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UK ISP E-Bulletin
News and Updates on the UNESCO Intergovernmental/International Scientific Programmes (ISPs) in the UK
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Dear Colleague,
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Welcome to the August E-Bulletin on UNESCO's major Intergovernmental / International Scientific Programmes (ISPs) in the UK.
This e-bulletin is part of
a regular biannual series aimed at providing updates on UNESCO's environmental programmes - the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), and the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP).
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UK IOC National Committee
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 IOC celebrates 50th anniversary on World Oceans Day |
In 2008, the UN General Assembly designated 8 June each year as 'World Oceans Day' to raise global awareness of the challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. Studying the oceans in their entirety demands a cooperative international approach not just between research institutes but also between governments -
hence the continued need for IOC.
Trevor Guymer presents a 50th anniversary flag to Robin Plumley, Research Ship Manager at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.
 | Trevor Guymer, UK member of IOC's
Executive Council and based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton said: "The
oceans are of fundamental importance - they are a major component of the
Earth's climate system, provide 97% of the space occupied by life on Earth and
are its greatest genetic resource. Internationally coordinated science
is urgently needed if we are to have sensible ocean governance based on the
best evidence available.
This presents a major challenge for IOC in its next
phase".
UK contributions to the anniversary include co-editorship of the book
Troubled Waters: Ocean Science and Governance, which will have
its UK launch at the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology on
29 September, and the International Ocean Stewardship Forum, now on 3-4 November 2010.
| Front cover of the anniverary book.
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43rd meeting of the IOC Executive Council
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The 43rd
meeting of the Executive Council of the IOC was held on 8-16 June at UNESCO HQ, Paris a little earlier
than usual to link with the 50th anniversary launch. A new approach
to producing the formal report was tried in which only the main issues and
outcomes are captured. Member states can request that their interventions
appear in an Annex (with a hyperlink in the report itself) if they believe
their points will not be captured in the summary. The report is already
available (here).
Outcomes of interest
included:
- Matters related to the Law of the Sea such as how operational oceanography is handled in
coastal regions, continue to
attract interest.
- Although ocean fertilization, implementation of Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), and the regular process of assessment of the state of the
marine environment were raised as potential topics for consideration the
Council did not achieve consensus on initiating work.
- The possibility of establishing rules for basic mandatory ocean climate observations were discussed by the Council. These were considered as a way to improve the sustainability of observations for research and climate.
- The role of GOOS in hazard monitoring, including storm
surges, tsunamis and oil spills was emphasised. The Executive Council endorsed
the UK view that for some regions a multi-hazard approach may lead to more
rapid development of tsunami warning and mitigation systems.
- GOOS
is also needed for global marine assessments. The Executive Secretary was asked
to develop a detailed analysis of IOC's current capacity to continue to
contribute to the process, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses (N.B. The
UK's second national marine assessment 'Charting Progress 2' has just
been published).
- The average attendance of women at
IOC-sponsored functions in the 2008-2009 biennium was higher than the
target of 10 % of invitees committed to in the Gender Equality Action
Plan. IOC intends to exceed the 20% target set for 2008-2013 in all
regions and programmes.
Ocean gliders which carry out observing are not covered by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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| For Further Information: |
Natasha Bevan
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UK MAB National Committee
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Taynish Biosphere Reserve de-listed at 22nd meeting of MAB International Coordinating Council
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Taynish Biosphere Reserve was withdrawn
from UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves ( WNBR)
at the June meeting of the MAB International Co-ordinating Council (MAB-ICC) at
UNESCO HQ, Paris. The decision to withdraw Taynish was requested by UK Government, and supported by the UK MAB Committee, following the 2009 periodic review
of biosphere reserves in the UK. This review looked at existing UK biosphere
reserves and their possibility to meet the "new style" criteria.
Andrew Bell, chair of the UK MAB
Committee said, "Taynish, whilst being scientifically
interesting does not have strong community ties, and creating a structure for a
'new style' biosphere reserve would be problematic."
