ANTARCTICA IS A GOOD EXAMPLE THAT SCIENCE CAN UNITE THE WORLD, RESEARCHER'S BOOK SAYS
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the coldest region of the planet, science has forged some of the warmest relationships between nations and provided humanity with a model for global harmony, according to Paul Berkman, an earth scientist at the Ohio State University.
Since the signing of Antarctic Treaty in 1959, Berkman writes, Antarctica has become not just a major venue for scientific research but also a platform for international cooperation. The exploration and management of the vast, barren continent - currently overseen by a group of 35 countries - is a splendid example of nations working together, Berkman said.
"The collaborative spirit that has been fostered among nations in the Antarctic is a beacon to humanity centuries into the future," Berkman said.
Berkman, who has studied the Antarctic region for 20 years, is the author of a recent book titled Science into Policy: Global lessons from Antarctica (Academic Press, 2001). In addition to being a scientist at Ohio State's Byrd Polar Research Center, Berkman is a fellow at the university's Mershon Center, an interdisciplinary research institute that works on problems of national security and public policy.
As nations struggle to cope with terrorism and war, examples of international cooperation become recipes for world peace, according to Berkman. He said he believes that the lessons from Antarctica could not be more relevant than they are today.
"Where nations have differences about how societies should work, science becomes a tool to create bridges between them," Berkman said. "Science allows for disagreement but also fosters a method of communication that ultimately works towards solutions."
To support his argument, Berkman cites references from the history of the Antarctic. While diplomatic channels were broken between Great Britain and Argentina during the Falklands war in 1982, scientists from the two countries were still meeting at Teniente Marsh station in Antarctica. Another example that Berkman cites, though not from Antarctica, is the communication that continued between nuclear scientists of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
"They shared common interests, they shared insights about natural phenomenon that were independent of political and economic ideology," Berkman said.
In his book, Berkman divides the history of international cooperation in the Antarctic into three phases. The first was the establishment phase that began in 1959. This was the year in which 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, agreeing to manage the region together for peaceful purposes only. The establishment phase continued until the mid-1970s when the oil crisis forced nations to begin accommodating each other's interests in new directions.
This marked the beginning of the "international accommodation phase." There was an expansion of the Antarctic Treaty system to unite the interests of developed and developing nations. The number of participation nations increased to 35 in just a few years.
"The phase of international accommodation is, in fact, where the world-at-large is at today," Berkman said.
In Antarctica, which Berkman treats as a kind of a model world in his book, the countries went beyond international accommodation to a third phase - what he calls global stewardship. "Nations managing the Antarctic were able to work out common interests to guide the destiny of the region," Berkman said.
"They dealt with issues of jurisdiction, of conserving living resources and of allowing representatives from any of the nations to carry out inspections around the continent."
This is the phase, Berkman says, that the world might now be entering. "Global stewardship in Antarctica was held together by scientific research and international scientific cooperation," Berkman said. "Science could well be the common denominator among nations as we strive for peace on the planet."
#
Contact: Paul A. Berkman, (614) 292-3670; [email protected]; in New Zealand from November ANTARCTICA IS A GOOD EXAMPLE THAT SCIENCE CAN UNITE THE WORLD, RESEARCHER'S BOOK SAYS
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the coldest region of the planet, science has forged some of the warmest relationships between nations and provided humanity with a model for global harmony, according to Paul Berkman, an earth scientist at the Ohio State University.
Since the signing of Antarctic Treaty in 1959, Berkman writes, Antarctica has become not just a major venue for scientific research but also a platform for international cooperation. The exploration and management of the vast, barren continent - currently overseen by a group of 35 countries - is a splendid example of nations working together, Berkman said.
"The collaborative spirit that has been fostered among nations in the Antarctic is a beacon to humanity centuries into the future," Berkman said.
Berkman, who has studied the Antarctic region for 20 years, is the author of a recent book titled Science into Policy: Global lessons from Antarctica (Academic Press, 2001). In addition to being a scientist at Ohio State's Byrd Polar Research Center, Berkman is a fellow at the university's Mershon Center, an interdisciplinary research institute that works on problems of national security and public policy.
As nations struggle to cope with terrorism and war, examples of international cooperation become recipes for world peace, according to Berkman. He said he believes that the lessons from Antarctica could not be more relevant than they are today.
"Where nations have differences about how societies should work, science becomes a tool to create bridges between them," Berkman said. "Science allows for disagreement but also fosters a method of communication that ultimately works towards solutions."
To support his argument, Berkman cites references from the history of the Antarctic. While diplomatic channels were broken between Great Britain and Argentina during the Falklands war in 1982, scientists from the two countries were still meeting at Teniente Marsh station in Antarctica. Another example that Berkman cites, though not from Antarctica, is the communication that continued between nuclear scientists of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
"They shared common interests, they shared insights about natural phenomenon that were independent of political and economic ideology," Berkman said.
In his book, Berkman divides the history of international cooperation in the Antarctic into three phases. The first was the establishment phase that began in 1959. This was the year in which 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, agreeing to manage the region together for peaceful purposes only. The establishment phase continued until the mid-1970s when the oil crisis forced nations to begin accommodating each other's interests in new directions.
This marked the beginning of the "international accommodation phase." There was an expansion of the Antarctic Treaty system to unite the interests of developed and developing nations. The number of participation nations increased to 35 in just a few years.
"The phase of international accommodation is, in fact, where the world-at-large is at today," Berkman said.
In Antarctica, which Berkman treats as a kind of a model world in his book, the countries went beyond international accommodation to a third phase - what he calls global stewardship. "Nations managing the Antarctic were able to work out common interests to guide the destiny of the region," Berkman said.
"They dealt with issues of jurisdiction, of conserving living resources and of allowing representatives from any of the nations to carry out inspections around the continent."
This is the phase, Berkman says, that the world might now be entering. "Global stewardship in Antarctica was held together by scientific research and international scientific cooperation," Berkman said. "Science could well be the common denominator among nations as we strive for peace on the planet."
#
Contact: Paul A. Berkman, (614) 292-3670; [email protected]; in New Zealand from 7 November 7, 2001 through February 1, 2002 (011)64-3-364-2368; [email protected]
Written by: Yudhijit Bhattacharjee, (614) 292-8456; [email protected]
RSS