NWO presents the outlines of the polar research master plan

6 March 2009

Intensification of Dutch polar research following successful International Polar Year The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) presented the outlines of a plan for future Dutch polar research at the close of the International Polar Year on Friday 6 March 2009. The plan aims to enhance Dutch polar research via a unique formula of international collaboration. The plan will require ten million euros per year.

The Netherlands has a unique way of undertaking polar research. We have no research station or logistical facilities of our own in Antarctica, but instead join in with the facilities of other countries such as the UK and Germany on the basis of collaborative ventures with them. A more or less similar collaboration is enacted at the North Pole with countries like Norway.

Polar research, 2010-2014

As a follow-up to the successful International Polar Year (IPY), NWO is now developing a plan for future polar research. This plans aims for an enhanced continuation of the unique Dutch formula. The Dutch contribution to the international collaboration is based primarily on our own strengths: collaboration between scientists and the joint use of equipment and techniques developed in this country. The plan for polar research focuses on four topics: ‘ice, climate and sea level’, ‘polar oceans’, ‘polar ecosystems’ and ‘life sciences and changes in polar regions’. The results of the research are relevant for applications in fisheries, nature, shipping, tourism, mineral extraction and the legal basis of treaties.
The plan will require ten million euros per year of government funding. Once the details have been elaborated and consultations have been held with a range of experts, the plan will be submitted to Ronald Plasterk, Minister for Education, Culture & Science, later this spring.

Call for a structural follow-up to the International Polar Year

Last week, calls were made in an editorial in Nature and by the International Council of Science for a structural continuation of the one-off efforts undertaken during IPY 2007-2008. One important motivator for this is that the changes at the Poles have a huge influence on the oceans, the cryosphere (the ice on Earth) and the biosphere. The NWO plan must be considered in this international context. A greater structural investment in polar research by the Netherlands is needed to maintain the level of our contribution to international research.

Close of International Polar Year

NWO Chair, Jos Engelen, presented the outlines of the master plan for future polar research during the Dutch closing session of IPY on Friday 6 March. This celebratory convention took place in Middelburg in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, as well as Ronald Plastkerk, Minister for Education, Culture & Science. IPY 2007-2008 provided an impetus to internationally coordinated scientific research at the North and South Poles. This period was ushered in on 1 March 2007 by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and involved collaboration between scientists from more than 60 countries. The Netherlands coordinated six of the 228 IPY projects and made significant contributions to about 50 studies. The Dutch studies concentrated on the topics ‘the melting of the icecaps’, ‘the inhibition of algal growth and acidification of the polar oceans’, ‘the role of sea ice in polar ecosystems’ and ‘the exploitation of the available natural resources by indigenous populations’. IPY was a great success, both nationally and internationally. 

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Further information please contact:

Polar experience 2009
Abdijcomplex 1, Middelburg
Open days for the public: 6 March from 16.00 – 20.00 hours, 7 March from 10.00 – 16.00 hours.
Further information on the programme may be obtained at www.poolbelevenis.nl.

last modified on 2 April 2009