Counting what counts: using local knowledge to improve Arctic resource management

The climate is changing and the people in the Arctic are facing huge challenges. Many rely on natural resources for both subsistence and income. Successful adaptation to climate change and the sustainable use of resources requires observation of the environment. Scientific knowledge of the environment is incomplete and conventional scientific monitoring is logistically difficult. Local fishers and hunters observe the environment all year-round. Their observations and knowledge are, however, not consistently quantified, analyzed, or used for resource management. We present a simple, field-based system for monitoring and managing resources developed specifically to enable Greenlandic fishers and hunters to document trends in living resources and to propose management decisions themselves. This system was designed to build upon existing informal observing methods, and there is interest in the system among rural fishers and hunters. We describe correspondence between community members’ perceptions and professional scientists’ assessments of the abundance of sea-ice, shipping, fish, mammals, and birds. Community-based documentation can pinpoint particular species and areas that are in need of attention. At the same time, it can help link observed environmental changes to management action. We hope this paper will encourage other stakeholders to develop their own local monitoring systems so as to facilitate adaptive management responses at both local and national levels.