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Notes from the SCAR President, number 22 (April/May 2010)
ATCM XXXIII and Other Items
Colleagues,
Once again a hectic schedule has delayed my monthly note to you! To catch up I am combining notes for April and May, 2010. I (and the Secretariat) have been busily preparing for and attending the ATCM, assisting with preparations for our biennial meetings in Buenos Aires, and working on the Draft SCAR Strategic Plan.
ATCM XXXIII - The SCAR Team (me, Mike Sparrow -ED, and Renuka Badhe -EO) attended the XXXIII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Renuka and I only attended the first week (Mike is still there!). Due to personal issues Steven Chown was unable to join us but he adequately prepared the team to represent SCAR's interests.
Even though the ATCM is still in progress, I did want to give you some updates on SCAR's advice to the Parties. In my experience this was a very positive ATCM for SCAR building on the momentum from last year. SCAR submissions were roundly praised by the Parties. The Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report was seen as critical to the success of the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts (ATME) on Climate Change that met a few weeks ago in Norway (SCAR played a major role in that meeting as well – Steven, Colin, and Mike attended). SCAR's annual updates on climate change were welcomed as essential for the ongoing deliberations of the CEP. The "Introductions of non-native species" paper was highly praised and sets the stage for further developments on this issue, including a guide on best practices. The application of SCAR and Australian biodiversity data to the bioregionalization efforts by New Zealand were seen as a major step forward in adopting a regularized approach to selection of areas for special protection. SCAR will work with New Zealand on the next steps. The CEP recognized the lack of baseline information as critical and called on all Parties to address this deficit in knowledge. The Parities welcomed the SCAR contribution on bioprospecting and it was an eye-opener for many on just how much has already occurred and the potential for future biotechnology based on Antarctic organisms. Dr. Gerday's (Belgium) lecture was on psychrophiles and biotechnology applications. I received many compliments on his lecture and it complemented the paper well (80 to 100 people attended). So far, follow-on work for next year is modest giving SCAR time to think strategically and balance its work between ATCM requests for advice and SCAR initiatives. We owe Steven Chown (South Africa) a debt of gratitude for SCAR being so well prepared and so well perceived at the ATCM! Your SCAR Team used its time at the ATCM well by meeting with leadership from CCAMLR, COMNAP, India, Germany, Argentina and Australia.
Based on ATCM reports, I wanted to congratulate our Indian Colleagues on progress on their new Station at Larsemann Hills and our Korean Colleagues on the successful launch of their new ice breaker ARAON and selection of Terra Nova Bay for their second Antarctic station. The Principality of Monaco formally joined the Committee on Environmental Protection by acceding to the Environmental Protocols (we will be considering Monaco for SCAR membership in August). I also congratulate our Uruguayan colleagues and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat for a very efficiently managed meeting and excellent facilities.
One message I wanted to convey about the ATCMs is that many SCAR member countries' ATCM Delegations are unfamiliar with SCAR and what SCAR is going to present at the ATCMs. I ask SCAR Delegates to routinely communicate SCAR activities to their ATCM Delegations as they are often quite different groups of people than those involved in SCAR. We have begun to jointly submit papers with Treaty Parties and this is an effective way to build support for SCAR initiatives. It is also useful if ATPs support SCAR papers from the floor at the ATCM as this assists in the concepts presented being accepted and implemented. It would serve SCAR and your country well if communication was established with your ATCM representatives and it would also avoid SCAR presenting material that some parties may object to.
SCAR Biennial Meetings Update – Planning continues for SCAR's biennial meetings in Buenos Aires this summer. We have received over 720 abstracts so far and are in the process of assembling the science program. Despite the Oslo IPY conference being just 2 months before our meetings, the number of abstract submissions is similar to, and may even exceed, previous (Antarctic only) years. Argentina has agreed to provide nearly 150 student registration fees as a contribution to the Conference. We have tried for the first time to offer SCAR travel grants and have been inundated with more than 350 applications! Issues still remain with opening up the meeting registration site but we hope to resolve this soon. It is shaping up to be another major Antarctic science conference! The tremendous financial and human support provided by Argentina for these meetings is greatly appreciated.
We will have a Joint SCAR/COMNAP session to start the Delegates Meetings and SCAR and COMNAP will co-host the Delegates icebreaker and dinner. We have instituted a number of administrative changes to how these meetings are managed and I hope that these improvements will foster greater participation at all levels. Some of the changes include a Plenary Joint SSG meeting to discuss common agenda items, one page summary sheets for each paper that will be combined into a Guide to the Meeting, a science presentation at the Delegates dinner, page limits on papers, annotated agendas for Business and Delegates meetings, and others innovations.
Future SCAR Meetings – SCAR's biennial meetings are hosted by volunteer countries and meeting locations are decided four years in advance. This means that in Buenos Aires we will select the location of the SCAR 2014 meetings (2012 being in Portland, Oregon, USA). Unofficially several countries have expressed interest and those wishing to volunteer to be host will be allotted time on the agenda to present their case. For those of you that might want to host the meetings, there is basic information provided at the SCAR website so you can assess the requirements (on the "Members Only" site there are Guidelines for Organizers of SCAR Meetings – this is a little dated but useful; reports and background on previous meetings can be found on the Conferences page). While not a requirement, SCAR has traditionally met in the same location with COMNAP, so prior discussions with your country's COMNAP representative to ensure their needs can be met at the same venue is an advantage. If there are multiple bids to host the 2014 meetings an anonymous vote will be used to select the site by plurality.
I apologize for this long note but there was much to be communicated! If you have any questions about items in this email or other issues, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Chuck K.
President of SCAR
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