On June 18 the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research was officially inaugurated at its headquarters just outside Longyearbyen. The academy has already over 50 members from both Norway and abroad.

Text: Eva Therese Jenssen

About 25 members and invited guests were gathered in Longyearbyen to attend the official inauguration of the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research. In addition to the formal inauguration, several seminars dealing with topics such as the politics in the Arctic, oil and gas resources in the Arctic and the UNIS CO2-lab, were part of the two-day program.

Need action now
The meeting was opened by the Governor of Svalbard, Per Sefland, before one of the initiators of the academy, professor Gudmund Hernes, gave an overview of the background and rationale for the establishment of the Polar Academy.

Professor Gudmund Hernes from FAFO/Norwegian School of Management, was one of the initiators for the establishment of a scientific Polar academy. (Photo: Eva Therese Jenssen).

There are three reasons why we need this academy, Hernes said.

- The first is that Nature is talking to us and the message is very clear: the Polar environment is changing into something else. Svalbard is the gearbox of the Polar systems and it is in this area that the transmission between the different systems, such as sea currents and glaciers, takes place.

- What happens here in the North has a big impact on the rest of the world. There is a need for action and need for action now.

Good science needed for sensible policies
The second reason is that although action is called for, there is a great uncertainty about what needs to be done, and that is what has to be investigated at Svalbard, Hernes said.

– Lack of knowledge is dangerous because it can lead to no action or misguided action based on faulty information. If the Polar systems interact, then scientists must interact across disciplines and that is what the academy will be: a forum for interdisciplinary engagement across all sciences, he said.

The third reason is that good science must be translated into sensible policies.
– There are current disputes about rights for the natural resources in the Polar regions and there are disputes about boundaries. However, on the other hand there is great potential for collaboration and this is something the academy must work towards, Hernes concluded.

Background
The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research was founded in March 2008 by 11 professors in polar research. The academy has already over 50 members, both from the national and international research field. In addition to members from the four traditional Norwegian universities, also scientists from international research organizations such as the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany and the EISCAT organization are members of the academy.

The academy will function as a contact organization for research in the Arctic and Antarctic and between foreign academies and international scientific organizations. The academy is located in Longyearbyen.

The purpose of the new scientific academy is to:
• Promote research and education in the polar regions

• Stimulate national and international cooperation and multidisciplinary polar research

• contribute to scientific knowledge about the polar regions and their inhabitants and     dissemination to national and international decision makers, business and the public

• contribute to the understanding of environment- and climate changes and human activities that affect and are affected by these

• encourage sustainable development on Svalbard and in the Northern regions

• contribute to the increase of competence at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and in the polar research community at large

Professor Ola M. Johannessen (from the Nansen Centre and the University in Bergen) is the president of the academy and director at UNIS, Gunnar Sand, is the Secretary General of the academy.

The participants at the formal inauguration meeting gathered in front of the new headquarters for the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research. (Photo: Nina Elisabeth Storvik).