The last 10 years arctic has changed to a very “hot” area from
being a distant place mostly known by the inhabitant and some “strange” people
from outside with special interest. The revolution in technological communication
and the rising awareness of the impacts of climate change has been the
main reason for the enhanced interest and thereby more attention on the
needs for better data, information and knowledge about the Arctic.
There is a long tradition for science collaboration in Polar research
and many international scientific polar/arctic organizations exist.
The just
finished International Polar Year is a part of the science history and
leaves some perspectives for further science cooperation.
Polar/arctic research is not a discipline as such, but a collection
of themes that, for various reasons, are related to the Arctic. The
Arctic’s
vastness, remote location and extreme climatic conditions make logistical
cooperation attractive, and even necessary. It encompasses both basic and
applied research, and it creates important linkages among communities,
industry representatives and policy-makers.
As such arctic sciences cooperation has been in front regarding a closer
connection between disciplines and a more holistic approach building
bridges between people, disciplines, regions and countries and will
have the opportunity
in the future as well.
Examples are the cooperation between the 8 Arctic countries on environmental
issues initiated 1991 with The Environmental Protection Strategy
(AEPS), later Arctic Council. It was demonstrated, how collaborative
effort
based on data derived from different Arctic countries and contributions
from
non-Arctic countries delivered a circum arctic assessment on the
levels of contaminants in the Arctic. The results influenced protocols
made
to reduce, control or prevent trans-boundary air pollution.
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment Process was seen as a regional
contribution to IPCC. The Assessment contain knowledge on climate
variability and
change in the Arctic including consequences for human health,
social, cultural
and economic impacts. This project demonstrated corporation with
the political level and the science community through the International
Arctic Science
Committee (IASC), and also included the Indigenous people in
the process.
There are both challenges and possibilities for the future Arctic
science cooperation. Although bottom-up science cooperation
in the Arctic is
substantial, there is still a lack of science cooperation at
the government level. Despite
the contribution of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, which
in turn benefited from research activities that began with
the International
Geophysical Year half a century earlier, the eight nations
with territories north of
the Arctic Circle in cooperation with other countries has a
lot to gain
by strengthen the cooperation. Mechanisms to make better use
of existing infrastructure and to establish or use new expensive
infrastructure
as polar icebreakers and unique instruments, will be a way
to overcome the
difficult conditions for operations. The effort to establish
a Sustainable
Arctic Observation Network leading to long-term Arctic-wide
observing activities and providing free and timely access to high-quality
data as a legacy of
the IPY, should be seen as an improvement for international
science
cooperation and a way to enhance the future need for delivering
the basis for politicians
to the struggle in addressing the challenges of climate change.
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