Following the 2009 periodic review the UK MAB committee has also recommended to government that the remaining "old style" biosphere reserves should have the opportunity,
backed by a degree of local willingness, to become fully operation "new style"
UNESCO biosphere reserves. These "new style" biosphere reserves will continue
delivering and experimenting with approaches to sustainable development on a
regional scale.
Another outcome from the MAB-ICC was the
decision that any biosphere reserve that has not completed a periodic review by 2013 to
meet the "new style" criteria will be recommended for withdrawal. Andrew Bell said,
"While this move may reduce the number of UNESCO biosphere reserves it will ensure that the network is associated with good quality science for
sustainable development."
In the case of sites that are very good
ecological research stations but that cannot meet the "new style" criteria, the
MAB-ICC has asked the UNESCO MAB Secretariat to explore the proposal of
recognising them as a set of "MAB research sites", associated with the MAB
programme and UNESCO's monitoring system generally.
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International Visitors partake in South-West Scotland Biosphere Reserve Consultation
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Attendees at the South-West Scotland biosphere reserve community consultation event. Photo: Christian Diry
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South-West Scotland hosts two old style
UNESCO biosphere reserves related to three sites (Merrick Kells, Silver Flowe
and Cairnsmore of Fleet). These areas are undertaking a consultation process to
explore an extension to become one single large, modern biosphere reserve. During
a community consultation event held on the 20 May two international
visitors, Christian Diry from Vienna Woods Biosphere Reserve in Austria and
Timo Hokkanen from the North Karelian Biosphere Reserve in Finland, were present to share experiences and best practice from their countries. The following day the UK MAB
committee visited areas within the proposed biosphere reserve. The Scottish
Government is watching the designation process carefully, but indications are
that the proposed new biosphere reserve region, which covers 3500 sq km, will
bring an economic benefit to the area. Site visit to South-West Scotland. Photo: Christian Diry
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19th Session of the IHP Intergovernmental Council
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The 19th meeting of the IHP
Intergovernmental Council occurred 5-9 July at UNESCO HQ, Paris to review
progress on the forthcoming Eighth Phase of the IHP that will cover 2014-2019.
The participants included member councils, observers from non-member nations
and representatives from NGO's and UN bodies, numbering 200 in total.
The Council focused on the plans for the Eighth
Phase and how to build on previous phases to show clearly the benefits of the
programme to the UNESCO General Conference and governments. Many delegations along
with the UK highlighted the need for studies of hydrological extremes; drought and
water scarcity being of intense interest amongst delegations from Africa.
The Council agreed a resolution asking
funding to be restored to the previous level after funding for the IHP and
Water Sciences Secretariat was reduced. In contrast to this decline, during the
last decade over 20 UNESCO water-related centres have been established around
the globe, supported largely by national funds, with three more endorsed during
the session.
Reports produced by the national committees
for the Council meeting are vital to the UNESCO IHP programme. At this session,
26 national committees, including the UK, submitted a report, but only two from
African national committees. Strengthening committees in those nations where
they are weakest would bolster the IHP and foster national activities where the
need is greatest. Such moves would also help in achieving the water -orientated
Millennium Development Goals in 2015. 2015 can be a crucial year for water
internationally and it also marks 50 years of UNESCO programmes in hydrology
and water resources.
Key
Elements of the Concept of the Eighth Phase of the IHP-
Water related disasters and
hydrological change
- Water and human settlements of
the future
- Groundwater in
a changing environment
- Ecohydrology,
engineering harmony for a sustainable world
Cross-cutting areas - IWRM in adapting to global
changes
- Transboundary or shared waters
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Human dimension and governance
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Water education
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Spotlight on: G-WADI 
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Five
years ago Professors Howard Wheater and Mike Edmunds helped establish G-WADI: Water and Development Information for Arid Lands - a Global Network, one of the IHP programmes. The strategic objective of the G-WADI
Network is to strengthen the global capacity to manage the water resources of
arid and semi-arid areas. Globally, arid and semi-arid areas face the greatest
pressures to deliver and manage freshwater resources.
Water
managers in arid and semi-arid areas face challenges from population growth,
food security, salinity increases and pollution from various sources. In addition, climate change is putting more pressure on water resources and
increasing the frequency of floods and droughts. Also is it more difficult to accurately
assess and manage the available and renewable water resources in semi-arid regions
compared with water-rich countries.
At present,
G-WADI is working with international partners and regional offices of UNESCO on
several areas, including access to global rainfall data from satellites, hydrological
and hydrogeological modelling software, use of chemical and isotopic tracers in
water scarce areas, water harvesting, encouraging the setting up of
representative basins, and developing the science to policy interface. Regional
networks have been successfully established on each
continent with Asia being prominent.
Regarding the
future of the programme Professor Wheater said, "We propose to continue to
develop G-WADI activities and training resources. The website is being further
developed as well as access to global data products, tailored to the needs of
arid areas." A series of global representative case studies situated on basins will continue to evolve
in order to stimulate and integrate regional activities, attract new research
and integrate science outcomes with the needs of society.
New IHP book in Internaional Hydrology Series
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Howard Wheater is a co-editor of
a new IHP book " Groundwater Modelling in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas" that forms part of the International Hydrology Series. The
new books looks at techniques and practices for modelling the hydrology of arid
and semi-arid areas. |
UK IGCP National Committee
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 Alan Lord becomes new UK IGCP National Committee Chair
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Prof. Alan Lord, the new UK IGCP National Committee chair
 | On 2 June 2010 Professor Alan Lord
succeeded Professor Edward Derbyshire as Secretary, Foreign & External
Affairs of the Geological Society of London. In this role he chairs the
External Relations Committee which acts as the UK National Committee for International Geoscience
Programme (IGCP). Alan Lord is Head of Micropalaeontology at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt. He is also a professor of micropaleontology at UCL and
editor-in-chief of the Journal of Micropalaeontology. |
European Geosciences Union annual conference | |
On 4 May 2010, in
the context of the European Geosciences Union annual conference in Vienna, Alan
Lord observed the meeting of representatives of national committees for the
International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE). Discussion focused on the legacy of
IYPE, in particular the proposed Planet Earth Institute. Robert Missotten
represented UNESCO at the meeting.
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UK National Commission for UNESCO website
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You may have noticed the UK National Commission for UNESCO launched a new website ( www.unesco.org.uk) earlier this year. It is always being updated so check back regularly. We appreciate your feedback and comments as
we
continue to develop the site over the coming months. |
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The UNESCO Intergovernmental/International Scientific
Programme (ISP)
National Committees ensure the presence of UNESCO's Intergovernmental /
International
Scientific Programmes on a national level and promote awareness of programme activities within Government, governmental agencies and among
researchers.
The UK ISP National Committee Chairs Working Group was set up by the UK
National Commission for UNESCO in 2007 to
help increase cooperation and coordination among the UNESCO ISP
National Committees in
the UK.
This e-bulletin is part of
a biannual series aimed at providing updates on the UNESCO
Intergovernmental
/International Scientific Programmes (ISPs) in the UK.
The UK National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) is the focal point in the
UK for UNESCO-related policies and activities. As an independent body,
the UK National Commission brings together a network of over 200
experts from across the UK in the fields of education, culture,
sciences and communication. Working closely in partnership with HM
Government and UK civil society, the UKNC aims to provide expert advice
to the Government on UNESCO related matters, develop UK input into
UNESCO policy-making and programme implementation, promote reforms within UNESCO, and encourage
support in the UK for UNESCO's ideals and work. |
| To receive further information, or to comment, contact:
Natasha Bevan
UK National Commission for UNESCO
nbevan@unesco.org.uk / +44 (0)207 766 3468
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