Current and projected pressures on Arctic biodiversity and possible governance responses

Abstract

This chapter examines current and projected pressures on Arctic biodiversity and possible governance responses. Firstly, it reviews the current challenges for Arctic biodiversity, posed by fast-progressing climate change and pressures arising from current and envisaged economic development in the melting and more accessible Arctic, as well as competition for space that we are expected to witness in the coming years. Secondly, it reviews the dispersed governance measures in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO), discusses challenges and gaps and critically looks at the options for addressing those, in view of the current geopolitical challenges that significantly hamper pan-Arctic cooperation. Finally, the chapter analyses potential pathways for strengthening the CAO governance regime, effectively building on the palette of viable multilateral solutions at hand, to strengthen tools to mitigate pressures that Arctic biodiversity faces.