What is the IPY?

The Netherlands International Polar Year 2007-2008 was carried out as a special programme within the Netherlands Polar Programme (NPP). This means that there is similarity in (scientific) themes and policy priorities of both programmes. IPY-NL was based on the problem definition, objectives and themes mentioned below.

What is the IPY?
The International Polar Year (IPY) is an international
coordinated, scientific programme aimed at research at the North- and South Pole (Antarctica). The IPY 2007-2008 took place between 1 March 2007 and 1 March 2009 and was organised by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This was the fourth international polar year, previous editions took place in 1882-1883, 1932-1933 and 1957-1958. The IPY 2007-2008 consisted of over 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. Click here for more information about the organisation of the IPY worldwide.

The Netherlands also participated in the IPY 2007-2008, as it did in the first and second IPY. The Netherlands decided not to participate in the third IPY, as the focus at that time was on tropical research. More details on The Netherlands and polar regions can be found on the website natuurinformatie.nl (in Dutch only).

Problem definition*  
The polar regions are integral components of the Earth system. They couple to global climate, sea level, biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems, and human activities. Through these connections, the Earth’s high latitudes respond to, amplify, and drive changes elsewhere. At a time when humans are exerting an increasing impact on the planet, and when the human condition is increasingly affected by global changes, the polar regions are especially important and relevant.

New technological capabilities offer the potential to make major advance in polar science. These include satellite remote sensing, autonomous instruments and platforms capable of
operating in extreme conditions of cold and darkness, high bandwidth global communications systems, and high powered numerical Earth System Simulators. The time is ripe to exploit these to achieve significant scientific advances.

However, the scope and scale of the polar research challenges lie beyond the capabilities of individual nations or traditional scientific disciplines. Numerous bodies exist to stimulate and
coordinate multinational and multidisciplinary polar research activities, but the current rate of advances do not fulfil the urgent needs of policy makers to be provided with key information to underpin sustainable economic development. By stimulating and guiding an intense burst of effort, IPY 2007-2008 aims to accelerate progress towards providing the
required policy-relevant answers.

* directly from "A Framework for the International Polar Year 2007-2008" (pdf)  published by the ICSU/WMO Joint Committee for IPY 2007-2008

Objectives
IPY-NL was used to provide an impuls to international coordinated scientific research in the polar regions, with an additional national effort on top of the regular polar research activities. The objectives, derived from the international IPY themes, include:

• Investigate the frontiers of science in the polar regions.
• Advance understanding on all scales of the links and interactions between polar regions and the rest of the globe, and of the processes controlling these.
• Improve possibilities to monitor changes in the polar regions.
• Creating a new generation of polar researchers (Education).
• Involve the general public and policy makers in the IPY (Outreach and Communication).

Furthermore, the IPY was used to create a further integration between the Arctic and Antarctic research in The Netherlands and it was linked to the longterm objectives of the Netherlands Polar Programme. IPY-NL also provided an opportunity to stimulate of Arctic research in The Netherlands.

Themes
The IPY-NL programme is aimed at four themes, in which Dutch
scientists have expertise and that fit into the policy frameworks of the Netherlands Polar Programme and IPY-NL.

• Theme 1: Changes in the cryosphere as a result of climate change
• Theme 2:Changes in the Southern Ocean and Arctic Ocean due to climate change and human activities
• Theme 3: Polar terrestrial and coastal zone ecosystems and global change
• Theme 4: The influence of human activities on the Poles and the effect of climate change on society

Next to this, IPY-NL was based on the international IPY themes. 

Project duration
2007-2008 (International Polar Year)
2006-2012 (IPY-NL research programme) 

Funding
The IPY-NL programme was financed by the Dutch Ministries of 

• Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV),
• Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM),
• Foreign Affairs (BuZa) 
• Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and 
• Transport, Public Works and Water Management (V&W)

as well as the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Budget
7 M€