RUSSIA-BAIKAL SEAL

Finland's Saimaa seal is like the Baikal seal pictured above, a freshwater seal. (Alexander Nemenov / AFP)

A young female Baikal seal called Leya swims in her pool in the special science laboratory on the bank of the lake of Baikal in the village of Listvyanka, Siberia, 11 December 2000. Each year estimated10,000 seals are caught in nets, clubbed to death by local residents who live along the shoreline of Baikal. Each seal can bring in1,000 rubles (36 USD), and a good salary in the Baikal are is 300 rubles (11 USD) monthly. .

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."