Arctic Conservation Area Topographic Map

The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) is a working group under the Arctic Council for the countries of the Arctic, indigenous peoples, and nongovernmental organizations. Monitoring, assessment, protection of areas, and conservation strategies are all tasks under this working group. The area that this group addresses is represented in this map.

The vast Arctic area represents one of the last wilderness regions in the world with very little human activity. The boreal forest, tundra, and glaciated areas of the Arctic are home to polar bears, caribou, and many other similar species. For many migrating birds, this is the destination for their summer breeding.

The Arctic faces considerable challenges in the future—in the continued development of the extraction of natural resources such as oil and gas, climate change, and preservation of the traditions of the indigenous peoples. The changes in climate that can already be seen are projected to have the most significant impact in this part of the world with less sea ice and the melting of permafrost in the tundra.

Courtesy of Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal.