Pacific Science Association

The 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress

Pacific Countries and their Ocean: Facing Local and Global Changes

March 2 - 6, 2009

Tahiti, French Polynesia

The Pacific Science Association is very pleased to report the successful conclusion of the 11th Pacific Science Congress, which was held in Tahiti, French Polynesia from 2 – 6 March 2009. The Tahiti Inter-Congress was the most well-attended in our history. Thanks to generous funding from the Governments of France and French Polynesia, both regional scientific representation and student participation was extremely strong. The quality of the science sessions was similarly unmatched.

The 11th Pacific Science Inter-Congress, “Pacific Countries and Their Ocean: Facing Local and Global Changes” was convened on 2 March by Vice President of French Polynesia Mr. Anthony Géros, and Charles Washetine (Representative of the Government of New Caledonia in Charge of Research) who welcomed over 1000 Inter-Congress participants, guests, and members of the press. Mr. Adolphe Colrat, the High Commissioner of the French Republic in Polynesia delivered a welcome message from President of France Nicolas Sarkozy. The Inter-Congress addressed the critical social, environmental, and economic challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region with particular attention to the Pacific Island countries. The Inter-Congress was held in conjunction with the 2nd Symposium on French Research in the Pacific.

The conference consisted of 37 symposia, which attracted over 881 scientists including 248 students from 49 countries. One of the purposes of the Inter-Congress, which takes place every four years in between Pacific Science Congresses, is to encourage scientists from different disciplines and regions to collaborate on areas of scientific research that support sustainable development. The conference had a particular focus on ecosystems and biodiversity; climate change and ocean acidification, health challenges; cultural and political approaches to governance; and inter-regional cooperation and economic integration.

An overriding theme of the Inter-Congress was the importance for scientists to produce knowledge that can guide better decision-making among policymakers and the public. With the Asia-Pacific community facing unprecedented and accelerating challenges, this goal includes the need for scientists to become better communicators of, and for, science.

The Inter-Congress was organized by Dr. Pierre Mery, Special Assistant in Charge of Research and Technology in French Polynesia, Dr. Priscille Frogier, Director of the Research Department of French Polynesia, Dr. Jean-Claude Angue, Special Assistant in Charge of Research and Technology in New Caledonia, and local and international organizing committees in coordinated partnership with PSA.

The official 2009 Inter-Congress Program Book can be found here.

The theme of the Inter-Congress was "Pacific Countries and their Ocean: Facing Local and Global Changes". The sub-themes of the 11th Inter-Congress are:

  1. Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

    2. Knowledge of centres of species richness and endemism are fundamental to strategies for conserving biodiversity and the sustainable management of natural resources; indeed, it is within this context that modern biodiversity science takes place. The already-noticeable erosion of biodiversity has altered our collective vision of the natural environment and made the economic value of biological capital and ecosystem services more salient to the public and policymakers. Bio-taxonomic knowledge of an ecosystem is an important component of both effective environmental management and to the development of biotechnology. Pacific island environments are unique because their populations are particularly subject to intense speciation mechanisms that integrate the major drivers of evolution: migration, extinction, genetic drift, and natural selection. Oceanic islands are natural laboratories of the biodiversity dynamic, and of the interaction between humans and the environment. Because of the unique importance of biodiversity in the Pacific Islands and its role in serving human needs, its protection must be integrated into the sustainable development context in the region. Biodiversity plays a critical role in the economies and societies of the Pacific islands, such as forest products, fisheries, and aquaculture (ex. pearl oysters in French Polynesia).

  2. Climate Change and Ocean Acidification

    3. The Pacific is a critical region both driving the global climate system, and facing some of the most severe impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions: surface temperature warming, changes in the level and intensity of precipitation, sea level rise, and ocean acidification. Ecosystems face unprecedented challenges as the oceans become more acidic, human land-use intensifies, and extreme temperature and rainfall events become more frequent. Climate modeling and paleoclimate reconstruction offer important and complementary tools for understanding past and future climate change, how ecosystems adapt, and implications for human societies. The aim of this session will be twofold:

    1. Describe and assess past and future climate variability in the context of the present anthropogenic climate change. We encourage both global and Pacific-based studies. Presentations dealing with the interaction between natural and human activities, and models of global warming and its impacts over the next century are particularly welcome.

