Inuit Circumpolar Council Commission for Environmental Cooperation Friday November 7, 2014 Impacts to Indigenous Peoples and Communities from Arctic Ocean Acidification Duane Smith President and Vice Chair Inuit Circumpolar Council

ICC: Who we are 155,000 Inuit live in the Arctic spread across Greenland, Canada, Alaska (USA) and Chukotka (Russia). The Inuit Circumpolar Council advocates for Inuit rights internationally.

Inuit Circumpolar Council ICC Contaminants and Mercury and History with NAFTA CEC Canada: –Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) Circumpolar: –Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) of Arctic Council International: –United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Minamata Convention on Mercury (adopted in 2013) CEC NARAPs: Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH)

Inuit Circumpolar Council Drivers of Change - Combined Effects

Inuit Circumpolar Council From the COP 18 Doha Call to Action: The Arctic is home to many unique species of plants, microorganisms, fish, and mammals, and is an important breeding ground for migratory mammals and birds. Changes to ecosystems thus raise concerns for global biodiversity. Global leaders should designate avoidance of further climate change impacts on the Arctic as one of the key benchmarks for effectiveness of a Post-2012 process. CoP 18 Action Point #2: Support the integration of Inuit and indigenous knowledge and local monitoring into regional and global environmental assessment processes.

Importance for Inuit of Marine Resources Inuit rely on the marine biological resources for much of their country food nutritional intake (whales, seal, walrus, fisheries – fresh and marine) The impacts on these resources from Arctic Ocean Acidification is unknown

Inuit Circumpolar Council Why Is the Arctic Ocean More Vulnerable to OA? Quadruple Whammy Effect: Colder waters absorb more CO 2 : leads to increased acidification. Increased freshwater input reduces buffering capacity. Reduced sea ice increases area of open ocean and CO 2 absorption. Shorter, more simplified marine food chain

Inuit Circumpolar Council AMAP Arctic Ocean Acidification Assessment Summary for Policy-makers : amap.no/documents / AMAP delivered the Arctic Ocean Acidification assessment, its first comprehensive assessment of ocean acidification in the Arctic region, at its 2013 scientific conference. A second AMAP Assessment is due in 2017

Inuit Circumpolar Council Key Findings: Ocean Chemistry Key finding 1 Arctic marine waters are experiencing widespread and rapid ocean acidification Key finding 2 The primary driver of ocean acidification is uptake of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere by human activities Key finding 3 The Arctic Ocean is especially vulnerable to ocean acidification Key finding 4 Acidification is not uniform across the Arctic Ocean Ocean surface pH - historical values and projected future values based on emission projections Average global surface ocean pH has fallen from a pre-industrial value of 8.21 to 8.10, corresponding to an increase in acidity of 28.8%. Values of 7.8–7.9 are expected by 2100, representing a 100– 150% increase in acidity (NOAA/PMEL)

Inuit Circumpolar Council Key Findings: Biological responses Key finding 5 Arctic marine ecosystems are highly likely to undergo significant change due to ocean acidification Key finding 6 Ocean acidification will have direct and indirect effects on Arctic marine life. It is likely that some marine organisms will respond positively to new conditions associated with ocean acidification, while others will be disadvantaged, possibly to the point of local extinction Key finding 7 Ocean acidification impacts must be assessed in the context of other changes happening in Arctic waters Preventing pteropods from forming and maintaining their protective shells is one of better know examples of effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms. Pteropods are key species in Arctic marine food webs

Inuit Circumpolar Council Key Findings: Socio-economic implications Key finding 8 Ocean acidification is one of several factors that may contribute to alteration of fish species composition in the Arctic Ocean Key finding 9 Ocean acidification may affect Arctic fisheries Key finding 10 Ecosystem changes associated with ocean acidification may affect the livelihoods of Arctic peoples Arctic commercial fisheries catch in excess of 7 million tonnes of fish, crabs and shrimp each year, worth billions of US$ and forming a significant contribution to many northern economies.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Policy-relevant recommendations Arctic Council: 1.Urge its Member States, Observer countries, and the global society to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide as a matter of urgency. The primary cause of ocean acidification is CO 2 emissions. Other greenhouse gases are not a factor.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Policy-relevant recommendations Arctic Council: 2. Call for enhanced research and monitoring efforts that expand understanding of acidification processes and their effects on Arctic marine ecosystems and northern societies that depend on them.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Ocean Acidification in Arctic GAPS We don't know what the overall impacts will be on Inuit from Arctic Ocean Acidification but they may have widespread social, economic and cultural impacts on subsistence and commercial fishing, and especially the wellbeing of Inuit in general.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Further assessment and review is necessary: to understand the overall Impacts on Arctic marine ecosystems; determine the economic and cultural impacts for fisheries; and, assess the effects of AOA for local economies that depend on income and jobs from shell fisheries in the Arctic (crab, mussels, clams …)

Inuit Circumpolar Council In particular we need to provide further justification for mitigation actions now since AOA has direct links to CO2 emissions and climate change; and, understand why OA is happening more dramatically in the Arctic Ocean than in any other ocean in the world.

Inuit Circumpolar Council Arctic Research on AOA There are observational studies by chemical oceanographers in the Beaufort, Amundsen Gulf, Canadian, Baffin Bay, Arctic Basin, Hudson Bay System, Davis Strait, and the Canadian Basin Limited biological studies in the Arctic Some modelling in the Arctic Need for enhanced socio-economic study and policy (Law and policy and economic impacts)

Inuit Circumpolar Council Data Gaps From: Azetsu-Scott, Ianson and Morrison, 2014

Inuit Circumpolar Council ICC’s international experiences ICC represents Inuit at UN (Stockholm, UNFCCC and CBD) and Arctic Council meetings Explaining need for traditional livelihoods/foods by Inuit and concerns arising when contaminants and climate change and GHG emissions make it to the Arctic and impact country foods

Inuit Circumpolar Council Qujanaq! Thanks! ICC website: