SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP (SDWG) MEETING SUMMARY (CDN5)
Whitehorse, Yukon, February 28 – March 1, 2015
The SDWG held its fifth and final General Meeting of the Canadian Chairmanship in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada from February 28 – March 1, 2015. The objective was to finalize deliverables of the 2013-2015 SDWG Work Plan and provide status updates on projects being submitted to SAOs for consideration and approval in the lead up to the Iqaluit 2015 Ministerial Meeting. Delegations also continued preparations for the transition to the U.S. Chairmanship, including drafting the 2015-2017 SDWG Work Plan. All Arctic States and Permanent Participant (PP) organizations were in attendance, with the exception of the Russian Federation and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON).
Maxim Semin, DeputyHead of Department, Development of the Arctic Territories of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development, was identified as the new Russian Head of Delegation (HoD)(but was not present at the meeting) and Ellen Inga Turi was introduced as the new Saami Council SAO representative.South Korea, France, the Netherlands, the Association of World Reindeer Herders (AWRH) and the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) were in attendance as official Observers. See Annex1 for a completelist of meeting participants.
Anne Smith, a Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) elder, welcomed participants to the territory of the KDFN and gave an opening prayer. Susan Harperprovided opening remarks which touched on the SAO timeline for deliverables leading up to the Ministerial Meeting and the cancellation of the Ministerial Showcase event.
SDWG Work Plan 2013-2015 – Projects for acceptance:
Matt Bender, HoD Canada, provided an overview ofthe final report and the upcoming Mental Wellness Symposium; the two key deliverables for TheEvidence-Base for Promoting Mental Wellness and Resilience to Address Suicide in Circumpolar Communities project (Canada/Norway/Kingdom of Denmark/United States/Russian Federation/ICC). The final report reflectsthe project key findings,promising interventions, case studies and a chapter spearheaded by ICC which focuses on PP perspectives on mental wellness. Canada noted that the goals of the upcoming Mental Wellness Symposium in Iqaluit (March 25-27) are:1) to bring researchers together with community members to share what they have learned about promoting mental health in the Arctic; 2) confirm the Arctic Council’s (AC) commitment to discuss project results; and 3) share best practices and encourage continued circumpolar collaboration. The Final Report was accepted by the SDWG and forwarded to SAOs for decision at the April 8-9 SAO Executive Meeting.
Duane Smith, ICC-Canada and SDWG Vice Chair, presented the findings ofthe Assessing, Monitoring and Promoting the Vitality of Arctic Indigenous Languagesproject (ICC, Canada/US/Kingdom of Denmark). The aim of the project was to promote and implement scientifically-based assessments and community-based programs focused on language vitality. ICC-Canadanoted that the Arctic Indigenous Languages Assessment Symposium (Ottawa, February 10-12) proved to be an excellent opportunity to share best practices on Indigenous language revitalization from groups around the circumpolar world. SDWG representatives from the Saami Council and Canada, who attended the symposium, noted that fulsome Permanent Participant and youth participation was a major success factor for the event. The Project Status Report, the symposium report (information only) and next steps were highlighted in the overview and the Project Status Report was accepted by the SDWG and forwarded to SAOs for decision at the April 8-9 SAO Executive Meeting.The ICC-led work onArctic Indigenous languagesis expected to continue under the U.S. Chairmanship.
Atli Már Sigurðsson, HoD Iceland, presented findings from the Gender Equality in the Arctic: Current Realities and Future Challengesproject(Iceland/Finland/Kingdom of Denmark/Norway/AIA). The final deliverable for this initiative was a report on a gender conference which took place in Akureyri, Iceland on October 30-31, 2014 and included 140 participants representing various stakeholders including PPs and all Arctic States.The main objective of the conference was to promote an extensive, policy relevant dialogue on gender equality putting current realities and future challenges into context with climate and environmental changes as well as economic and social developments. The Final Conference Report was accepted by the SDWG and forwarded to SAOs for decision at the April 8-9 SAO Executive Meeting.
SWDG Work Plan 2013-2015 – Completed Projects
Project co-leads provided summaries for projects that were accepted/endorsed during a February 9th, 2015 intersessional call. The summaries touched oneach completed project’s main findings, highlighted recommendations and discussed next steps, where applicable. This exchange of information was a helpful way to allow the SDWG to wrap-up completed projects, determine if there were any implications for future work and help the Observers in attendance understand and appreciate the SDWG work that concluded under the Canadian Chairmanship.
Cross Cutting Issues
Ilan Chabay, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), and Ivetta Gerasimchuck, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD),presented project overviews for three projects that have linkages to SDWG work, particularly in the area of renewable energy, which is a priority during the upcoming U.S. Chairmanship.
Grant Sullivan, GCI HoD and SECEG Co-Chair, provided a brief overview of future directions for SECEG, discussed capacity issues and the transition of the SECEG chair function to the U.S.It was decided that the current U.S representative for SECEG,Anna Kerttula, will take over the co-chair position, while the PPrepresentativestill remains to be determined. SDWG members also discussed the possibility of having the next SECEG face-to-face meeting in conjunction with the September 28-30, 2015 Arctic Energy Summittaking place in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Tom Barry, Executive Secretary, Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), provided SDWG members with an update on CAFF work that has linkages to the SDWG, particularly in the area of traditional and local knowledge.
U.S. Chairmanship Transition and SDWG Work Plan 2015-2017
Mike Young, U.S. HoD, provided an overview of the SDWG Work Plan 2015-2017 and noted that the U.S. will continue to address the human dimension of the Arctic under the themeof Improving Economic and Living Conditions. This includes initiatives that will provide practical knowledge and contribute to building the capacity of Indigenous Peoples and Arctic communities in response to regional challenges and opportunities. The Work Plan will take into account the U.S. Chairmanship program, two new Norwegian projects, a reindeer herding initiative and ongoing SDWG work in the areas of mental wellness, Traditional Local Knowledge (TLK), adaptation to climate change and Arctic Indigenous languages. It was agreed that the new project proposals associated with the Work Plan would be brought forward for endorsement at an intersessional call or at the next face-to-face meeting under the U.S. Chairmanship and that these proposals will include a new section on TLK asrecommended in the Integrating Traditional and Local Knowledge initiative.The SDWG Work Plan (2015-2017) was endorsed by SDWG members and forwarded to SAOs for approval. Please see Annex 2 for the complete SDWG 2015-17 Work Plan.
Two projects contained in the new Work Plan – EALLU and the Arctic Energy Summit – received approval by SDWG members. EALLU was endorsed with Canada, Norway, U.S. and Saami Council confirmed as co-leads and Iceland, Kingdom of Denmark, Finland and AAC expressing interest in co-leadership. The Arctic Energy Summitwas approved as a designated SDWG project and will be co-led by Iceland and U.S.
Vice-Chair Nominations
The PPs selected Joe Linklater, GCI, to be SDWG vice chair under the U.S. Chairmanship and the Member States agreed, as per standard procedure that Canada, as current chair, would become vice-chair during the U.S. Chairmanship.
Executive Secretary Procurement
Jimmy Stotts, ICC-Alaska, was selected to represent the PPs on the evaluation committee and Canada noted that the Call for Proposals would soon be posted for 40 days, followed by a review of the proposals by the selection committee.
Ministerial Declaration
SDWG members were given an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the draft Ministerial Declaration. The Chaircoordinated feedback and submitted it to SAOs for their consideration March Executive SAO meeting.
Next Meeting:
The next SDWG General Meeting will be on October 1-2, 2015 in Chena (Fairbanks) Alaska. Please see Annex 3 for a complete list of upcoming meetings under the U.S. Chairmanship.
