International Polar Year Collaborative Project: Bering Sea Sub-Network: International Community-Based Observation Alliance for Arctic Observing Network (BSSN)

经济上重要的白令海地区周围的土著居民正在启动一项监测该地区环境变化的项目。该项目将涉及阿拉斯加西部和俄罗斯东北部的土著组织。白令海是世界上最多产的海洋之一，包括许多生物资源的全球重要栖息地，现在正在经历包括气候变化在内的深远的环境变化，这使科学家，沿海居民和来自世界各地的其他人感到震惊。该地区对美国和俄罗斯都具有至关重要的经济意义。该地区土著和非土著人民的健康、经济福利和生活方式与白令海及其自然资源息息相关。俄罗斯和美国白令海沿岸村庄的社会经济发展取决于维持该地区的生态可持续条件。“这个监测项目对该地区和居住在那里的人民的未来至关重要，”领导该项目的阿留申国际协会（Aleut International Association）主席迈克尔·扎卡洛夫（Michael Zacharof）说。“我们社区的人们甚至会注意到自然界最细微的变化，但他们没有资源和工具来适当地记录这些变化并进行研究。在土著社区，没有“野外季节”。我们全年都在实地工作，我们认为有必要为当地社区提供研究、监测和观察能力。通过让住在那里的人参与进来，我们可以经济有效地做到这一点。”白令海子网络：国际以社区为基础的北极观测网络环境观测联盟（BSSN）由国际极地年联合委员会批准，将涉及6个当地土著社区，美国和俄罗斯各3个，以监测和分享他们观察到的变化。变化可能包括南方物种向北迁移，鱼类和其他对温度敏感的物种的分布和丰度的变化，冰型的变化以及天气观测。观测结果将通过基于标准协议的网络测量方法收集。BSSN将解决以下问题：1)从集体土著和传统知识中获得的经济和生存重要物种的历史和现在分布和性质；2)可与西方科学相关的主要变量和指标类型，以建立基于本土和传统知识的可预测模型；3)社区数据与西方科学数据的时空趋同与分化。该项目将通过观察变化及其影响的物理和人类层面来评估北极大规模的环境变化。该项目的成功不仅将为国际极地年留下一笔遗产，也将为努力组织一个观测系统的广大北极居民留下一笔遗产，该观测系统是泛北极观测的有效合作伙伴。

Indigenous peoples around the economically important Bering Sea region are launching a project that will monitor environmental changes in the region. The project will involve Native organizations in western Alaska and in the Russian northeast.The Bering Sea, one of the most productive seas in the world, which includes globally important habitats for many biological resources, is now undergoing far-reaching environmental changes including climate change that alarm scientists, coastal residents and others from around the world. The region is of vital economic importance to both the US and Russia. The health, economic well-being, and ways of life of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the region are connected to the Bering Sea and its natural resources. The socioeconomic development of coastal villages along the Bering Sea, on both the Russian and United States sides, is dependent on maintaining ecologically sustainable conditions in the region."This monitoring project is critical to the future of the region and of the peoples who live there," says Michael Zacharof, the president of the Aleut International Association, which is leading the project. "People in our communities notice even the slightest changes in nature but they do not have resources and tools to document them properly and to conduct research. In the Native communities, there are no "field seasons". We are in the field all year around and we think it is necessary to bring research, monitoring and observation capabilities to the local communities. By involving the people who live there, we can do this cost-effectively." The Bering Sea Sub-Network: International Community-Based Environmental Observation Alliance for Arctic Observing Network (BSSN), endorsed by IPY Joint Committee, will involve six local indigenous communities, three each in the U.S. and Russia, to monitor and share the changes they observe. Changes could include the shift of southern species north, changes in distribution and abundance of fish and other temperature-sensitive species, changes in ice patterns, and weather observations. Observations will be collected using surveying methods across the network based on standard protocols. BSSN will address the questions of: 1) historical and present distribution and properties of economic and subsistence important species as derived from collective indigenous and traditional knowledge; 2) types of major variables and indicators that could be correlated with western science to develop predictable models based on indigenous and traditional knowledge; and 3) spatial and temporal convergence and divergence of community-derived and western science data.This project will assess large scale environmental changes in the Arctic by looking at both the physical and human dimensions of change and its impact. Success of this project will leave a legacy not only for IPY but also for a broad community of arctic residents striving to organize an observing system that is a valid partner in pan-arctic observations.