CHARTER created the first ever comprehensive Holocene Biodiversity dataset. New algorithms for satellite product retrieval were developed, including the use of artificial intelligence.
CHARTER findings defy commonly held beliefs that the number of reindeer are too high in northern Fennoscandia. The effects of reindeer grazing on vegetation and soil processes vary across habitats and depend on current land-uses and historically formed grazing regimes. CHARTER added evidence that reindeer herding can potentially contribute to climate mitigation by keeping tundra landscapes open, confirming that while northernmost Europe is often seen as wilderness, these areas should better be seen as cultural landscapes, where knowledge of history is a prerequisite for understanding ecosystems – and biodiversity changes in the North cannot be analyzed without understanding regional land-use changes.
Diverging aims and views related to future land-use developments in the Arctic regions exist and concerns expressed by local communities deserve to be investigated further. Local communities and traditional livelihoods should not merely be considered as “victims” of change rather, they have agency and participate in shaping ecosystems.
CHARTER established that local practitioners are interested in climate modelling that better serves their needs. Earth system modellers need to better understand the needs of end users, and people at the local level need capacity building and inclusion in future research projects, to better utilize modelling outputs.
Land-use planning has a key role and its implementation requires holistic coordination to avoid harmful cumulative impacts. Nature-based livelihoods like reindeer herding can adapt, but only if able to maintain flexibility, through adaptive co-management of resources and spatial mobility.
CHARTER work confirmed that Arctic is experiencing rapid and interlinked socio-environmental changes. Governance approaches that consider biodiversity, climate change, land use and livelihoods of local communities together are needed. Adaptive co-management was seen as practical implementations of these approaches. Dialogue and interaction between and within governance levels and sectors, and with local people, is required and local, traditional ecological knowledges has a key role to play.
