Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
5.5 Policy considerations
The implications of these concepts for policy and governance follow those of the panarchy
framework. To understand a system like the Arctic Ocean we must rethink how and at what
scales itfunctions,andhowsmall changesincross-scale interactions can,especially ifunno-
ticed, lead to unpredicted and, from a societal point of view, undesired, large-scale changes.
System services provided by the Arctic Ocean currently include reliable food, diversity, cul-
concept provides a framework to help understanding and interpretation of sudden changes
in the availability of such system services and which might help guide decision makers in
dealing with the system's non-linear behaviour. As such, research and observation strategies
must capture cross-scale interactions, and policy and management must accommodate these
spatial and temporal interrelationships and increased human activities that are further affect-
ing an already stressed system.
In particular, assuming that there is a desire to learn from past approaches, there is the
need to bridge current barriers between disciplines, agencies, and political jurisdictions. Ex-
isting local, national, and international governance structures will not become obsolete; in-
deed, they will likely have larger roles to play as human activity increases in the Arctic.
But any one discipline, agency, or jurisdiction cannot hope to address the full implications
of change and human influence at all necessary temporal and spatial domains. Thus what is
needed is more a mental shift in the way we think about systems, in the way we study them,
in the ways in which we collaborate, and in the way we manage and protect them.
If indeed, as panarchy predicts, systems transitions occur as tipping points when ex-
ternal forces are pushed above a system's resilience/adaptive capacity and where cross-scale
interactionscanleadtounforeseeableandlarge-scalechanges,thenmanagementactionsand
their regulatory framework need to allow for a system-wide approach where climate change,
fisheries, oil and gas activity, shipping, subsistence use, and other enterprises are considered
in conjunction and not in isolation, to avoid over- as well as underestimating their roles.
