Spring begins. Winter seining is in full swing. During February one of the most significant forests of rewilding programme, Rahekangas, was secured, appearances in US media on rewilding and fisheries and new science papers out. A new database of Indigenous knowledge of bowhead whales is released.
March continues winter seining. Catches have varied and ice conditions are strong but hard. Fishers from Tornio river arrive next week as well as Prof. David Barkin from Mexico, to participate in a workshop devoted to sustainability.
David Barkin holds a PhD in Economics from Yale University and is Distinguished Professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Xochimilco Campus in Mexico City. He collaborated in the founding of the Ecodevelopment Center in 1974. He received the National Prize for Political Economy in 1979. He is a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences and is an Emeritus member of the National Research Council. He collaborates with indigenous and peasant communities to promote the sustainable management of regional resources. Many of these communities are engaged in activities to develop new institutions, advancing towards the construction of post-capitalist societies by fostering new forms of coexistence and alternatives to development to move towards a world of ‘good living’.
Rahekangas, a 170-hectare boreal forest and peatland complex in Koitajoki joined the Landscape Rewilding Programme in February. Rahekangas Forest and Peatland Complex is a part of a nationally relevant Kelsimä river valley where very large restoration actions have been carried out, for example on Rahesuo, Kaitoinsuo and Valkeasuo peatlands – together these rewilding sites and conservation sites constitute a valley of peatlands and boreal forests of thousands of hectares and can be considered to be of national relevance. Snowchange has restored Rahesuo and several of the surrounding habitats. Rahekangas contains 47 hectares of intact peatlands, it is directly a part of the Natura site (Valkeajärvi), there are subsurface water sources and a stream – Rahepuro, that runs on the site.
Mongabay reports on the Circumpolar peatland initiative here. Secondly, the History Channel reports on the “oldest ice fishing” in the world, here. Lastly, a new science paper reports on the status of freshwaters in the Arctic.
Snowchange has also released a new unique Indigenous knowledge database of bowhead whale from Chukotka, Nunavut and Greenland. These consented materials have been collected from open sources and archives. The materials from Chukotka are based on archival and literature sources. The database is here.
This collection of StoryMaps presents knowledge and observations from Indigenous communities in Chukotka, Greenland and Nunavut, as well as scholarly works, concerning the importance, status and trends of the Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus).
Chukotka
The cultural relationship with bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus, Zelensky et al. 1997, Bogoslovskaya et al. 2016, Melnikov and Zdor 2018) and the Chukchi and the Siberian Yupiaq of Chukotka is old and extremely relevant (Bogoslovskaya et al. 2016).
Greenland
Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus), Arfivik in Greenlandic, have historically held deep cultural and subsistence importance for Inuit communities in Greenland. Once nearly eradicated by commercial Euro-American whaling between the 17th and 19th centuries, bowhead populations have gradually recovered especially in West Greenland after nearly 80 years of protection.
Nunavut
The Inuit from Nunavut, Canada have had a cultural relationship with bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) or arviq for a long time (Bennett and Rowley 2004, Reeves and Lee 2022). Harvesting the bowhead whale is and has been, as all Inuit hunting activities, a part of a large cultural whole in Nunavut.
Finally a new science paper summarizes that Arctic freshwater biodiversity is rapidly changing due to climate warming, resource extraction,infrastructure development, and landscape transformation.To improve understanding, predict future responses, and inform policy formulation, research needs must be clearly identified. Using a horizon scan survey, Arctic freshwater experts from government, international agencies, and Indigenous Peoples identified 77 biodiversity research questions with 17 highlighted as most important for near term assessment.
These questions span nine thematic categories:
- biodiversity and taxonomic challenges
- hydrological change,
- productivity and food webs
- ecosystem connectivity methods
- monitoring andassessment
- permafrost change
- winter ecology
- anthropogenic development
- Indigenous Knowledge
Climate change emerged as the major driver among allcategories and research questions. A key priority identified was the urgent need for long-term, harmonized monitoring programs among Arctic countries. Multiple knowledge gaps detected suggest that circumpolar research collaborations are required to tackle these issues.
The paper is available here.