| Summary: | "In the context of welcoming the assessment of the Arctic cryosphere entitled Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA), the Nuuk Ministerial Declaration “notes with concern the accelerated change in major components of the cryosphere and the profound local, regional and global effects of observed and expected changes, emphasize the need for forward looking Arctic cooperation with a view to increase Arctic resilience and to enhance Arctic Council leadership to minimize the human and environmental impact of climate change and instruct Senior Arctic Officials to consider how to best follow up on the SWIPA recommendation in the future work of the Arctic Council.” (Nuuk Declaration May 2011). The SAO report to the Nuuk Ministerial meeting in May 2011 states that “. a scoping exercise will be undertaken to review the need of an integrated assessment of multiple drivers of Arctic change, including an Arctic Resilience Report. The projects will address questions on how the Arctic, in particular indigenous peoples, are affected by current and planned activities, how negative effects can be minimized and how resilience can be strengthened. Scoping activities will take place in the fall of 2011 . result in a proposal for the SAO meeting in November 2011” (SAO Report Nuuk 2011, emphasis added). Based on the Ministerial declaration and the SAO report, a scoping workshop was held 26-28 September in Stockholm, Sweden, with participants from the Arctic Council working groups and invited experts (ARR 2011). This workshop, along with a scoping workshop for the Arctic Change Assessment (ACA) also in the last week of September 2011 (AMAP 2011a), showed a need for new approaches in assessing Arctic change. The scoping phase included consultations with experts from all Arctic countries and several indigenous peoples’ organizations. It also provided the base for collaboration with international organizations that represent relevant communities of experts." /./
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