Delegates from 24 nations, the six Permamanent Participants to the Arctic Council and the European Union took part in the first ever White House Arctic Science Ministerial on September 28th in Washington DC.
Strengthening cooperation in research between the countries and collaborating with Arctic Indigenous communities in resarch were important themes discussed at the event.
Several international resarch projects were highlighted by delegates to the ministerial.
One key project that was discussed is the APPLICATE project (Advanced Prediction in Polar regions and beyond: modelling, observing system design and LInkages associated with a Changing Arctic climate). The project, which lasts from 2016 until 2020 and has a budget of €8 million, is a consortium of 16 partners, including Arctic Portal. Funding for the project comes from the EU Research and Innovation programme HORIZON 2020.
Other initiatives were also highlited at the ministerial, including the EU-financed Edu-Arctic project as well as the release of Arctic-wide digital elevation model (DEM), the development an Integrated Arctic Observing System (INTAROS).
The delegates to the ministerial relased a joint statement following the ministerial, highlighting four priority areas of resarch and cooperation:
- Identifying Arctic Science Challenges and their Regional and Global Implications
- Strengthening and Integrating Arctic Observations and Data Sharing
- Applying Expanded Scientific Understanding of the Arctic to Build Regional Resilience and Shape Global Responses
- Empowering Citizens through Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Leveraging Arctic Science
The EU has tentatively agreed to host the next Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018.