Science, Technology and Resources Network (STAR) meeting

The Science, Technology and Resources Network (STAR) meeting

This 29th STAR Conference’s theme in Noumea is “The science of a changing world: addressing Pacific issues through the 21st Century”. This session will be sponsored by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the French Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD). The chair will be John Collen, Victoria University of Wellington, and the co-chair Jerome Aucan, IRD.

Around 80 participants coming from the Pacific Islands Countries and Territories are expected from November the 3rd to the 6th at the IRD Noumea Centre and the SPC Headquarters. Scientists, PICT’s representatives, policy makers will take this unique meeting opportunity to exchange about the following topics:

- Marine geosciences

- Coastal modelling and marine geosciences

- Seismology and marine geosciences

- Climate change observations

- Climate change and adaptation

- Climate change adaptation and technology

- Marine science

STAR is an independent organisation of international scientists who undertake research in the Pacific region and who have an interest in supporting the development of Pacific nations. It was founded in 1985 in collaboration with the International Oceanographic Commission, to facilitate the continuing provision of advice to SOPAC by the international geoscience community. Now that SOPAC is established as a Division of SPC, this 2012 meeting will review the role that STAR has played in SOPAC’s evolution over the past 25 years and consider possible scenarios for the relationship in the future.

The STAR conferences have not simply been technical conferences at which individuals presented and discussed scientific papers, as participants have had the additional responsibilities of formulating advice to SOPAC about its work program and highlighting technical and scientific issues of particular importance or urgency to the region. This makes the STAR/SOPAC relationship a very unique one, giving policy makers, managers and scientists the rare opportunity for free and frank exchange of ideas.

Since 2010, STAR sessions have been held jointly with the Circum Pacific Council, and this year will link with a technically-oriented SOPAC Division meeting. Further, participants from other Divisions of SPC and from the wider Pacific science community are invited to attend and contribute to the STAR Conference. This year will see the presentation of papers across a very broad range of subjects, from geophysical earth science to the importance of climate change to the spread of disease.

ENDS

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