Contaminants from long range sources continue to find their way into the Arctic. Elevated concentrations of contaminants from long range sources continue to find their way into the traditional diet of Indigenous Peoples across the Arctic, threatening biodiversity, food security, and health. Even though Indigenous Peoples have contributed the least to these issues, they continue to face its most devastating consequences to their food sovereignty, their culture, and their health as well as the health of generations to come. While International instruments such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and the Minamata Convention on Mercury seeks to regulate the production and use of chemicals that are also of Arctic concern, new contaminants continue to arise in the Arctic. This event will explain how Indigenous Peoples and biodiversity in the Arctic are affected by these human-induced stressors, and share monitoring and research activities spanning local to national (example of the Northern Contaminants Program) to regional (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme of the Arctic Council) scales, which work in a partnership approach with Indigenous Peoples.

Presenters:

• Sarah Kalhok Bourque, AMAP Chair, Northern Science and Contaminants Research Directorate, Indigenous and Northern Affairs
• Jennifer Provencher, AMAP Litter and Microplastics Expert Group co-lead, Wildlife Health Unit at the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Lauren Divine, Director, Ecosystem Conservation Office at Aleut Community of St. Paul Island
• Liz Pijogge, Contaminants Researcher, Nunatsiavut Government
• Vi Pangunnaaq Waghiyi, Environmental Health and Justice Program Director, Alaska Community Action on Toxics
• Lisa Qiluqqi Koperqualuk, Vice-Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council