Press releases 2009
China to host new international disaster research programme
13 November 2009—Paris, France. The International Council for Science (ICSU) today announced that China will host the office of the new international programme, Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR). The International Programme Office for IRDR will be established in Beijing at the Headquarters of the Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth (CEODE)—the first time an international office of this type has been hosted in Asia.
A vision for Earth system research: Have your say
17 July 2009—Paris, France. The International Council for Science (ICSU) has launched an online consultation to gather questions that will help direct the future of Earth system research. ICSU invites the scientific community—natural and social scientists—as well as technology experts, decision-makers, and the general public, to contribute by visiting http://visioning.icsu.org, until 15 August 2009.
Polar research reveals new evidence of global environmental change
25 February 2009—Geneva. Multidisciplinary research from the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 provides new evidence of the widespread effects of global warming in the polar regions. Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic, as well as global ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level. These are but a few findings reported in 'State of Polar Research', released today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to lending insight into climate change, IPY has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species’ evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas.
Upcoming release of new evidence about change in the polar regions
6 February 2009—Geneva (Media advisory). A milestone in our understanding of the Earth system is the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008, a joint initiative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). Thousands of scientists from over 60 countries have carried out over 160 research and outreach projects, which advance our understanding in many areas, including global climate change. New insights in polar knowledge resulting from this historical undertaking will be made public at a ceremony at WMO headquarters on 25 February 2009, where the ‘State of Polar Research’, a succinct report with preliminary findings of IPY will be released. This will be preceded by a press conference at the Palais des Nations.
