Second ANNOUNCEMENT Arctic Council Northern Timberline Forests Workshop Arktikum, Rovaniemi, Finland Thursday - Saturday, May 23-25, 2002 Photo: Metla/Erkki Oksanen Organized by Finnish Forest Research Institute Arctic Centre, University of Lapland Finnish Forest and Park Service University of Joensuu
Background The project Sustainable Development in Northern Timberline Forests was approved by the Arctic Council under its Sustainable Development Programme at the Ministerial Meeting in Barrow, Alaska in 2000. Finland, together with other Arctic countries, agreed to organize a workshop on Sustainable Development in Northern Timberline Forests under the Arctic Council s agenda in May 2002. This project has its origin in the "Timberline Workshop" held just before the "Sustainable Development Workshop" in Whitehorse, YT, Canada, in May 1998 (see published proceedings in the Finnish Forest Research Institute Research Papers 734, 1999). Furthermore, this project has established links with other major research initiatives, e.g. IASC (International Arctic Science Committee) on Caribou/Reindeer Grazing Systems and the Tundra-Taiga Initiative as well as with existing EU (European Union) funded research programmes such as HIBECO on Human Impact on the Mountain Birch Forest Ecosystem, RENMAN on Modernity in Reindeer Herding Management Systems, and TUNDRA on Tundra Degradation in the Russian Arctic. Indigenous peoples participation is crucial to the success of the project. The main idea is to discuss appropriate practices for addressing extensive forestry and socio-economic questions in timberline regions. This can only be done by involving both indigenous organizations and researchers. The Gwich in Renewable Resource Council, Indigenous People s Secretariat, RAIPON, and the Finnish Sámi Association were represented at the Whitehorse Workshop in 1998. Objectives The purpose of the workshop is to present the latest assessment of conditions in the timberline region gained through the numerous research projects carried out during the period 2000-2002 and to prepare conclusions and recommendations on sustainable development in the northern timberline region (i.e. tundra taiga zone) for the Arctic Council's Ministerial Meeting in late autumn 2002. Special emphasis will be paid to the social and economic consequences of global change in the region and to ecosystem management in these regions. Topics Four themes have been suggested for the workshop sections. 1) Socio-economic questions. 2) Timber resource management systems 3) Forests and Reindeer 4) Biodiversity.
Programme Arctic Council, Northern Timberline Forests Workshop Polarium, Arktikum, Rovaniemi Language: ENGLISH Thursday, May 23, 2002 9.00 Arrival of participants and registration (most participants will have arrived already on Wednesday) 10.00 Opening (Chair: Marja-Liisa Sutinen) Addresses by - Sauli Rouhinen - Paula Kankaanpää - Ludger Müller-Wille 10.30 Session I (Chair: Marja-Liisa Sutinen) Keynote 1: Tatiana Vlassova Sustainable Development of the Lesotundra Zone in Russia: Problems and Opportunities 11.00 (four papers) 12.30 Lunch 14.00 Session II (Chair: Taneli Kolström) Keynote 2: Maria Sofia Aikio Living at the Timberline: The Use of Mountain Birch Forest by Sámi 14.30 Keynote 3: John E. Lewis Modelling Forestry Resources with Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems 15.00 (two papers) 15.30 Break 16.00 Session III (Chair: Oddvar Skre) Keynote 4: Johan Mathis Turi Reindeer Herding in Different Parts of the World 16.30 (four papers) 17.30 Working Group Chairs meeting 18.00 Reception: hosted by the City of Rovaniemi Friday, May 24, 2002 9.00 Session IV (Chair: Tatiana Vlassova) Keynote 5: Frans Wielgolaski Nordic Mountain Birch Forest 9.30 (four papers) 10.30 Break 11.00 Parallel sessions of working groups Working Group 1: Local Socio-economic Conditions and Challenges in the Northern Timberline Forests (Chair: Ludger Müller-Wille, Panel: Maria Sofia Aikio, Tatiana Vlassova)
Working Group 2: Timber Resource Management Systems (Chair: Taneli Kolström, Panel: John E. Lewis) Working Group 3: Forests and Reindeer in the Northern Timberline Zone (Chair: Oddvar Skre, Panel: Johan Mathis Turi, Bruce Forbes) Working Group 4: Effects of Current and Future Environmental Conditions on Biodiversity in the Northern Timberline Forests (Chair: Sune Sohlberg, Panel: Anna- Liisa Sippola, Frans Wielgolaski) 12.30 Lunch 14.00 Session V (Chair: Brynjar Skúlason) (six papers and posters) 15.30 Break 16.00 Plenary Session I (Chair: Marja-Liisa Sutinen) Reports by Working Group Chairs and General Discussion (poster session continued) 17.30 Transfer to hotels 19.00 Social evening at Restaurant Waldemari, Lumberjack Candle Bridge at Kemijoki Saturday, May 25, 2002 9.00 Parallel sessions of Working Groups 1 to 4 (Chairs as above) 10.30 Break 11.00 Plenary Session II (Chair: Ludger Müller-Wille) Summaries by Working Groups Chairs, General Discussion, Conclusions and Resolutions 12.20 Closing Remarks (Marja-Liisa Sutinen and Ludger Müller-Wille) 12.30 Lunch 14.00 Excursion to forest sites (meeting of Scientific Programme and Local Organization Committees) Supper, sauna and social evening at the Forest and Park Service logcabins near Vaattunkiköngäs (Kemijoki) Return to hotels Sunday, May 26, 2002 Departure of participants Call for papers and posters (pre-registration) Submission of paper title with abstract (maximum 100 words) for oral presentation and/or posters on topics relevant to the workshop s general theme should be received before or no later than May 15, 2002. Oral presentations are scheduled for 15 minutes including discussion time. Keynote presentations are scheduled for 30 minutes including discussion time.
