Biodiversity Assessment of the Barents Sea Ecoregion

3,62
MB

160
stron

6447
ID World Wildlife Fund International

2004
rok

Table of contents

Preface. IV

List of figures . VII

Executive summary (English) . 1

Executive summary (Russian) . 6

Introduction: The Framework . 14

A sea of opportunities 14

The global 200 Ecoregions and the global conservation challenge 15

Biodiversity: Its meaning and measurement 18

The structure of the assessment and the process behind it 19

Description of the Barents Sea Ecoregion . 22

A productive and fluctuating environment 22

Human population 25

Benthic organisms 26

Plankton 29

Ice Flora and Fauna 32

Fish 32

Seabirds 34

Marine mammals 42

Past, present and future environmental challenges 49

Fisheries 49

Human influence on seabird populations 52

Marine mammal hunting 54

Introduced species 55

Petroleum activities 57

Shipping 60

Pollution 61

Radioactive contamination 64

Fish farming 70

Climate change 71

Threat assessments 72

Protected areas 76

Identifying priority areas for biodiversity conservation . 80

The Barents Sea biodiversity workshop 80

Step 1: A subregional classification of the ecoregion 82

Step 2: Nominating valuable areas 83

Marine mammals: nominated areas 84

Seabirds: nominated areas 86

Plankton and ice edge organisms: nominated areas 89

Fish: nominated areas 92

Benthic organisms: nominated areas 95

Step 3: Identifying overall priority areas 97

Descriptions of subregions and priority areas . 100

Subregion I. The western Shelf Edge 100

Subregion II. The Norwegian Coastal Current and the Norwegian and Murman Coast 102

Subregion III. White Sea 108

Subregion IV. Central Barents Sea south of the Polar Front 113

Subregion V. Nenets coast and Pechora Sea 117

Subregion VI. Novaya Zemlya and western coast with banks 121

Subregion VII. Central Barents Sea north of the Polar Front 124

Subregion VIII. Svalbard archipelago and the Spitsbergen Bank 125

Subregion IX. Franz Josef Land 129

Subregion X. Kara Sea and eastern Novaya Zemlya 130

Conservation first 134

Marine protected areas 134

Towards a conservation strategy 136

References . 138

Map references . 148

Appendices

Appendix 1: Seabird colonies in the Barents Sea Ecoregion

Appendix 2: Walrus and Polar Bear localities in the Barents Sea Ecoregion

Appendix 3: Existing and abandoned coastal settlements

Appendix 4: Important international agreements