The EU funded CHARTER (Drivers and Feedbacks of Changes in Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity) will hold our kick off meeting tomorrow (October 6-8). While all of us were greatly looking forward to gathering and brainstorming together, as in-person communication is so valuable for science, creativity and new thinking, these extraordinary times require adaptation and new approaches and due the ongoing risks associated with COVID-19, the entire meeting will be held virtually.
As a taster and introduction to the various researchers involved in the project, head over to our Video Gallery page where we already have a number of project partners, work package leaders and early career scientists for you to hear from directly from. We intend to add to this resource continually.
In the meantime, hear below from the project leader, Research Professor Bruce Forbes of the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland; in a wide ranging discussion on the genesis of the CHARTER project, the key themes it will address and more, including what sparked his interest in the Arctic (hint, the power of paper maps..)
CHARTER is an ambitious effort to advance the adaptive capacity of Arctic communities to climatic and biodiversity changes through state-of-the-art synthesis based on thorough data collection, analysis and modelling of Arctic change with major socio-economic implications and feedbacks. CHARTER involves 21 research institutions across 9 countries. The 4 year, 5.9M Euro project is managed by the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland, Finland and is funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovations Programme (Grant #869471).