Biodiversity in Alaska and the Arctic

 

Climate change and industrial activity such as oil and gas exploration, coal extraction, and shipping are among the greatest threats to biodiversity in the Arctic. As the Arctic sea ice melts at a rapidly accelerating pace, iconic Arctic wildlife, including the threatened polar bear, endangered bowhead whale, ribbon seal, and Pacific walrus, are increasingly at risk. Alaska Natives, who depend on marine mammals and other wildlife of the Arctic Ocean for physical and cultural sustenance as have their ancestors for thousands for years, watch as their traditional way of life becomes imperiled. Pacific Environment works both in the Russian Arctic (Chukotka) and in Alaska’s Arctic and are one of the few organizations working to protect the marine biodiversity of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

Click here to learn more about Arctic species under threat. 

Pacific Environment collaborates closely with Alaska Native communities to increase scrutiny of resource extraction plans, carefully assessing impacts to marine mammals. In recent years we forced Shell to abandon offshore drilling plans in the Beaufort Sea, allowing time for the collection of data on impacts to species including the endangered bowhead whale, which is a staple for the Inupiat way of life.  We also address the impacts of increased shipping on species.  In 2009, Pacific Environment ensured that the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment contained a section dedicated to evaluating the ecological impacts to marine mammals from noise caused by seismic testing and shipping.