The Davis Strait - DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi

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In 2008, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) passed a resolution
expressing ‘extreme concern’ over the impacts of climate change on
biodiversity. Although climate change is a pervasive stressor, other stressors,
such as long-range transport of contaminants, unsustainable harvesting
of wild species and resource development are also impacting marine Arctic
biodiversity (CAFF 2010).
Pathways, distribution patterns and/or toxicity of a range of contaminants
are likely to change, and native organisms are likely to become less tolerant
to contaminant exposure due to higher temperatures (Macdonald et al. 2005,
Schiedek et al. 2007).
To be able to assess potential impacts of petroleum exploration-related impacts
on the marine environment, a holistic approach – to include climate,
chemicals and biodiversity – is needed to fully understand marine ecosystems
in Greenland, including the assessment area as well as how human activities
affect them.