Beavers and the borealisation of the Arctic: Understanding cascading social and biophysical change

Project Report

With accelerating environmental change in the Arctic, the need for Arctic science partnerships that span and respect multiple worldviews is ever more pressing. In November 2023 we held a meeting between Indigenous peoples, scientists, and decision-makers to promote knowledge coproduction on the issue of beavers in the Arctic. The meeting provided the opportunity for knowledge sharing between different Indigenous communities within the Arctic and provided an opportunity to discuss common needs and opportunities for research and monitoring. We also identified areas of importance such as beaver management and wildlife-related pathogens and disease that existing arctic beaver research networks did not cover and arctic and non-arctic experts to support discussion of these themes. This work is now leading to the ongoing development of new research and partnerships, particularly related to both wildlife monitoring and remote sensing research.

Scientific highlights

• Coproduction of methods for observing beaver occupancy changes
• Discussion of new research areas related to beavers in the Arctic
• Sharing of findings and methods across beaver research programs

More info: https://arcticbeaver.weebly.com/