The Thirteenth meeting of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Working Group (CAFF XIII), is to be held in Akureyri, Iceland on February 1 - 3rd 2011. Every two years, the Arctic Council Working Group on Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna schedules a large meeting in advance of the AC Ministerial meeting.
CAFF is a Working Group of the Arctic Council and a forum of Arctic professionals, indigenous peoples representatives, and observer countries and organisations. The aim of CAFF is to discussing circumpolar Arctic conservation issues. The major task is to advise the Arctic governments (Canada, Denmark/Greenland, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) on conservation matters.
The CAFF Program is guided by the CAFF Strategic Plan for the Conservation of Arctic Biological Diversity and biennial CAFF Work Plans. CAFF has four Guiding Principles:
- The involvement of indigenous and local people and use of traditional ecological knowledge;
- The use of broad, ecosystem-based approach to conservation and management;
- Cooperation with other conservation initiatives to minimise duplication and increase effectiveness;
- Communication of CAFF program activities.
The CAFF 2006-2008 Work Plan emphasizes cooperation and collaboration with other Arctic Council Working Groups, and organizations outside of the Arctic Council, and makes efforts to actively contribute to the global conservation agenda. This Work Plan responds to the findings and recommendations of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the Arctic Marine Strategic Plan and CAFFs Arctic Flora: Status and Trends.