Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Polar Atlas  (Polar Atlas)

Outline
The current gap between knowledge and action seems to be growing by the day. Despite early warnings and assessments our leaders fail to implement the information into policy. The aim with the Polar Atlas project (note: this might not be the final publication title) is to bridge some of this gap and to communicate the past, current and future state of the Arctic and Antarctic locations to policy makers, journalists, students and the general public. This publication will follow in the spirit of past publications by UNEP/GRID-Arendal in the Vital Graphics series in illustrating and communicating through a series of thematic maps. The thematic maps and graphics should be powerful enough to communicate the message in themselves, but the book will also feature further descriptions for delving deeper into the issues. The final result will be a full-colour, approximately 120-page book to be launched in early 2009 through a major publisher. The book will be financed, in part, through cost-recovery from sales. As a companion to the book there will also be a website featuring all maps for public access. They will be designed for easy transfer into presentations and reports. Themes covered in the book will be: • the physical environment • flora and fauna (including global linkages) • political dimensions (Arctic Council, Antarctic Treaty, military, conflicts) • human dimensions (Indigenous Peoples, countries, distribution) • economy (resource extraction and more) • pollution • scenarios for the future • climate change (current indications, and scenarios, early warning of global significance) • status of protection • emerging issues • remote sensing case studies • results from current assessments and activities (including other IPY activities) • at least four local case studies where issues cross-cuts all thematic areas The Polar Atlas will be developed in tandem with the GEO for Polar (please see the proposal for this project, submitted separately). The Atlas will be a reference and resource book for polar issues, while the GEO for Polar will focus on integrated assessment, looking at conditions and trends, and policy implications. There will be overlap and references between the two projects, and together they will form a set of powerful tools for understanding and communicating the key issues in Polar science and sustainability. Collaboration, authoring and review processes for the two projects will be combined wherever possible.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
The major deliverables will be the polar atlas and the accompanying website, with approximately 80 thematic maps. The outputs will communicate the IPY themes and the IPY to a wider audience, world-wide

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The production team will work closely with experts in various fields in reviewing and assembling the texts and the information to be displayed in the maps. Specifically the local case studies will highlight inter-disciplinary issues. This Polar Atlas will make use of the collaborative processes established through the GEO for Polar project.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Yes

How will the project be organised and managed?
A core team will be set up, together with GEO for polar, with a loose network of collaborators and contributors.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
University of the Arctic is a key partner in the activity, and extra care will be taken to ensure that the outputs meet their needs. For outreach and communication the outputs will be widely marketed and also launched at a major event, including press release (together with GEO for Polar).

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
No primary data is acquired in this project.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Cost recovery UNEP/GRID-Arendal internal funds UNEP (Nairobi) University of the Arctic International and national processes Collaborators will be asked to provide their time and expertise to the extent possible, and all contributions will be fully acknowledged. A funding strategy will be developed for this project, in consultation with the GEO for Polar project, in order to reduce overall costs and the demands on collaborators’ time.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
By communicating information about the state of the Polar and global environments, and related issues of sustainability, this project will increase awareness and understanding for a wider audience among the general public, including youth. We will explore options for the Polar Atlas, and its companion volume, GEO for Polar, being used as textbooks for the University of the Arctic and other institutions. A broader consortium will be assembled including Indigenous Peoples organizations, Antarctic partners, Arctic Council working groups and NGOs, again, in collaboration with the GEO for Polar project.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Mr Hugo Ahlenius
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
c/o SEI Box 2142 Stockholm
SE10314
Sweden

Tel: +46-8-4121427
Mobile: +46-733-467111
Fax: +46-8-7230348
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation