Kia ora (greetings) to the wider SCAR community. I am very honoured to be writing to you as the newly elected President of SCAR.
I have a long-standing relationship with SCAR from contributing to understanding of Antarctica and its role in the global system from my more than 30 research expeditions to Antarctica to being involved in different SCAR action groups and Scientific Research Programmes and also previously serving as a Vice-President of SCAR.
SCAR is a vital organization that brings together our global effort in Antarctic research and also connects our research with the communities that use it in decision-making both for Antarctic Treaty parties and wider global policy needs. In their deliberations, the Antarctic Treaty Party members are facing increasingly complex challenges that reach far beyond the Antarctic, and they are seeking the research outcomes from SCAR to help their decision-making.
The recent Open Science Conference in Pucón, Chile was a fantastic showcase of the important research being undertaken. It is the first time we have come together as an international community at the Open Science conference in six years. We are deeply indebted to our Chilean colleagues for such a successful event and for their great hospitality.
The Delegates met in Punta Arenas immediately following the Open Science Conference. There they considered the reports and requests of the Science Groups and Scientific Research Programmes. Through that process the delegates approved a new Scientific Research Programme “Antarctic Geospace and Atmosphere Research” (AGATA) and two new scientific research programme planning groups “Antarctic Geological Evolution” (AGE) and “Changes in Circumpolar Antarctic Gradients in Ecosystems (C-CAGE). New Action Groups were also approved in Groundwater, Diseases in Wildlife and on Antarctic Fish. One area important to us all that the Delegates considered was how to manage our Carbon Emissions and a group was tasked to develop a carbon management plan for SCAR.
The Delegates also elected two new Vice-presidents: Carlota Escutia from Spain and Takuji Nakamura from Japan. They will join Myself, Burcu Özsoy from Turkey and Marcelo Leppe from Chile and Yeadong Kim (as immediate past president) to form the new Executive Committee. We will meet in Cambridge later this month to look at how we will give effect to the recently agreed strategic plan for SCAR. The strategic plan recognizes the need for focus on pressing global and Antarctic issues. It is available on the SCAR web site and I encourage you all to download it and see where you and your research teams and national programmes can contribute. SCAR has many action and expert groups, science groups and scientific research programmes that are looking to include those contributions. You can also find links to those groups on the SCAR web page along with contact details for the chief officers of those groups.
The SCAR strategy focuses on the climate crisis facing all of us and seeks to build SCAR’s leadership in our response through directed research leadership, international coordination of our effort, development of policy ready advice to those agencies responsible for action and governance, and through supporting the members of SCAR in capability development in their own programs. The Strategy also focuses on how SCAR is providing advice to policymakers and advancing the research and policy response required to address the issues identified in the SCAR Horizon Scan and Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment report. While I don’t have room here to include all the issues, at a high level focussing on uncertainties and the key mechanism of change that we don’t yet understand will be key to building the link with policy makers.
I look forward to updating you on our progress in implementing the Strategy and any changes in approach we can make to help make our research programmes a success, support our science advice to policymakers, and ensure we support each of our members through our Capacity Building, Education and Training programme and our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programme.
I also look forward to catching up with many of you in the various Antarctic Research fora over the next few years and hearing your feedback on SCAR and its activities and approach to its work. In the mean-time, I know many of you are preparing for upcoming field seasons and I wish you success in those endeavours and look forward to learning of your new findings and discoveries.
Kia kaha (stay strong)!
Gary Wilson
SCAR President