Abstract:

The Arctic is undergoing rapid and dramatic environmental and social transfor-mations due to climate change. This has ramifications for the entire planet, as change  spreads  through  interconnected  global  networks  that  are  environmental, cultural,  economic  and  political.  The book highlights the importance to recognise the cultural repercussions of climate change, as the impacts of this phenomenon on ways of life, identities and systems of meaning are enormous. In this perspective, the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the  Intangible  Cultural  Heritage  emerges  as  particularly  relevant  for  putting  in place  safeguarding  measures  for  the  oral  traditions,  social  practices  and  knowl-edge  and  know-how  of Arctic  indigenous  communities.  UNESCO’s  Local  and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Programme also joins in this effort, by placing a necessary emphasis on the key contribution of indigenous knowledge to better understanding the impacts of climate change on both human societies and the environment, and for mobilising local adaptation capacities. Through  this  book,  UNESCO  seeks  to  stimulate  debate  on  how  to  ensure  a sustained,  comprehensive,  interdisciplinary  and  multi-actor  approach  to  moni-toring, managing and responding to change in the Arctic.