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  • Association Affairs

Announcements

The 22nd Pacific Science Congress

PSA is pleased to announce that the 22nd Pacific Science Congress will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2011. Following an excellent presentation from PSA’s colleagues from the Malaysian Academy of Sciences, the PSA Board awarded the conference to Malaysia. The Congress will be organized by the Malaysian Academy of Science (ASM), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC), and the ICSU Regional Office for Asia Pacific. Supporting organizations include the University of Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Putra Malaysia.

The Congress will be held 13–17 June 2011 in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Session planning for the PSC-22 has begun, and details including call for submissions will be announced on the PSA website and the official Congress website (www.22ndpsc.net).

PSA Activities

I. Report on 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress, Tahiti, French Polynesia

PSA is very pleased to report the successful conclusion the 11th Pacific Science Congress, which was held in Tahiti, French Polynesia from 2–6 March 2009. The Tahiti Inter-Congress was the most well-attended in our history. Thanks to generous funding from the Governments of France and French Polynesia, both regional scientific representation and student participation was extremely strong. The quality of the science sessions was similarly unmatched.

The 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress, “Pacific Countries and Their Ocean: Facing Local and Global Changes” was convened on 2 March by Vice President of French Polynesia Mr. Anthony Géros, and Charles Washetine (Representative of the Government of New Caledonia in Charge of Research) who welcomed over 1000 Inter-Congress participants, guests, and members of the press. Mr. Adolphe Colrat, the High Commissioner of the French Republic in Polynesia delivered a welcome message from President of France Nicolas Sarkozy. The Inter-Congress addressed the critical social, environmental, and economic challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region with particular attention to the Pacific Island countries. The Inter-Congress was held in conjunction with the 2nd Symposium on French Research in the Pacific. [End Page 457]

The conference consisted of 37 symposia, which attracted over 881 scientists including 248 students from 49 countries. One of the purposes of the Inter-Congress, which takes place every four years in between Pacific Science Congresses, is to encourage scientists from different disciplines and regions to collaborate on areas of scientific research that support sustainable development. The conference had a particular focus on ecosystems and biodiversity; climate change and ocean acidification, health challenges; cultural and political approaches to governance; and inter-regional cooperation and economic integration.

An overriding theme of the Inter-Congress was the importance for scientists to produce knowledge that can guide better decision-making among policymakers and the public. With the Asia-Pacific community facing unprecedented and accelerating challenges, this goal includes the need for scientists to become better communicators of, and for, science.

The Inter-Congress was organized by Dr. Pierre Mery, Special Assistant in Charge of Research and Technology in French Polynesia, Dr. Priscille Frogier, Director of the Research Department of French Polynesia, Dr. Jean-Claude Angue, Special Assistant in Charge of Research and Technology in New Caledonia, and local and international organizing committees in coordinated partnership with PSA.

II. Report on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity in Melanesia

The Climate Change and Biodiversity in Melanesia (CCBM) project has completed a series of Reports on the expected impacts of climate change on marine and terrestrial biodiversity in Melanesia. CCBM is a joint project led by Bishop Museum and Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in conjunction with the Pacific Science Association (PSA) and Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance (IPCA), and funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The geographic scope of the project includes Papua New Guinea and Indonesia’s Papua Province, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji.

The reports include:

  1. 1. Consensus Report on Climate Change and Biodiversity in Melanesia: What Do We Know? Prepared by Stephen Leisz, John Burke Burnett, and Allen Allison (Bishop Museum, Pacific Science Association, and Indo-Pacific Conservation Alliance).

  2. 2. Geospatial Vulnerability Assessment of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification Projections in Melanesia. Prepared...

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