Our contribution to Sustainable Development Goals in 2019
The Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) strongly supports the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
Our researchers are engaged in numerousactivities contributing to the global efforts in this regard. To name just a few examples, fromthis last year and the coming one:
We advocate the sustainable management of freshwater resources by coordinating celebrations of World Water Day in Poland. We are currently working on the next edition of this event, to be held in Warsaw in March 2020. Simultaneously we are working on the next congress of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research, which will take place in Warsaw on 30 June – 2 July.
What are the consequences of global warming? How does it influence human health? Will rivers dry up in 30 years? Together with the UN Information Centre in Warsaw we have organized a public event on Climate Change in Poland. The conference video has been viewed over 9000 times. This is one of our follow-up activities after a symposium hosted during COP 24 in Katowice, which was described in a special issue of our science popularization magazine Academia.
The core activity of the PAS Institute of Oceanology addresses the goal of increasing scientific knowledge, research and technology for ocean health. In 2019 we have continued the strong Polish presence in the Arctic, studying both current and ancient environmental changes. A new method developed at the Institute for identifying the extent of the Arctic ice cover over the last 2000 years will help in understanding the current alarming shrinking of the ice cover and forecasting future scenarios.
Will Poland witness the loss of 75% of its trees? We are also strongly involved in researching life on land. Following a study by the PAS Institute of Dendrology, we published a detailed report with a prognosis that due to climate change those of us alive today will most likely witness a time when the tree species now covering 75% of the surface of Polish forests will disappear, taking hundreds of fungi and animal species along with them.
I sincerely hope that in 2020 we can continue our joint efforts on a number of challenges that need a strong and united voice of the scientific community.
Wishing you all the best in 2020,
Jerzy Duszyński
