- Climate change has raised the awareness of the importance of research as a basis for policy making. The polar regions function as indicators of climate change, and are therefore very important for climate related research in many fields, underlined State Secretary Jens Revold from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research in his opening address.
Revold and several other speakers at the conference also highlighted the unique opportunities Svalbard offers as an accessible part of the High Arctic with a well-developed research infrastructure.
The State Secretary revealed that Norway will present three proposals this week to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructure (ESFRI). One of these proposals - “Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System” - is to develop Svalbard as an international platform for monitoring the Arctic.
- We think that Svalbard will form a valuable addition to the European infrastructure and a venue for excellent research of global importance, said Mr. Revold.
Below you can find the power point presentations from the seminar at Residence Palace:
State Secretary Revold's presentation
Robert-Jan Smits, director DG Research
Karin Refsnes, project director, Research Council of Norway
Gunnar Sand, director University Center in Svalbard
Roland Neuber, scientific co-ordinator Alfred Wegner Institute
Glowacki, Polish Station at Hornsund
Nighat Amin, International Polar Foundation
Kim Holmén, Research Director, Norwegian Polar Institute