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NUNAVUT
Looking for updated shipping routes mixed with migration and sea ice density data? There's an app for that and it's only getting better.

The beta project is an interactive map of the Arctic featuring different layers of animal migration patterns. While originally released in May, improvements are being made to the maps to include the most recent data available and the organization tasked with producing the map is open to input from communities in Nunavut.

Known as ArkGIS (Arctic Geographical Information System), the map allows users to explore the relation between the environment and industrial activity in the Arctic.

Lars-Erik Mangset, the initiator and project lead for the World Wildlife Federation, said the organization is working on adding regions that may have cultural significance for indigenous groups.

The current information was culled from research from members of the Arctic Council and a variety of other national and international organizations.

Adamie Nuna, secretary and treasurer of the Aiviq Hunters and Trappers in Cape Dorset, hasn't seen the mapping tool yet.

"We've never even talked about it here," he said. "It's a lot of information that would have to be looked at as a board before we'd contribute."

Mangset said they're open to talking with more people and communities as the project goes forward.

"I think right now we're quite responsive to the different users," he said. "You can look at the symbols and see what they mean, and once you select layers you can overlay points on the map for more information."

He is unsure if other hunters and trappers associations were consulted during the research stage.

"The ecological areas are based on Arctic Council work," said Mangset. "It's difficult to comment on whether local groups were spoken with because we collected the summary. Canada did their national process and there's a host of different processes. I would presume that in identifying these ecological areas there would have been some on-the-ground research biologists."

One of the filters on the map shows shipping routes using 2011 data. It's one of the first areas being updated because the numbers from 2012 are being plugged in before the 2013 season starts.

Mangset said the map is an important tool for anyone wanting more information on some of the issues in the Arctic, including increased exploration and the impact that this might have on some of the marine life in the region.

"We have a high industrial interest and development in shipping and cruise traffic," said Mangset. "A lot of these commercial interests are increasing at a faster pace and one of the challenges is protecting people who depend on the environment and its resources for their lives," he said.

Plugging different tabs into the map, such as beluga whale migration and shipping routes, can show where there are potential conflicts. The map is the first of its kind focusing on the Arctic regions that collects this amount of information and provides it free of charge to users, said Mangset.

"We couldn't find a circumpolar mapping service. You could find shipping routes or exploration activity but there was nothing that combined different sources."

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