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Notes from the SCAR President, number 41 (4 October 2011)
SCAR and ICSU
Colleagues,
My intention was to update you with supporting information for the request for an increase in SCAR membership fees. However, we are updating the previously circulated "Business Case for a Fee Increase" and want to be sure that you are provided with the latest information as you negotiate a possible 20% increase in SCAR membership fees in 2013. I hope to have updated information soon and will immediately share it with you to give you ample time to make the case for an increase. Early in the 2012 Delegates Meeting we will have to decide if an increase is warranted as proposed budgets for the following years will be critically dependent on that decision. At the 2012 meeting we will be considering adoption of the next portfolio of SCAR Scientific Research Programs (SRPs). How many SRPs and at what level they can be funded will be determined by the decision on membership fees. As requested before, if you believe the increase will encounter significant resistance within or rejection by your country's funding agency, please let me know so we can work toward a solution. I fully understand the financial pressures many SCAR members are under but I also firmly believe that further delay in increasing fees will materially reduce SCAR's effectiveness and viability in the next few years.
In lieu of the fee increase update, I report on major improvements in the profile of SCAR, and polar science in general, in the International Council of Science (ICSU) - SCAR's parent organization. The success of the International Polar Year, and subsequent follow-on events, has greatly enhanced SCAR's presence in ICSU and we continue to build on that momentum. IPY was a major joint effort by ICSU and WMO and is often pointed to as a shining example of how a community can rise to the occasion and accomplish goals on a global scale that would not have otherwise been possible. The lessons learned and knowledge advanced during the IPY uniquely positions the polar community to contribute to the ICSU ten-year plan, addressing a wide range of sustainability issues.
SCAR's strategic vision and mission were intentionally coupled to the ICSU vision and mission. I have made several presentations linking polar research directions with ICSU's Grand Challenges in Sustainability in various forums (available – or soon will be - at the SCAR website). Recently, with the International Arctic Committee on Science (IASC) and the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS), SCAR joined with our Italian colleagues in a symposium in the margins of the ICSU General Assembly. The symposium strongly built a case for a major role for polar science in addressing ICSU's grand challenges (the Siena Statement is attached and presentations will be posted to the symposium website soon). This previewed an unprecedented opportunity a few days later to present the polar message before the ICSU General Assembly in Rome through a formal presentation agenda item. By all accounts, Mike Sparrow (SCAR), Volker Rachold (IASC), and Jenny Baeseman (APECS) did an excellent job (their presentation is available in three formats: Keynote Presentation [112MB], Powerpoint Presentation [24.7 MB] and a PDF copy of the Presentation [23 MB])! Many questions were asked and several ICSU Unions requested similar presentations (SCAR has nine ICSU Union members). Discussions over the last few years with the Executive Director of ICSU (Deliang Chen) and various activities (recent publication of a report on lesson learned from the IPY in education and outreach with IASC and APECS sponsored by ICSU) have greatly enhanced SCAR's presence in ICSU and solidified our ties with the global scientific community that ICSU represents. A Symposium on Antarctic Astronomy is part of the program of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) meetings in China in 2012. It is important to communicate the message to a wide audience that science in the polar regions has global impact and that the polar regions are critical parts of the Earth System that are on the frontlines of global change.
To close, I wanted to thank the Spanish National Antarctic Program for organizing and hosting the 8th Polar Symposium in Palma, Mallorca. I was honored to attend for a few short days and enjoy the wonderful hospitality! Regional meetings are becoming an important extension of SCAR science activities driven solely by local leadership and they often provide a venue for early career scientists and others to present scientific findings in their first language.
Until next month…………
Chuck Kennicutt
President of SCAR
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