Documents

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Attachment 14 to Working Paper 12 (WP012)

ATT014 to WP012: COMNAP/SCAR Workshop Non Native Species Final Report (Attachment)

Summary:

Report on the COMNAP/SCAR Non Native Species Workshop. Includes the list of participants, agenda, workshop objectives and main outputs.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Attachment 15 to Working paper 12 (WP012)

ATT015 to WP012: Checklists for Supply Chain Managers of National Antarctic Programmes for the Reduction in Risk of Transfer of Non-native Species (Attachment)

Summary:

Brochure with checklists for supply chain managers of National Antarctic Programmes for the reduction in risk of transfer of non-native species, inlcuding for ships and aircraft travelling to Antarctica, stores supplying cargo or food to Antarctic destinations and for expeditioners’ gear sent to Antarctic destinations. Also includes background information and rationale. 

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

ATT075 to IP055: Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2009. Report Cover (Attachment)

See Information Paper 55 (IP055) for a summary of the report and See Attachment 76 (ATT076) for the table of contents of the report.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

ATT076 to IP055: Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2009. Report Contents (Attachment)

See Information Paper 55 (IP055) for a summary of the report and Attachment 75 (ATT075) for the report cover.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP033: SCAR’s Code of Conduct for the Exploration and Research of Subglacial Aquatic Environments

Summary:

This Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Code of Conduct (CoC) provides guidance to the scientific community with interests in exploring and conducting research on and in Antarctic subglacial aquatic environments (SAE). The CoC was prepared by a SCAR Action Group in consultation with SAE specialists from a wide range of disciplines including the Committee of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP). It was developed in recognition of the value of these environments, the need to exercise environmental stewardship, and the growing scientific interest in these environments. The CoC draws on published literature with special attention paid to SCAR Subglacial Antarctic Lake Environments (SALE) Scientific Research Program reports and the U.S. National Academies report on environmental stewardship of SAE2. The U.S. National Academies report on environmental stewardship of SAE was presented the U.S. at ATCM XXXi/CEP XI as IP110. The CoC will be updated and refined as new scientific results and environmental impact reports become available from planned SAE exploration campaigns.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP051: The Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS): An Update

Summary:

This paper presents an update to ATCM XXXIII/IP50 and summarises progress with the design and implementation of a Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) over the last year. A SOOS Design Plan has been completed, an International Program Offices is being established at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart, Australia, and an Executive Officer has been appointed. The Parties are requested to note this progress and to encourage relevant national agencies to participate in and support the aims of the SOOS.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP052: Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment – 2011 Update

Summary:

This paper is the second update to the ATCM since the publication of the SCAR Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) report (Turner et al., 2009a). The ACCE report was a first step in compiling a comprehensive assessment of scientific information on the climate system and ecosystem responses to change in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean region. The present paper, developed by the new SCAR ACCE Expert Group, highlights some recent advances in our knowledge of Antarctic climate science and associated impacts on the environment.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP053: SCAR’s Code of Conduct for the Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes in Antarctica

Summary:

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Code of Conduct (CoC) provides guiding principles to the scientific community for research involving animals. National codes vary in the range of species they encompass but some include all Vertebrata as well as some Invertebrata. This Code of Conduct should be read in concert with Annex II of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which provides guidance on the killing, capturing and handling (“taking”) of native fauna and aims to provide guidance on the interpretation of Article 3 paragraph 6 of this Annex.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP033: SCAR’s code of conduct for the exploration and research of subglacial aquatic environments

Full text:

Summary of SCAR’S Strategic Plan 2011-2016

The study of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and their role in the Earth system, has never been more important as the region experiences change that has global implications. The Antarctic region is a “natural laboratory” for scientific research of importance in its own right and impossible to achieve elsewhere on the planet. SCAR’s strategic vision is for a world where the science of the Antarctic region benefits all, excellence in science is valued and scientific knowledge informs policy. SCAR’s mission is to be the leading non-governmental, international facilitator and advocate of research in and from the Antarctic region, to provide objective and authoritative scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty and others, and to bring emerging issues to the attention of policy makers.

SCAR will accomplish its vision and mission by:

• encouraging excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean research by developing transformational scientific programmes that address issues of regional and global importance;
• scanning the horizon to identify evolving issues and emerging frontiers in Antarctic science;
• expanding its activities to include the human element (e.g., history, social sciences and the value of Antarctica);
• providing objective and independent scientific advice on the conservation and management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean;
• partnering with other Antarctic Treaty advisory bodies to provide objective and authoritative scientific advice (e.g., the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes);
• expanding its advisory sphere of influence on global issues to other audiences (e.g., the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change);
• affiliating with organizations with complementary interests to address regional and global issues;
• providing venues for presentation of the latest research results, exchange of up-to-the- minute scientific findings, and promotion of cross- and interdisciplinary communication (e.g., Science Conferences, Symposia, workshops, reviews, assessments, and syntheses);
• promoting an interdisciplinary philosophy and eliminating barriers to crossfertilization of ideas;
• motivating cooperation with Arctic counterparts (e.g., International Arctic Science Committee);
• preserving and building on the legacies of the IPY 2007-2008;
• facilitating unrestricted access to Antarctic scientific data as a portal to repositories;
• developing the capacity of students and early career scientists (e.g., Association of Polar Early Career Scientists);
• encouraging emerging national Antarctic programmes;
• recruiting countries that have not traditionally participated in Antarctic research;
• promoting and facilitating the incorporation of Antarctic science into education at all levels; and
• informing the public and the media of the importance of the knowledge gained by the study of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.

