Under Secretary of State Recognizes AIA’s Project
By Victoria Gofman
“Aleut International Association Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2007”

The International Polar Year is a scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic. International Polar Year will involve more than 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from more than 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics.

The Honorable Paula J. Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, delivered remarks at the U.S. launch of International Polar Year at the National Academies of Science in Washington, D.C., on Monday, February 26, 2007:

“The State Department supports scientific efforts worldwide by facilitating cooperation with foreign governments through science and technology agreements and through other collaborative arrangements. For example, marine science will form a very important component of International Polar Year, and our vessel clearance program ensures that marine scientific research by U.S. entities can take place in foreign Arctic waters, and vice versa.

The second issue that we're concentrating on is the area of health. And it's through the Arctic Council that we coordinate a wide range of science projects related to the International Polar Year. One of the major projects under the new "human dimension" aspect of IPY is the Arctic Human Health Initiative. Under the leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Arctic Human Health Initiative will cover a broad range of health issues facing Arctic residents, including infectious diseases, chronic illnesses, dietary issues, and environmental contaminants.

Thirdly, we're leading an IPY project in energy: the Arctic Energy Summit. And later this year, the United States has plans to host a technical conference in Alaska to bring experts together, specifically together to address all fields of energy development in the Arctic, including the areas of renewables, extractive, and emerging energy technologies. The plan is to create an energy action working group to advise policymakers in the Arctic countries as to how we can better deliver energy to remote areas and at the same time how we can extract energy resources in ways that protect the environment and create good jobs for northern residents.

Finally, I want to underscore the important role played by indigenous groups. Alaskan natives are leading a number of projects for IPY. The Aleut International Association proposed the Bering Sea Sub-network, an initiative to monitor changes in the marine environment of the Bering Sea. Villagers on both sides of the Bering Sea will engage in community-based monitoring of the marine environment and fold their research into the larger Arctic Council Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program.”