ArcNet?
Please contact ArcNetinfo@arcticwwf.org
