GERMANY

ARCTIC COUNCIL: OBSERVER

NATIONAL ARCTIC STRATEGY

Germany’s Arctic policy guidelines, Assume responsibility, seize opportunities (2013). Federal Foreign Office

CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARCTIC

The Alfred Wegner Institute: Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is the central German research facility for the polar regions. It is the National manager and implementation agency of the National German Arctic and Antarctic Programme. It also has a mandate to advise the German government in all matters concerning the polar regions. It operates the R/V Polarstern, a high class ice breaking research vessel and floating large scale laboratory to support research in the Arctic and Antarctic. Recently, an initiative was launched to create an Arctic Research Icebreaker Consortium for Europe (ARICE), which aims to implement a joint European / International Consortium for the operation of the European heavy icebreakers Oden (Sweden) and Polarstern. This initiative is supported by several European countries, as well as Canada and some international institutions. AWI also undertook the initiative to host the International Arctic Science Committee, IASC, a non-governmental, international scientific organization. The IASC mission is to encourage and facilitate cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research, in all countries engaged in Arctic research and in all areas of the Arctic region. The Helmoltz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel also conducts marine research in Arctic areas.

Apart from the research station AWIPEV on Svalbard, which is jointly run with the French, AWI also operates the Research Station Samoylovin the Lena Delta with the Russian Lena Delta Reserve. Another German-Russian research infrastructure initiative is the Otto Schmidt Laboratory for Polar and Marine Research (OSL), located in Saint Petersburg. The OSL provides a basis for coordination and development of the research projects carried out within the framework of the Bilateral Agreement on Cooperation in Polar and Marine Research between the Russian Federation and Germany. The OSL focusses especially on the support of young scientists in Russia and Germany and together with other research institutions jointly runs Arctic specific programmes such as the Master Program for Polar and Marine Research (POMOR).

OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS

Germany participates at Polarview, initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission, with participation from the Canadian Space Agency, under the Copernicus programme.PV has participants and team members from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and the UK. It aims to build a cohesive international network that meets the following objectives: engages a wide spectrum of end users who are convinced of the value of the services and products; provides a suite of desirable Environmental Observation (EO)-related services and products to public users; provides additional EO-related services and products to private users; and interfaces in a mutually beneficial way with the cryospheric science and climate change community. Current PV service lines include: Sea Ice Monitoring and Forecasting; Iceberg Monitoring; Ice Edge Monitoring; Ice Drift Trajectories; River Ice Monitoring; Lake Ice Monitoring, Glacier Monitoring; Snow Monitoring.

