FACE-IT: The future of Arctic coastal ecosystems – Identifying transitions in fjord systems and adjacent coastal areas

• Main Authors: Bischof, Kai, Jungblut, Simon
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: Zenodo 2022
• Subjects: Climate change; Finnmark; Greenland; Northern Norway; Svalbard; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6544040

This poster was presented at the the 2022 VIRTUAL Alaska Marine Science Symposium (24 - 27 January 2022) Abstract: FACE-IT is an EU-funded Horizon 2020 project, which aims to enable adaptive co-management of social-ecological fjord systems in the Arctic in the face of rapid cryosphere and biodiversity changes. The project will identify ways to manage the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere and marine biodiversity, and the interaction with other drivers of change. The concept of FACE-IT rests on a comparison of selected Arctic fjord systems at different stage of cryosphere loss in Greenland, Svalbard and Finnmark, Northern Norway. The underlying two-pronged hypothesis is (1) that the biodiversity of Arctic coastal zones is changing in accordance with the rates of cryosphere changes, and (2) that these changes affect local communities, food production, livelihoods and other ecosystem services. FACE-IT approaches European Arctic fjords as local social-ecological systems. It gathers a strong interdisciplinary team of internationally recognized experts from both natural and social sciences. FACE-IT is organized in seven highly interdisciplinary work packages focusing on the (1) drivers of change, their (2) effects on biodiversity, (3) ecosystem functioning, (4) food provision and indigenous livelihoods, (5) nature-based tourism, (6) the co-production of knowledge to identify governance strategies for adaptive co-management, and (7) public outreach and policy input. It includes the participation of Arctic stakeholders to ensure that Indigenous and local knowledges, perceptions and concerns about ongoing changes are taken into account in defining innovative and adaptive co-management approaches towards a more sustainable future. In this way, FACE-IT will deliver significant contributions towards the implementation of the new integrated EU policy for the Arctic.