From Arctic Science to Global Policy – Addressing Multiple Stressors Under the Stockholm Convention

Abstract

Rapid climate change in the Arctic triggers the remobilization of chemical pollution, increasing its exposure and potential impacts in the region. While scientific knowledge on multiple stressors, including the interlinkages between climate change and hazardous chemicals, is increasing, it has proven challenging to translate this knowledge into policy. This study analyzes the process of translating Arctic scientific knowledge on multiple stressors into global policy by focusing on the development of a guidance document under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Through document analysis and key informant interviews, we focus particularly on the role of the Arctic Council working group AMAP in synthesizing, translating and communicating science on multiple stressors to policy makers. We draw on the theoretical framework of formalization (how and by whom knowledge is summarized for policy) and separation (the relative distance between science and policy) to analyze the science-to-policy interface. Our analysis of the phases leading up to the guidance document show that AMAP has dynamically moved between different degrees of separation and formalization. Orchestrating the interplay between scientists and policy makers, the working group has put multiple stressors on the political agenda internationally. AMAP has thereby contributed to turn Arctic science into global policy through the guidance document. We conclude by illustrating several constraints in terms of the implementation of actual policy, which we argue is due to an increasing degree of formalization in the last phase and a general unreadiness of contemporary governance systems to address multiple stressors.

Why do we monitor? Using seabird eggs to track trends in Arctic environmental contamination

“…Arctic seabird scientists have had to conduct considerable, specific research over the years to understand how the behavioural and foraging ecology of the different species influence their exposure to and uptake of different contaminants (e.g., Gaston and Nettleship 1981;Borgå et al 2005;Mallory et al 2008;Bustnes et al 2012). Nonetheless, with just a few samples each year (typically 15 eggs per species per colony per year; Mallory and Braune 2012) and the incredible advancements in analytical technologies (e.g., Segade and Tyson 2003), egg monitoring provides essential, cost-effective data required to (a) meet international reporting mandates for environmental health (e.g., Steindal et al 2021); (b) assess wildlife health and, consequently, risks to human health, because Inuit still consume many "wild foods" (e.g., Kinloch et al 1992;Priest and Usher 2004); and (c) look back in time, with our ability to archive samples (Braune et al 2010a), so we can track what happened when "new" contaminants emerged (e.g., Braune and Simon 2003;Lu et al 2019). Clearly, monitoring contaminants in seabird egg has served as an invaluable tool for understanding the past and enduring impacts of historical contamination, and, as new chemicals are developed, ongoing monitoring will be vital to understanding the influence of emerging contaminants in remote Arctic regions.…”

Profiling research on PFAS in wildlife: Systematic evidence map and bibliometric analysis

“…These findings triggered Norway's well-established and funded engagement in POPs monitoring in the Arctic. Furthermore, the research on emerging pollutants by Norway and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme has provided essential scientific evidence for the decisions made within the Stockholm Convention and has been driving international Arctic research on POPs since (Rottem, 2017;Steindal et al, 2021). Generally, the findings of high pollutant levels in the Following Norway's model, scientists from all over the world have gotten engaged in monitoring POPs levels in the Arctic often in collaborations with Norwegian colleagues (Blévin et al, 2020;Kowalczyk et al, 2020;Sebastiano et al, 2020).…”

The role of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) in reducing pollution of the Arctic and around the globe

“…Prior to the development and adoption of the UN Stockholm Convention on POPs, the only international agreement to reduce long-range transported pollution was CLRTAP under the UN-ECE. Experts from Canada and Sweden brought drafts of the first AMAP assessment to CLRTAP to inform about the presence of contaminants in the Arctic and their effects on indigenous populations [ 8 , 33 ]. The scientific data from AMAP documented the global dimension of POP pollution and played a significant role in establishing the UN Stockholm Convention on POPs, which regulates chemicals on the basis of being persistent, transported over long distances, bioaccumulative and toxic.…”