Newsletter EU-PolarNet 1
September 2018
Drafting an European Polar Research Programme
EU-PolarNet is tasked with the objective to – for the first time ever – develop an Integrated European Polar Research Programme that is co-designed with relevant polar stakeholders and international partners. Over the past three and a half years we have therefore conducted two public online surveys, a stakeholder questionnaire, as well as organised around 40 sessions, workshops and Town Hall events. The output: A mind-map full of stakeholder input. In the upcoming months the EU-PolarNet consortium will go through all this input, which builds the basis of the research programme – stay tuned!
EU-PolarNet Policy Briefing
The second EU-PolarNet policy briefing will take place in the European Parliament in Brussels on 26th September 2018. Themed “At the frontline of Climate Change: Key Changes in the Polar Regions” the event will take a closer look at the future polar research needs identified in the EU-PolarNet white papers. The event is co-organised with the EP Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development” and hosted by MEP Christel Schaldemose.
Stakeholder Workshop
The fourth and last joint AMAP and EU-PolarNet stakeholder workshop will take place on 12th October 2018 in conjunction of the Arctic Biodiversity Congress held in Rovaniemi, Finland. The focus of the workshop lies on research needs on Arctic biology and terrestrial ecosystems.
Arctic Circle
During the upcoming Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, EU-PolarNet organises a breakout session themed: “Research for societal benefit: Where polar research can make a difference”. It takes place on 19th October from 16:00-17:30. Join us for an active discussion on future polar research needs.
UArctic Congress
EU-PolarNet hosted a breakout session on “The UN Sustainable Development Goals: A signpost for societal relevant polar research?” and co-convened another session with the European Polar Board, which looked into “Connecting polar research, policy and stakeholders across scales”.
Polar 2018
EU-PolarNet hosted the side event “European Key Research Priorities for Both Poles” at the Polar 2018 conference, which took place in Davos, Switzerland in June. At this event, the EU-PolarNet white papers were for the first time presented publically, as the lead authors of the white papers shared the key insights of the documents.
Arctic Observing Summit
The EU-PolarNet consortium submitted a statement for this year’s Arctic Observing Summit on “The SDGs and the Arctic: The need for polar indicators”. The statement outlines the need to identify sustainable development indicators, which are appropriate for the Arctic and its inhabitants. Read it here.
