SENAT
Report n° 230 (2006-2007) by M. Christian GAUDIN, Senator (for the parliament office for the evaluation of scientific and technological choices)
Disponible au format Acrobat (12 Moctets)
IV. CLOSING SPEECHES
A. MR. FRANÇOIS GOULARD, MINISTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
Your Serene Highness,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Honourable Presidents, representatives of the scientific community here gathered,
Allow me to salute you, Your Serene Highness, for your presence and extremely active participation in this opening day, and to tell you just how much we appreciate your commitment, as well as the long-standing commitment of your family, which has allowed for progress to be made in the sciences. We are well aware just how famous Monaco is for its oceanographic and polar research. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you this, very simply, but with great warmth.
I would also like to salute the Members of Parliament, who are very committed to these scientific issues, such as President Revol, in particular those concerning the poles, such as Senator Gaudin, one of the many persons in this room familiar with the polar regions. Although I haven't had the privilege myself, I know, from having read it many times, that the poles exert a fascination on those who have discovered them. From this point of view, I am also aware of the fact that the International Polar Year is a unique event, with a power to move that is quite exceptional. The International Polar Years are rare and represent important events in and of themselves.
The international nature of any scientific event must be highlighted: science belongs to all of humanity, with the men and women of science working for all of mankind. We sometimes have the opportunity to celebrate this gathering of scientific forces in large projects: we had the pleasure of hosting here in France the ITER project, which brings together exceptional means, allowing us to perhaps discover the energy of tomorrow. Each time the international community gathers together for a scientific objective is grounds for an intense feeling of satisfaction. We know that together we are more effective. All of these countries coming together for a scientific end also has symbolic power.
When we talk of the poles, this international cooperation has even greater symbolic power, for the same reason that I just mentioned - namely, this extraordinary power to move - but also because there exist specific statutes, in particular in Antarctica, with particularly protective international agreements which we need to develop and extend. When the international community, spurred on by the men and women of science, admits that certain territories need to be preserved, protected and dedicated to science - territories where our nationality identities must give way before issues that are beyond us - because they belong to all of humanity, one can there see signs that are particularly important and positive.
This International Polar Year is certainly different in nature from its predecessors. I mean to say that the explorers, the geographers, those who before were simply trying to understand our planet in all of its aspects have today given way to a scientific community.
Polar research not only concerns polar specialists, it also covers entire scientific fields. It is no longer only a question of better understanding the poles; scientific considerations of great amplitude are at stake. You mentioned the issues of climate change and biodiversity: in this domain, a community of interest is emerging between the research carried out in our different countries and that which has polar research as its advanced base. They are thereby imparted with both a new dimension and special importance.
The interest of the general public, the fascination that I mentioned earlier allow us to make this International Polar Year an opportunity to attract the attention of our contemporaries to the great scientific questions. We must take advantage of this unique opportunity to highlight today's important scientific subjects, to treat them in a manner that is likely to interest the general public, to consider them from various scientific as well as technological viewpoints. The International Polar Year must therefore be used to spread scientific and technical knowledge. You are all familiar with the importance of these subjects here in France, and we are all aware of the importance of raising the awareness of our fellow countrymen with regard to these scientific issues: our very future is at stake.
For our country, it is an ancient tradition. A land of seafarers, explorers and audacious scientists, today France can boast of a presence at the poles that was anything but a given: the geography of certain countries naturally encourages them to develop their polar research. This isn't the case for France: its overseas austral territories are mere "confetti" and uninhabited lands. Thanks to our scientific will, adventurous spirit and initiative, we have long demonstrated our interest in the poles. We must assert this scientific tradition, which is greater in the south than in the north. That is why we must lend particular support to the Arctic adventure of Jean-Louis Etienne, who will act somewhat as our standard bearer in this polar region.
We must prove ourselves faithful to this tradition, by relying on the most modern means and methods. The International Polar Year has naturally given rise to a special effort: via the National Research Agency, we have submitted requests for proposals, so as to provide additional means for research. In addition to our annual research funding, we have allocated €13 million in credit. But, above all, this is an opportunity for us to carefully consider these subjects - which the Gaudin report allows us to do, with a general overview that is particularly valuable.
Naturally, our country must fully assume its responsibilities, maintain its means and look after its bases. However, looking ahead, the most effective direction for us to take is that of international - and, in particular, European - cooperation. As I already asserted, this is a cause that goes beyond just us and concerns all of mankind. At the very least, the European dimension should provide a special impetus thanks to the pooling of means, so that Europe - and, through it, France - is present in the polar regions and participates in this fascinating scientific adventure - thanks, ladies and gentlemen, to all of you.
I would like to thank you for your great contribution to contemporary science, to the great questions of vital importance for both our planet and the men and women who inhabit it, and to celebrate this great event that is the International Polar Year. Thank you.
Bruno ROUGIER
Thank you very much, Minister Goulard. We will now welcome a man who has paid particular attention to these speeches, thereby following a long family tradition. Indeed, Prince Albert I participated in four expeditions to Spitzberg. Naturally, I am speaking of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Your Serene Highness, on the 16th of April, you planted the Monacan flag at the North Pole at the end of an expedition by dogsled on the polar ice shelf, both to pay homage to your great-great-grandfather, but also as a strong gesture to attract attention to the problem of global warming.
B. HIS SERENE HIGHNESS PRINCE ALBERT II OF MONACO
Honourable Minister,
President of the CNRS,
President of the Parliamentary Office for the Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Choices,
Honourable Senators and Deputies,
Dear members of the scientific community,
Dear friends of the polar regions,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am infinitely grateful for this opportunity to participate here today, and I would like to thank all of the speakers who succeeded one another and presented their contributions. These testify to the importance assumed by this International Polar Year that we are launching here today.
