Association Affairs: Pacific Science Association

Announcements

The 22nd Pacific Science Congress

Discussions with several PSA Adhering Organizations have been ongoing and productive. An announcement on the host and location of the 22nd Pacific Science Congress in 2011 is expected at the upcoming 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress in Tahiti, French Polynesia from 3–6 March 2009.

PSA Activities

I. 2008 International Symposium on Global Mountain Biodiversity

The Pacific Science Association co-sponsored the 2008 International Symposium on Global Mountain Biodiversity, which was held 7–10 June 2008 at China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan. The Symposium was organized by the College of Life Sciences and Research Center for Biodiversity at China Medical University.

The Symposium dealt with the topic of the biodiversity of the world’s mountain ecosystems. In addition to their intrinsic value, the ecosystem services these areas provide to human societies are a critically important aspect of global sustainability. The Symposium addressed the molecular and evolutionary bases of biodiversity; vulnerability assessments of mountain biodiversity to various threats; mountain biodiversity in fungi and animal populations; microbial and lake metabolism; and projected impacts of climate change on mountain ecosystems and on public health in communities linked to those areas. The symposium was organized by PSA Board Member Prof. Chang-Hung Chou. PSA Vice President Nancy Lewis attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the significance of biodiversity to healthy and sustainable livelihoods in the Asia-Pacific.

II. PABITRA Book

PSA is pleased to have been one of the supporting institutions providing funding support for the publication costs of an important new book produced by the PABITRA (Pacific Asia Biodiversity Information Transect Network) program. The book is titled “Biodiversity Assessment of Tropical Island Ecosystems: PABITRA Manual for Interactive Ecology and Management”, edited by Dieter Mueller-Dombois, Kent Bridges, and Curt Daehler. It was published by Bishop Museum Press in 2008, and is available through the Bishop Museum shop.

Executive Board

• president

• Dr. Congbin Fu

• Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Beijing, China

• fcb@tea.ac.cn

• vice-president

• Dr. Nancy Davis Lewis

• Director, Research Program

• East-West Center

• Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA

• lewisn@eastwestcenter.org

• secretary-general

• Dr. Makoto Tsuchiya

• Dean of the Faculty of Science

• University of the Ryukyus

• Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan

• tsuchiya@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp

• treasurer

• Dr. Azizan Abu Samah

• Dept. of Geography

• University of Malaya

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

• azizans@um.edu.my

• past-president

• Prof. Kiyoshi Kurokawa

• The University of Tokyo

• Tokyo, Japan

• kurokawa@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp

• ordinary members

• Prof. Chang-Hung Chou

• Director, Research Center for Biodiversity

• China Medical University

• Taiwan, China

• choumasa@mail.npust.edu.tw

• Dr. Mazlan Othman

• Director General

• National Space Agency

• Malaysia

• mazlan@angkasa.gov.my

• Academician Valentin Sergienko

• Chairman, Russian Academy of Sciences–Far Eastern Branch

• Vladivostok, Russia

• sergienko@hq.febras.ru

• Dr. Ana Taufe’ulungaki

• Pro Vice Chancellor, Research and Graduate Affairs

• University of the South Pacific

• Suva, Fiji

• taufeulungak@usp.ac.fj

• secretariat

• John Burke Burnett

• Pacific Science Association

• Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA

• burnett@pacificscience.org

Pacific Science Association Membership Information

The Pacific Science Association is a regional, nongovernmental scientific organization founded in 1920. The objectives of the association are to advance science and technology in the Pacific region by increasing interdisciplinary collaboration; to build capacity in science and technology; to encourage science for public policy and the common good; and to promote the “science of the Pacific” and Pacific Island involvement in regional and international scientific activities. Scientific committees have been long established to study and to seek solutions for important problems of Pacific interest. Scientific task forces have been established to explore interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary areas identified as relevant.

Regular members of the association are adhering organizations (e.g., the national academy of science or a like body) from each country or definite geographic area within or bordering the Pacific Ocean, or with scientific interests in the region. In addition, associate membership may be held by individual scientists, scientific societies and institutions, and corporations.

The association is directed by the Pacific Science Council with its elected executive board. The executive board meets annually and makes recommendations to the council...