During the period 30 March – 1 April 2005, the AARI of Roshydromet hosted the workshop devoted to presentation of the Russian version of the Overview Report of Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) Program, problems of climate changes in the Arctic and preparation for holding the International Polar Year 2007/2008 in the Arctic. The workshop was supported by Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP) and Nordic Council of Ministers.

The workshop was opened by Dr. I. Frolov, the AARI Director. Dr. Yu.Tsaturov presented an opening speech on ACIA and IPY 2007-2008 and their significance for the Arctic research. Dr. R. Corell (USA), Chief of the Project for preparation of the ACIA Science Report made presentation at the workshop describing the project and the main scientific conclusions of the ACIA, included to the Overview Report.

The Russian authors to the ACIA Science Report outlined the contents of some of its chapters: Ch. 2 “Arctic Climate - Past and Present” (G. Alekseev); Ch. 4 “Future Climate Change: Modeling and Scenarios for the Arctic Region» (V. Kattsov); Ch. 6 “Cryospheric and Hydrologic Variability” and Ch. 16 “Infrastructure: buildings, Support systems, and Industrial Facilities” (О. Anisimov).

Dr. I. Frolov, AARI Director, Academician Yu. Izrael, Dr. A. Illarionov, Advisor to the RF President, L.-O Reiersen, AMAP Executive Secretary, Dr. Yu. Tsaturov, Academician К. Kondratyev and other participants took part in the discussion that followed. Some comments on the procedure for presentation of the documents were made during the discussion as the ACIA Overview Report had been released before the Scientific Report was published. The first four chapters of the Science Report are now available via the Internet. There were speakers who expressed doubts with respect to some conclusions of the Overview Report concerning the on-going and the anticipated climate changes in the Arctic. Other participants of the discussion and presenters of papers that followed the discussion provided additional arguments in support of the conclusions of the review document.

Speakers recognized the significance of the ACIA Project as the first international multidisciplinary initiative for a comprehensive and detailed assessment of climatic impacts in the Arctic. A stimulating role of the ACIA was noted in terms of more intensified scientific studies of the Arctic climate and consequences of its changes.

It was noted that for a successful continuation of ACIA (including preparation of future Scientific Reports about the Arctic climate and its impacts) it is extremely important to use Russian observations including those from arctic residents, to the maximum possible extent. The workshop called for a joint action to rescue environmental data, including biological collections, and related information. For this purpose it is necessary to provide preparation of these data in the digital form in standard international formats. These data along with new data obtained will make it possible to achieve progress in understanding a relative role of natural and anthropogenic factors influencing the Arctic climate, improve the climatic models and decrease the uncertainty of projections of possible future changes of the Arctic climate.

The workshop noted the importance of measures undertaken for preparation and implementation of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007/2008. This will allow us to better understand current and assess future climate changes in the Arctic, improve forecasting the processes in the atmosphere, ocean and the cryosphere and determine the effects of environmental changes on the Arctic ecosystems and residents. Based on new data, assessments of the social-economic implications of changes in the state of the environment should be made.

The workshop also noted that special attention should be given to the development of climatic monitoring systems for the most significant parameters and the acquisition of data on the major processes in the Arctic climatic system. Close international cooperation is an important condition for the successful implementation of the IPY.

The workshop considered that activities in the framework of the IPY 2007/2008 projects should stimulate further studies as a follow-up of the ACIA results. An active involvement of the Arctic countries through the Arctic Council and scientific communities, e.g. IASC, is crucial for the preparation and a successful implementation of the IPY2007/2008 in the Arctic.