WWF in the Arctic: Barents Sea
How we work
Acknowledging that meeting the growing number of challenges in the Barents Sea requires a long-term view and a holistic approach to balance protection and development, WWF has developed a conservation strategy for the Barents Sea Ecoregion. This strategy describes how the Barents Sea Ecoregion Programme will help to achieve the biodiversity vision and the overall targets for the Barents Sea.
The Programme carries out activities on the local, regional, as well as the national and federal levels, in Norway and Russia. The ecoregional targets and activities are all related to the global targets of WWF. In this way the work in the Barents Sea Ecoregion will link field activities with regional and global issues and contribute to the conservation work carried out by WWF and others on a global level.
By working strategically and with a long-term perspective, the Programme aims to address all major threats to biodiversity in the ecoregion. The Programme will make full use of the extensive networks and experience of WWF and our partners, both globally and locally.
Within the framework of ecosystem-based management, WWF is committed to promoting capacity building of civil society, the full involvement of stakeholders, and to carry out focused activities to reach the targets we have set ourselves.
Science-based management, public engagement, transparency and availability of information are key elements of the Programme. In this way the programme contributes to democracy and institution building, which benefit not only the environment, but also society at large.The conservation first principle
Conservation First means that there should be no new or expanded large scale developments in the Barents Sea until the areas of highest conservation value have been protected. Implementing the Conservation First Principle through the establishment of a network of MPAs in the Barents Sea will have three major benefits:
- For communities. It protects renewable natural resources and ecosystems that have been the basis for human communities for thousands of years and will be the basis for long-term, sustainable development in the future.
- For conservation. It secures the survival of key species, ecosystem components, and processes identified as being important to and representative of the ecoregion. Some areas also have ecosystem functions far beyond the ecoregion itself, for example as havens for migratory species or moderators for larger-scale climate processes.
- For business. The process allows conflicts to be identified and resolved before major investments are made, providing certainty and predictability for investors, developers, governments, conservationists, and other stakeholders
