Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) in a Rapidly Warming Arctic: Sharing experiences and challenges

The Arctic continues to warm and becomes more accessible with activities expanding into new, and often vulnerable areas. It has therefore never been more important to assess the ecosystem and support a holistic ecosystem-based management to point out solution options for ecological, social and economic sustainability across and beyond National jurisdictions.

Strengthening cooperation on Ecosystem Based Management across the marine Arctic is among the main priorities for the Norwegian Chair ship of the Arctic Council 2023-2025 and facilitating the implementation in the 18 Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems is the main goal across working groups, Indigenous knowledge and Observers in the Arctic Council.

In 2024, the Norwegian Chair ship of the Arctic Council and the Institute of Marine Research hosted a International Conference on the Ecosystem Approach to Management in the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems in Tromsø, Norway.

The conference spanned across three main components of the EA framework –“Governance/Policy” and “Knowledge/Science” and the “communication links” which includes the goals, advice and value, making the link between “Governance/Policy” and “Knowledge/Science” operative and brought together 246 science, industry, policy and management experts from the Arctic Council states and from Europe and Asia (total 27 countries) as well as three of the six Permanent Participants, including the Saami Council, the Aleut International Association, and the Inuit Circumpolar Council, academics, non-profit organizations, and students to explore implementation of the ecosystem approach in the arctic.

The suggestions and solutions from this conference on how to proceed in develop and implement the EBM in the Arctic Large Marine Ecosystems are presented in this talk and includes an iterative ecosystem based and holistic managment around common values.