AMAP: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Working Group
AMAP: Secretariat is based in Oslo, Norway
AMAP's current objective is "providing reliable and sufficient information on the status of, and threats to, the Arctic environment, and providing scientific advice on actions to be taken in order to support Arctic governments in their efforts to take remedial and preventive actions relating to contaminants".
AMAP is responsible for measuring the levels, and assessing the effects of anthropogenic pollutants in all compartments of the Arctic environment, including humans; documenting trends of pollution; documenting sources and pathways of pollutants; examining the impact of pollution on Arctic flora and fauna, especially those used by indigenous people; reporting on the state of the Arctic environment; and giving advice to Ministers on priority actions needed to improve the Arctic condition.
AMAP's priorities include the following contaminant groups and issues:
- Persistent organic contaminants (POPs)
- Heavy metals (in particular mercury, cadmium, and lead)
- Radioactivity
- Acidification and Arctic haze (in a subregional context)
- Petroleum hydrocarbon pollution (in a subregional context)
- Climate change (environmental consequences and biological effects in the Arctic resulting from global climate change)
- Stratospheric ozone depletion (biological effects due to increased UV-B, etc)
- Effects of pollution on the health of humans living in the Arctic (including effects of increased UV radiation as a result of ozone depletion, and climate change)
- Combined effects of pollutants and other stressors on both ecosystems and humans
AMAP has produced a series of high quality scientifically-based assessments of the pollution status of the Arctic. The AMAP assessment reports (both the popular readable versions and detailed scientific background documents) are available on the AMAP website.