The abstracts are subject to review by the Scientific Programme Committee. Accepted papers and posters will be published in the abstract volume. Please indicate whether the paper is meant for oral presentation or as a poster (size: width 70 cm, height 100 cm) The Scientific Programme Committee will decide on the ultimate form. The Scientific Programme Committee decided in its March meeting that only the keynote presentations, extended abstracts and the reports of the working groups will be published in the workshop proceeding (this is because of the urgency of the publication process.) We strongly recommend that participants take a good look at the topics of the four working groups before coming to Rovaniemi. The reports of each working group will be published in the proceedings (see the programme). The abstracts can be attached to an e-mail message, and sent to <Marja-Liisa.Sutinen@metla.fi> or they can be sent by regular mail to Marja-Liisa Sutinen Finnish Forest Research Institute Kolari Research Station FIN-95900 Kolari, Finland The keynotes and final papers submitted by June 20, 2002 and subject to peer review will be published in the proceedings, which form the Report to the Arctic Council to be submitted by September 2002. Registration fee The registration fee is EUR 100 and covers the costs for the abstract booklet, the workshop banquet (at Restaurant Waldemari), beverages during breaks, and the workshop proceedings. On May 25, 2002 there will be a one-day excursion offered to participants. Various sites will be visited to provide the participants with an overview of northern forests, reindeer herding and the related management. Catering, transportation and sauna (EUR 30) during the excursion is not included in the workshop fee. Scientific Programme Committee Ludger Müller-Wille, McGill University, Canada (Chair) Oddvar Skre, Norwegian Forest Research Institute - Bergen, Norway Brynjar Skúlason, Iceland Forestry Research - Akureyri, Iceland Sune Sohlberg, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency - Stockholm, Sweden Marja-Liisa Sutinen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finland Tatiana Vlassova, Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Science, Russia Local Organizing Comittee Marja-Liisa Sutinen, Finnish Forest Research Institute (Chair) Raija Kivilahti, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Secretary) Sakari Kankaanpää, Finnish Forest Research Institute
Taneli Kolström, University of Joensuu Paulo Susiluoto, Finnish Forest Research Institute Eero Tikkanen, Finnish Forest and Park Service Minna Turunen, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland Sinikka Rovanperä, Finnish Forest Research Institute Schedule Deadline for registration: April 30, 2002 (on spot registration is possible, but then the hotel reservation must be made directly to the hotel) Deadline for submission of abstracts: May 15,2002 Submission of keynote manuscripts: May 15, 2002 Workshop: May 23 25, 2002 June 20: Summary reports by Working groups 1-4 and extended abstracts September 1: Editors' final meeting. Report to printing. Publication of Final Report (Proceedings): September 30, 2002 Submission of Final Report: Arctic Council Meeting at Saariselkä, October 7-10, 2002. Publication: Arctic Council, SDWG Report 2002 Title: Language: Length: Contents: Northern Timberline Forests: Environmental and Socio-economic Issues and Concerns English, Russian 150 manuscript pages (maximum length) - Table of contents - Preface, Editors (2 p.) - Executive Summary and Context of SDWG process (4-5 p., members of the Scientific Programme and members of the Local Organization Committees authors based on input) - Five Keynotes with abstracts (80 to 100 p.) - Working Groups 1-4 Reports and Summary (Chairs with WG members, authors based on input) (20 p.) - Appendices: A: Workshop Programme (3 p.) B: Paper/Poster extended Abstracts (10-15 p.) C: HARC-Huntington Report (5 p.) D: Colour pages (8 p.) E: List/addresses of participants (2-3 p.) For further information about workshop: marja-liisa.sutinen@metla.fi or sakari.kankaanpaa@metla.fi Mailing address: Finnish Forest Research Institute/Kolari Research Station FIN-95900 Kolari, Finland Tel. +358 16 561401 Fax +358 16 561904
For more information and updates check http://www.arctic-council.org/sdwg_projects.asp or http://www.metla.fi/tapahtumat/2002/timberline/ APPENDIX: General information The Location Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle is the administrative, cultural and commercial centre of Finnish Lapland. It is situated at the junction of Kemijoki River, the longest river in Finland, and its tributary, Ounasjoki River. Rovaniemi is a town with 36,000 inhabitants. Most of the local people earn their living in the service industries. The traditional occupations of agriculture, forestry and reindeer herding have been developed simultaneously with other livelihoods. Rovaniemi is also an important centre of education. Weather in late May Spring comes slowly to Lapland. The daylight hours grow longer at a tremendous speed, but hardpacked snow still lies on the ground. When sub-zero temperatures recede, the sun at last starts to melt the snow and you can see the annual spring floods on the banks of the large rivers. In May the highest temperature has been +10.7 C and the lowest +0.4 C. Venue Arktikum The Arktikum, opened in late 1992, is a science centre and museum, which has its focus on Lapland and the arctic regions. It is display case for the living conditions of the peoples, nature and history, customs and cultures north of the Arctic Circle. THE ARKTIKUM ARCTIC CENTRE www.arktikum.fi Street address: Pohjoisranta 2, FIN-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland Email: info@arktikum.fi or arctic.centre@urova.fi Travel information Rovaniemi can be reached by air from Helsinki (by Finnair); contact your local travel agency for cheap fares. You can also take a train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. The fastest train connection takes about eight hours, and a one-way ticket costs about EUR 65 (+ sleeping place EUR 15). Local transportation The Yellow Airport Taxi provides transportation at reasonable cost to and from Rovaniemi Airport to the town centre, local addresses and any hotel.