As for me, ever since I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by the polar regions, undoubtedly influenced by the travel writings and images of my great-great-grandfather, Prince Albert I, a pioneering oceanographer who carried out research and made precise observations during his four expeditions to the polar regions, between 1898 and 1907. At a time when these expanses were still largely unexplored, he committed himself to this project with a qualified, scientific team that was international and, even then, multidisciplinary. Its scientific operations were carried out along first the eastern, then the western coasts of Spitzberg. Soundings, temperature measurements, and water and sediment samplings were made.
During his second expedition, in 1899, he returned to Svalbard, where most of his work was dedicated to carrying out topographic and hydrographic surveys. Thanks to this research, a sea chart for this area was able to be drawn up. The positions of several glacial faces were recorded, to determine their evolution and thereby complete the measurements taken during the 19th century.
During the following voyages, studies were carried out in the fields of hydrography, geography and meteorology. The Arctic programmes undertaken by Prince Albert I allowed for significant progress to be made in all the concerned research domains. He thereby fulfilled a dream of his youth and was happy to have served science - this science which he was convinced would bring humanity greater well-being, justice and peace.
I had long wanted to visit the North Pole and this region that my great-great-grandfather wasn't able to reach. That is why, in July 2005 and April 2006, I undertook two expeditions that allowed me to fuel my thinking by following in his footsteps.
During my first expedition around Spitzberg, I was accompanied by professional divers and renowned scientists from the polar programme of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as representatives from the Oceanography Museum of Monaco. By comparing photographs of the same site taken during the trip made by Prince Albert I in May 1906 and during my own expedition, the melting of the glaciers became obvious to me - in particular the Lillihook Glacier, which, based on our observations, has receded by more than 6 km.
On 10 April 2006, I undertook the second part of this project, which consisted of the expedition to the North Pole, with an eight-member team. At the end of four days, we reached the geographic North Pole after having traveled some 150 kilometres, thanks to the exceptional dogs who were of great help to us.
By this tour of symbolic sites, I wanted to investigate for myself these phenomena that are a concern for future generations. I considered it my duty to testify to this peril before my contemporaries, and to make them aware of the urgency to act with regard to our relationship with our planet. There is no longer any doubt that time is of the essence: we must act and act quickly, because we share a common responsibility. The risks and dangers are getting worse with each passing day. The report prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which met in Paris at the beginning of last month, forcefully demonstrates, I believe, the gravity of the situation.
We must now show, in every aspect of our behaviour, a shared ethics of ecology, so as to preserve the riches and resources that the Earth has to offer us. This represents the most important issue of this century. A new solidarity must emerge to meet this ecological, economic and social imperative. This planet-wide problem calls for an immediate realization and urgent, concrete actions in response to three major environmental issues: climate change, the loss of biodiversity and the increasing scarcity of water.
That is why, in June 2006, I decided to make a contribution, on behalf of myself and of the principality, by creating the foundation that bears my name. The mission of this foundation is to identify priority, emblematic projects and to speed up their implementation, in order to obtain concrete results, throughout the world, in favour of a sustainable, equitable management of our natural resources. I will also be present, alongside other heads of state, at the future international negotiations on the environment.
The second objective of my foundation is to encourage initiatives, projects and enterprises that reconcile the environment and innovation. We have already identified ten projects to receive funding this year. Via the projects it supports, the foundation also hopes to prove that it is possible to adopt practices and behaviour that are sustainable and respectful of the environment, compatible with an economic, social and human development.
Finally, its third objective is to raise public awareness regarding the various issues and responsibilities related to these themes, via a vigorous communication campaign.
Determination and energy are needed to make these actions succeed, and it is in this state of mind that I will pursue my action. All actions undertaken by the foundation are consistent with the environmental policy of my country. As you are all undoubtedly aware, the principality has been involved for a very long time in numerous international agreements and conventions in support of the environment. The Ramoge agreement to fight marine pollution, ACCOBAMS for the protection of cetaceans, and the headquartering in Monaco of the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) all testify to the principality's continuing international commitment to protecting the marine environment. This ancestral mission is part of our history, as evidenced by the creation a century ago by Prince Albert I of the Oceanography Museum and the Anthropology Museum in Monaco.
At the beginning of this International Polar Year, I would like to emphasize the involvement of the principality, which is happily associated with the project being carried out by the Tara boat within the framework of the European DAMOCLES programme. The objective of this partnership with the Monaco Yacht Club is to draw the attention of the principality's population to the evolution of this project. I am delighted at the presence here today of Mr. Charles Terrin, who has been chosen by the Yacht Club to embark on the Tara for a six-month voyage.
To conclude, I would like to salute the community of researchers, explorers and scientists who study these regions with passion and rigour and provide us with, among other things, a better understanding of climate change. I hope that the many scientific projects that will be developed during this period will allow us to deepen our knowledge and will encourage a better appreciation of these regions' complexities, in order to increase the effectiveness of the political actions in support of the environment.
Now that we are more aware of the risks facing our planet, man should feel responsible for what Nature has offered him. Prince Albert I liked to say that science must dominate, because it provides for the needs of civilization. Today, is it not civilization's turn to rely on science in order to save humanity?
Thank you.
Bruno ROUGIER
Your Serene Highness, I thank you. And so finishes this opening day. We will meet again in the coming months, in the coming years, to consider the results of the 209 projects selected for this International Polar Year.