    2. Assess the magnitude and future trajectory of ocean acidification in the Pacific region, its likely impact on marine organisms and ecosystems, and the socio-economic implications of those impacts. Studies dealing with monitoring, experimental perturbations and modeling are particularly welcome.
  3. Health Challenges in the Pacific: Infectious disease, non-communicable disease and health workforce

    4. Moving into the 21st Century, the Asia-Pacific region faces several major public health challenges. For the region as a whole, infectious diseases still represent a major threat, the risk of emerging epidemics is high, especially for arboviruses (ex. dengue, Chikungunya, encephalitis ) and pandemic influenza and noncommunicalbe diseases pose serious health challenges. While several efficient networks already exist to characterize epidemiological trends and detect new epidemics waves, preparedness is still an issue in the region. The Pacific Islands face specific additional concerns, including an emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic, as evidenced by a report released by the World Health Organization and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. The current situation presents an urgent call for increased education and prevention campaigns on sexually transmitted infections, as well as better surveillance, screening and treatment.

    Another key challenge for “ Healthy Islands”, a model proposed for the Pacific, is the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases. Lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are rapidly increasing in both adults and children. The incidence of these diseases has grown dramatically because of changes in diet and a dramatic reduction in individuals’ level of activity. The challenge for public health officials is how to both manage the existing problem as well as to discourage lifestyle factors that negatively impact health. Finally, the ability to protect the public health depends on an educated and well trained public health professionals from the laboratory to the field. It is imperative that the Pacific region be committed to training and educating health workers, developing networks within the international scientific community and building applied research programs designed to meet the needs of the region’s countries and territories.

  4. Culture and Politics: The Cultural and Political Stakes of Modernity

    5. Since their first contact with the West in the 16th century, the peoples of the Pacific have been perpetually engaged in the active reshaping and adapting their societies and cultures to outside cultural influences and technical, economic, and socio-political change. But at the beginning of the 21st Century, globalization introduces a new level and intensity of economic change and cultural exchanges – not just in the Pacific, but everywhere. In the face of profound and increasing social change, many island identities and cultures are experiencing a sense of being overwhelmed. The question of identity remains acute as local languages are threatened with oblivion, and when many cultural traditions are lost to development, and when traditional techniques, aesthetic values, and knowledge are neglected. It is vital to develop new models of decentralized governance that support the maintenance and retention of fundamental cultural values, while simultaneously remaining open to a complex, interconnected world. In this respect, the social sciences produce knowledge on Pacific societies, both ancient and modern, to help understand the past and construct the future.

  5. Economy: Economic Challenges for the Future of the Pacific

    Globalization raises a series of complex issues for the economic growth and development of different countries and territories in the Pacific area. This session will consider some of these issues, including:

    • The impact of globalization on human migration flows and the resulting financial transfers between countries of the area;
    • Alternative exchange rate systems and currency unions in the Pacific;
    • Deregulation, trade liberalisation and economic competition in the Pacific Islands;
    • The impact of globalization on economic inequality;
    • The economics of small, open and remote countries;
    • Governance and public policy in the Pacific region;
    • The impact of aid to Pacific island states;
    • The impact of local and global changes on tourism in the Pacific.

Due to extraordinary demand, extra sessions were added to the program on Friday 6 March. These special session included: "Access and Benefit Sharing of the Research on the Biodiversity in the Pacific: Legal Frameworks, Current Status of ABS Legislation in the Pacific, Research and ABS, and Regional Approaches to ABS"; "Coastal Environment"; and "Heath Challenges".

The goals of the Inter-Congress were to:

  1. To assess the knowledge status of local and global changes withing Pacific countries;
  2. To gather Pacific country scientists and other scientists working in the Pacific region
  3. To develop beneficial exchanges between all the countries of the Pacific region, and in particular with the scientific communities of French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and New Caledonia.
  4. To give young scientists in the Pacific region a stimulating exchange opportunity.

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