Association Affairs: Pacific Science Association

I. News and Updates

1. Call for Symposia and Abstracts for the 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress

Researchers and students are invited to submit symposia proposals and/or abstracts for the 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress (PSIC-12). Please see below for a list of sub-themes, and note that other themes may be developed based on submission of relevant abstracts. Presentations that focus on the Pacific Islands and/or Asia Pacific rim or that utilize a comparative context which has relevance for the region are particularly encouraged.

• • Symposia proposals are now being accepted. Interested researchers are encouraged to submit their proposals to the PSIC-12 Local Organizing Committee by email to conference@usp.ac.fj and copied to info@pacificscience.org.

• • Abstracts for oral or poster presentations are now being accepted on the official Inter-Congress website. Abstracts should be submitted by 31 January 2013 via the official Inter-Congress website (http://www.psi2013.usp.ac.fj/) and using the provided template.

• • Side meetings by relevant institutions are also encouraged. Please contact the Local Organizing Committee for more details.

Registration for the PSIC-12 is now open. Please visit www.psi2013.usp.ac.fj to register. The provisional registration rates (all USD $) are listed in the chart below.

2. Themes and Details for the 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress

The main theme and subthemes of the 12th Pacific Science Inter-Congress have been finalized. The focus of the 12th Inter-Congress includes physical, biological, and social sciences and encompasses terrestrial, marine, atmospheric, and social/cultural subjects and approaches in the Pacific Islands and Rim region.

PSIC-12 will be held at the campus of the meeting’s hosts, University of the South Pacific (USP), in Suva, Fiji from 8–12 July 2013. The over-arching theme of “Science for Human Security & Sustainable Development in the Pacific Islands and Rim”. The Subthemes of the meeting are:

• • Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, & Resilient Societies

  • • Biodiversity

  • • Landscape Ecology

  • • Ecosystem Services & Coupled Human-Natural Systems

  • • Applied Biotechnology & Biomimetics

  • • Bioinformatics and Genomics

  • • Museums & Data for Natural Resource Management

• • Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Development

  • • Distance Learning

  • • Tele-Medicine

  • • Online Science: How Web 2.0 will change publishing, collaboration, communication, and funding

  • • Science Communication & Data Visualization

  • • Bridging Science and Society

• • Food, Water, Energy, & Health

  • • Food Security in Island States

  • • Water Resource Management

  • • Access to Green Energy in Island States

  • • Improving Health Care in Remote and Less Developed Areas

  • • Emerging & Infectious Diseases

• • Society, Culutre, & Gender

  • • Capacity Building for Develoopment and Human Security

  • • Performing Arts and Maintaining Cultural Traditions and Resources

  • • Gender and Human Security

  • • Women and Science

• • Governance, Economic Development, & Public Policy

  • • Policy for Human Security

  • • Gowing Sustainable Economics

  • • Regional Economic Integration

  • • Building More Effective Governance Structures

  • • Microfinance

  • • Natural Hazards and Disaster Management

• • Climate Change & Impacts

  • • The State of Climate Research

  • • Climate Change Adaptation

  • • Coastal Zone Management

• • Oceans

  • • Coral Reefs

  • • Fisheries

  • • Deep Sea Mineral Utilization

  • • Disaster Management

  • • Natural Hazards

Note that the official Fiji Inter-Congress website is now open. Registration, abstract submissions, and other participant business will be handled through the official website, http://www.psi2013.usp.ac.fj/.

Critical dates for the Fiji Inter-Congress are:

31 July 2012

• • Call for Abstracts opens

30 August 2012

• • Registration opens

31 January 2013

• • Deadline for Abstract Submission

• • Early Bird Registration closes

31 March 2013

• • Confirmation of Acceptance of Abstracts

• • Grant Announcements

15 May 2013

• • Registration and Accommodation bookings closes

3. PSA Statement on Sustainability in the Pacific for the Rio+20 Summit

PSA was asked by our partners at the International Council for Science (ICSU) to prepare a statement on the particular needs of Pacific Island states for the occasion of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Summit which was held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012. While PSA’s focus includes both Asia and the Pacific, the purpose of the statement is to emphasize the particular concerns and challenges of the Pacific respect to sustainable development.

PSA...