ANNEX 1 - SDWG MEETING PARTICIPANTS
Family Name / First Name / Ministry/Department / Country/Organization / HODHenry / Colleen / AAC / AAC
Zoe-Chocolate / Camilia / AAC / AAC / X
Gamble / James / Aleut International Association / AIA / X
Bender / Matt / AANDC / CANADA / X
Bhargava / Jyoti / AANDC / CANADA
Harper / Susan / DFATD / CANADA
Shappa / June / Department of Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs, Government of Nunavut / CANADA
Shelton / John / DFATD / CANADA
Trapnell / Jenny / Executive Council Office, Yukon Government / CANADA
Söderman / René / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland / FINLAND / X
Sullivan / Grant / Gwichin Council International / GCI / X
Dahl / Hjalmar / ICC - Greenland / ICC
Smith / Duane / ICC - Canada / ICC / X
Stotts / James / ICC - Alaska / ICC
Sigurdsson / Atli Mar / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland / ICELAND / X
Mulvad Jessen / Uiloq / Department of Foreign Affairs Greenland / KINGDOM OF DENMARK / X
Nonklett / Margretha / Foreign Service of the Faroe Islands / KINGDOM OF DENMARK
Gunhild / Eriksen / Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norway / NORWAY / X
Retter / Gunn-Britt / Saami Council / SC / X
Turi / Ellen Inga / Saami Council / SC
Israelson / Ann-Sofie / Environmental Protection Agency / Sweden / X
Abdelrahim / Sarah / U.S. Department of the Interior / UNITED STATES
Glasser / Joshua / U.S. Department of State / UNITED STATES
Seltzer / Nomi / U.S. Department of State / UNITED STATES
Young / Michael / U.S. Department of State / UNITED STATES / X
Klassen / Doug / AANDC / SDWG
Wark / Jutta / AANDC / SDWG / X
Observers
Guyonvarch / Olivier / Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs / FRANCE
Sköld / Peter / N/A / IASSA
Han / Younghee / Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. RoK / SOUTH KOREA
Kim / Jong Deog / Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. RoK / SOUTH KOREA
Scheepstra / Adriana / Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands / THE NETHERLANDS
Oskal / Anders / N/A / AWRH
Secretariats
Nordström / Linnea / N/A / ARCTIC COUNCIL SECRETARIAT
Omma / Elle Merete / N/A / INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' SECRETARIAT
Barry / Tom / N/A / CAFF
Guest Speakers
Chabay / Ilan / N/A / IASS
Gerasimchuk / Ivetta / N/A / IISD
Sustainable Development Working Group
Work Plan for 2015-2017
The Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) will continue to address the human dimension of the Arctic by pursuing initiatives that provide practical knowledge and contribute to building the capacity of indigenous peoples and Arctic communities to respond to the challenges and opportunities in the Arctic region.
Addressing Energy Security in Remote Arctic Communities
Many remote Arctic communities rely on diesel fuel to generate electricity; fuel which is expensive to transport and which generates black carbon that contaminates the environment and harms residents’ health. Energy security for residents in remote Arctic communities can be strengthened through increasing the use of renewable energy and improvements to energy efficiency. The SDWG will work on exploring and developing projects which enhance energy security through these measures over the course of the U.S. Chairmanship and beyond. At a minimum, this work will include a U.S.-led project called the Remote Communities Renewable Energy (RCRE) partnership. This project aims to develop a modular system pairing renewable energy technology, such as wind turbines, with diesel generators and energy storage devices to power micro-grid systems in small Arctic communities. Other projects that address energy security in Arctic communities may also be added to this project cluster.
Arctic Energy Summit
The SDWG will support the Arctic Energy Summit (AES), a multi-disciplinary event drawing together industry executives, government agency officials and policy makers, researchers, energy professionals and community leaders to collaborate on and share innovative approaches to Arctic energy issues. The 2015 Summit will address renewable energy, oil and gas exploration and production, remote and rural heat and power, and energy transportation and transmission. As has been done in the past, the AES would produce a summary report and present it to the SDWG at their meeting immediately following the 2015 Summit.
Arctic Adaptation Exchange: Facilitating Adaptation to Climate Change
The Arctic Adaptation Exchange: Facilitating Adaptation to ClimateChange initiative will continue to support the online portal, in association with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, focused on adaptation to foster innovative approaches to climate change adaptation and enhance adaptive capacity. To the extent possible, Member States will build on their open data policies to consolidate and facilitate access to their respective climate-related Arctic datasets, and link this data to the Arctic Adaptation Exchange Portal. All Arctic Council working groups are also encouraged to submit links to their various datasets and/or reports related to adaptation.