SCAR re-dedicates itself to its founding values, which are as valid today as they were more than 50 years ago.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP055: Summary Report on IPY 2007–2008 by the ICSU-WMO Joint Committee (with IPY-IPO)

Summary:

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY), the largest coordinated polar program ever undertaken, came officially to an end in a ceremony in Oslo on 12 June 2010.

An estimated 50,000 researchers, local observers, educators, students, and support personnel from more than 60 nations were involved in the 228 international IPY projects (170 in science, 1 in data management, and 57 in education and outreach) and related national efforts. IPY generated intensive research and observations in the Arctic and Antarctica over a two-year period, 1 March 2007–1 March 2009, with many activities continuing beyond that date. IPY 2007–2008 involved a large range of disciplines; all IPY projects included partners from several nations and in some cases from Arctic indigenous communities and residents’ organizations. IPY 2007–2008 included education, outreach, and communication of science results to the public, and training the next generation of polar researchers among its primary missions. It broadened the ranks of its participants and the diversity of their products and activities to an extent never realized or even envisioned in the earlier IPYs. It reached out to many new constituencies, including polar residents, Arctic indigenous nations, and millions of people on the planet with no direct connection to the high latitudes.

IPY 2007–2008 generated a much anticipated stimulus in the form of substantial new funding for polar research and monitoring programs, new observational and analysis technologies, integrated system-level approaches, and a broadened circle of stakeholders. It introduced new research and organizational paradigms that will have a lasting legacy of their own. It showed the power of integrative vision, and consolidated new trans-disciplinary practices in polar science. It sent a powerful message about the societal value of advanced and concerted studies on environmental change across the polar regions.

This paper reports to the ATCM on the closing of IPY 2007–2008 and introduces the IPY Summary Report produced by the ICSU-WMO Joint Committee for IPY.

Report: Understanding Earth’s Polar Challenges: International Polar Year 2007-2009. See Attachment 76 (ATT076) for the table of contents of the report and Attachment 75 (ATT075) for the report cover.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP061: The SCAR Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE) Programme

Summary:

The present Antarctic ice sheet has existed for approximately 34 million years. Understanding the response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climatic forcing is essential because changes in the ice sheet can have major impacts on global sea level and can impact the entire climate system through a wide range of physical and chemical feedbacks.

The SCAR Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE) Programme represents the interests of a large land and marine geoscience research community focusing in deciphering the record of the onset and the response of the Antarctic ice sheets to past climate changes across a range of timescales. ACE coordinates the integration between geophysical and geological records of past ice sheet behavior and coupled climate, ocean, and ice sheet models. This paper gives an overview of the ACE Programme, including its data-model philosophy, structure, achievements, publications and outreach.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP068: Alien Species Database (with Australia)

Summary:

The CEP has encouraged the use of the Aliens Database maintained by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre (AADC) as the central database of non-native species occurrences in the Antarctic region. To facilitate use of the database, and to enhance its value as a tool to help identify non-native species, the AADC has added an online record entry form and a facility to upload images of observations / collections. Australia and SCAR encourage Members to promote the use of the Aliens Database, and would welcome feedback on these enhancements.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Information Paper

IP081: Summary of the Annual Report for 2010 of The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

Summary:

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is a non-governmental, Interdisciplinary Scientific Body of the International Council for Science (ICSU), and Observer to the Antarctic Treaty and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The SCAR Annual Report highlights and provides updates on SCAR activities during 2010 and lists future highlights expected to occur in 2011 and 2012.

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

An overview of SCAR Papers submitted to ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Working Paper

WP012: Raising Awareness of Non-native Species Introductions: Workshop Results and Checklists for Supply Chain Managers (with COMNAP)

Summary:

Recognizing the high priority given to reduce accidental introduction of non-native species into the Antarctic area, the preliminary results of the IPY project “Aliens in Antarctica” were presented and discussed in a joint COMNAP/SCAR Workshop held in August 2010. As a result of those discussions, it was agreed that COMNAP and SCAR would work together to prepare the voluntary checklists for supply chain managers to reduce the risk of introduction of non-native species into the Antarctic region. COMNAP and SCAR encourage the CEP to consider inclusion of the checklists into the proposed “Non-Native Species Manual” which is currently under discussion.

See the COMNAP/SCAR Workshop Non Native Species final report (ATT014) and the checklists for supply chain managers of National Antarctic Programmes for the reduction in risk of transfer of non-native species (ATT015).

ATCM XXXIV and CEP XIV 2011, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Working Paper

WP053: Measures to Reduce the Risk of Non-native Species Introductions to the Antarctic Region associated with Fresh Foods

Summary:

Following discussions at CEP on the issue of introduction of non-native species to Antarctica, SCAR has developed simple practical measures to reduce the risk of introductions of non-native species into the Antarctic Treaty area, via fresh foods. SCAR would welcome comments on these guidelines (at Annex A to this paper) as the basis for the development and eventual adoption of formal CEP guidelines via the Non-native Species Intersessional Contact Group.