SELECTED EU-FINANCED PROJECTS

• The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites and Deutscher Wetterdienst are partners to CoreClimax, a project for Coordination the identification of essential climate change variables and the creation of long term climate data records. CoreClimax is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.
• O.A. Sys-­‐Ocean Atmosphere Systems GmbH and, the Alfred-­‐Wegener-­‐Institut, the Institut für Weltwirtschaft, Dr-­‐Ing. Joachim Schwarz, Independent consulting entity for Polar and Maritime Technology, Hamburgische Schiffbau-­‐Versuchsanstalt, Fastopt GmbH, IMPAC Offshore Engineering GmbH, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt EV, and the Energiewirtschaftliche Institut an der Universität zu Köln (EWI) are partners to ACCESS (Arctic Climate Change, Economy and Society /Climate Change and the Arctic environment WG), a project aimed at evaluating the Arctic climate change scenarios and their impact on specific economic sectors and human activities over the next decades. The project is fully financed buy the EU by the 7th Framework Programme and Ocean of Tomorrow.
• Max-­‐Planck Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V., Max-­‐ Planck-­‐Institut für Meteorologie, is partner to Arctic Tipping Points, a project aimed at Identifying the elements of the Arctic marine ecosystem likely to show abrupt changes in response to climate change, and establish the levels of the corresponding climate drivers inducing regime shift in those tipping elements. In addition, determine the effect of crossing those thresholds for the Arctic marine ecosystems, and the associated risks and opportunities for economic activities dependent on the marine ecosystem of the European Arctic. Arctic Tipping Points is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.
• UNIVERSITAET KIEL, MAX PLANCK GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN E.V., ALFRED-­‐WEGENER-­‐INSTITUT FUER POLAR-­‐ UND MEERESFORSCHUNG, HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM FUR OZEANFORSCHUNG KIEL, HELMHOLTZ-­‐ZENTRUM GEESTHACHT ZENTRUM FUR MATERIAL-­‐ UND KUSTENFORSCHUNG GMBH are partners to EPOCA (European Project on Ocean Acidification) a project for Advancing the understanding of the biological, ecological, biogeochemical, and societal implications of ocean acidification. EPOCA is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.
• Universitat Hamburg, is partner to MONARCH-A (MONitoring and Assessing Regional Climate change in High latitudes and the Arctic), a project aimed at Generating a dedicated information package tailored to a subset of multidisciplinary Essential Climate Variables and their mutual forcing and feedback mechanisms associated with changes in terrestrial carbon and water fluxes, sea level and ocean circulation and the marine carbon cycle. MONARCH-A is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.
• Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research is lead partner to to Page21, a project aimed at understanding and quantifying the vulnerability of permafrost environments to a changing global climate, and to investigate the feedback mechanisms associated with increasing greenhouse gas emissions from permafrost zones. Page21 is partially financed by the EU. Also Max-­‐Planck-­‐Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V., the University of Hamburg are partners to Page21.
• Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research is also partner to to INTERACT, (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic) a project aimed at build Capacity for identifying, understanding, predicting and responding to diverse environmental changes throughout the wide environmental and land-­‐use. INTERACT is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme. In addition, AWI is partner to SIOS, (Svalbard Integrated Earth Observing System) a project for the Creation Of an optimized observational infrastructure which can match advanced Earth System Models with observational evidence and provide near--‐real--‐time information on Arctic Change to relevant stakeholders. SIOS is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.
• Germanischer Lloyd AG is partner to partner to SAFEICE, a project aimed at increasing road, rail and waterborne safety and avoiding traffic congestion. SAFEICE was partially financed by the EU by the 6th Framework Programme
• Ecologic is lead partner to Arctic Transform / Shipping Working Group, a project aiming at Developing transatlantic policy options for supporting adaptation in the marine Arctic environment. Arctic Transform / Shipping Working Group is partially financed by the EU by the European Commission Directorate General for External Relations.
• Ecologic is lead partner to Arctic Transform / Shipping Working Group, a project for the Developing transatlantic policy options for supporting adaptation in the marine Arctic environment, Arctic Transform / Fisheries Working Group aimed Developing transatlantic policy options for supporting adaptation in the marine Arctic environment, Arctic Transform / Offshore Hydrocarbon Working Group, aimed at Developing transatlantic policy options for supporting adaptation in the marine Arctic environment . Arctic Transform is partially financed by the European Commission Directorate General for External Relations
• Flensburger Schiffbau-­‐Gesellschaft mbH & Co. KG is lead partner to JOULES (Joint Operation for Ultra Low Emission Shipping), a project aimed at significantly reducing the gas emissions of European Built ships. JOULES is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme. MEYER WERFT GmbH, MAN Diesel & Turbo, Center of Maritime Technologies e. V., Germany BALance Technology Consulting GmbH, Germany Institut fuer Energie-­‐ und Umweltforschung, TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET HAMBURG-­‐HARBURG, Couple Systems GmbH, Yachtglass GmbH & Co. KG are also partners to JOULES.
• Frankfurt Zoological Society – Africa is partner to is partner to the project HUNT A project aimed at Assessing the social, cultural, economic and ecological functions and impacts of hunting. HUNT is partially financed by the EU by the 7th Framework Programme.