Arctic Water Resources Vulnerability Index
In coordination with AMAP, this project will internationalize the University of Alaska-Fairbanks’ Arctic Water Resource Vulnerability Index (AWRVI) to provide Arctic communities with a valuable tool to assess the status of their freshwater resources. The expanded assessment will then feed into the Arctic Adaptation Exchange Portal developed by the SDWG during the Canadian chairmanship, allowing local government officials, researchers, and residents to evaluate their communities’ freshwater resiliency and address vulnerabilities.
Community Water, Sanitation and Public Health
Capitalizing on the results of the Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge, this project will focus on decentralized water and wastewater treatment, recycling, and usage efficiency. A workshop will be convened to facilitate collaboration between researchers, engineers, manufacturers, vendors and health experts on measures to increase access to and reduce the operating costs of in-home running water and sewer in remote communities, attract investment, improve public health, and spur public-private partnerships. The workshop will also serve as a platform to report on a circumpolar health assessment of existing community systems, water quality and quantity, utilization of traditional water sources, and related health indicators.
Operationalizing One Health in the Arctic
One Health is an interdisciplinary approach to assess health issues at the interface between humans, animals and ecosystems. By the end of the US chairmanship, the SDWG will have taken steps to institutionalize the practice of One Health across the Arctic region, and will have contributed key findings to Arctic Council reports, as well as relevant meetings. 'Hubs' will be designated to serve as Points of Contact (PoCs) for Member States and Permanent Participants. A circumpolar-agreed checklist will be developed to measure progress towards on-the-ground implementation of One Health, inform priority setting, and facilitate non-expert engagement with the initiative.
Suicide Prevention and Resilience
The RISING SUN project (Reducing the Incidence of Suicide in Indigenous Groups – Strengths United through Networks) aims to create a common, science-based system of metrics to track key correlates of mental wellness, interventions, and outcomes across Arctic States. Complementing the mental health work completed under the Canadian chairmanship, the development of common metrics will aid health workers and policy-makers in measuring progress, scaling-up interventions, and identifying challenges by facilitating data sharing and pooling, evaluation, and interpretation across service systems.
The Economy of the North III
The project will provide an updated overview of the economy, socioeconomic living conditions and environmental issues in the circumpolar Arctic, as impacted by the global economy and climate change. By harmonizing the socioeconomic statistical data across national and regional borders the projects aims to improve the knowledge base for natural resource management and social development.
The Arctic as a Food Producing Region
The food producers in the Arctic area are facing challenges related to harsh climate conditions, climate change, poor and/or costly infrastructure and distance to export markets. They also share the possibilities to frame the special attributes of the food from the Arctic. The aim of the project is to assess the potential for increased production and added value of food from the Arctic, with the overarching objective of improving economic and social conditions in Arctic communities.
EALLU – Arctic Indigenous Youth, Climate Change and Food Culture
The EALLUproject willmaintain and further develop sustainable and resilient reindeer husbandry in the Arctic in the face of climate change and globalization to work towards a vision of creating a better life for circumpolar reindeer herders. The project will raise awareness of climate change among indigenous youth groups, document and raise awareness of the traditional knowledge of food cultures of Arctic indigenous reindeer herding peoples, and stimulate business development and local value added in Arctic indigenous peoples’ regions.
Use Traditional and Local Knowledge
The SDWG will work in collaboration with Working Groups and Task Forces to implement the recommendations developed through the Integrating Traditional and Local Knowledge initiative towards the consistent and practical use of traditional and local knowledge in the work of the Arctic Council.
Assessing, Monitoring and Promoting Arctic Indigenous Languages
The ICC-led work on assessing, monitoring and promoting Arctic indigenous languages will continue during 2015-17 building on the research results of the first phase under the Swedish and Canadian chairmanships as well as the outcomes of the February 2015 Symposium.