"Knowledge is only power if it’s shared" - Rien Herber.

29 September 2009

The life of earth scientist Prof. drs. Rien Herber has been in a state of flux lately. After thirty years of prospecting (for oil and gas extraction) with Shell and NAM, on 1 July he became the chair of the Sustainable Earth Research Theme steering committee, taking over from Professor Dr. Gerbrand Komen. Since 1 August he has also been Professor of Geo Energy at the University of Groningen. He was already a member of the governing group of ALW and chair of the Board of the Sea and Coastal Research Programme, which is a part of the Sustainable Earth Research Theme. "But I’ll soon be handing over the last office, as obviously I can’t report to myself!," he told us during a discussion over multi-discliplinarity, knowledge transfer and the dialogue between researchers and stakeholders.

Herber felt that it was time for a change. "I travelled a lot for my work at Shell and NAM. I was ready for a break from that, and then the University of Groningen offered me the professorship. I'm now 55, so I can certainly spend at least another ten years in the field of teaching and sharing knowledge." His scientific work will be multidisciplinary by definition. "There's been no Earth Sciences faculty in Groningen for quite some time now. But they still need an earth scientist in order to expand on the scope of the different Centres of Excellence, for example in the areas of isotopes and energy efficiency." Herber is enthusiastic about this multidisciplinary involvement. "I'm used to it from my experience in the business world. In the field of science it’s still not that common. It’s a shame, because sometimes someone will have some really useful information, something that a researcher in another field would find invaluable. And contrary to what a lot of scientists seem to think, multidisciplinary work doesn't need to come at the cost of in-depth research. You just make sure that it doesn’t happen."

More exchange

Multidisciplinarity goes together with scientific knowledge when finding solutions for pressing problems – they are two sides of the same coin. Says Herber, "I think it’s really important that researchers work together, keeping each other on top of what they’re doing and keeping in touch with societal stakeholders. We did that recently in the Sea and Coastal Research Programme, with a two-day conference in September. Researchers and other parties with an interest in the Wadden Sea came together and shared information on what they were involved in. Mutual cooperation between researchers is also an integral part of the programme structure. It's a requirement of the programme that projects must be carried out by two or three different institutions, working together. People thought it was very strange at first, but it’s now proving its worth."

Don't lose sight of the goal

'Sustainable Earth' as a theme - isn't that a bit too broad? "Yes, it is very broad," says Herber, "but it's very easy to sum it up. Sustainable Earth means that people support the earth, so that the earth can support the people. Then you come to all the things that are mutually interlinked and that are approached through different disciplines: climate, nature, biodiversity, energy and so on. The water issue will eventually become just as well-known, worldwide, as the energy issue is at the moment. It’s important to be able to understand how and where the problems began and how you can get everything back into balance." So how does Herber see his own role in this challenge? "I want to make sure that we stay focused. You can't research everything - then you just get bogged down. The research theme provides a framework for everything that the NWO does in the field of sustainability. In addition to that, from that framework we also work together with other programmes outside the NWO, such as Knowledge for Climate."

Facilitating the transfer of knowledge

It’s a challenge to be able to deal with the twin issues of dialogue with the stakeholders, and the transfer of knowledge to the community, on an integral basis. “I think it would be good to organise the first event where we do that at the end of 2010. We'll bring together researchers and policy-makers from government, the business world and NGOs. Everyone can talk about what he or she is doing - that enthuses and stimulates others in the field. The NWO organises an exchange in which the different paths to sustainability can be discussed, and these can then be explored further or not, as appropriate. In other words, choices can be made.”

A scientific basis for political discussion

What hopes does Herber have for the future of the ZKO programme after he has moved on? “We began in 2006 and have now almost fully distributed the €20 million that the different departments – the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management – and NAM raised. The knowledge and research effort on coastal and sea issues was very scattered, and now it’s much better integrated. For the Coast section, we've got researchers working on the sustainability issues of the Wadden Sea. The call for the North Sea section will close shortly. The researchers in that section will be looking at the combination of the different uses that the North Sea has. Fishing, shipping, wind turbines, oilfields and so on. The notion of ‘usage space’ is very interesting in this context. What determines the borders of this space? It would be great if everyone that is currently involved in the discussion about this subject would be able to apply the same set of standards, going forward. The third section is Oceans, which have a great influence on the earth's climate. And then we still have the policy research – a beta-gamma section. Working in cooperation with the Wadden Academy, we try to bring the knowledge and experience of policy-makers and researchers closer together.”

Patience is needed

Herber feels that it’s important to keep the thematic framework within the ZKO. "In consultation with the stakeholders, you always need to keep looking at what knowledge is needed. So that means as few open calls as possible.” Another point to consider is the longer-term continuity of the project. “Many of the issues that I’ve already mentioned require data input in the long term. The effects of human activity on nature need to be monitored for extended periods of time, and the data that different organisations have collected needs to be shared as much as is possible. It might sound crazy, but knowledge is only power if you share that knowledge. Otherwise it’s not worth anything.”