A special meeting of the Asian forum for Polar Sciences (AFoPS-XV) was held on 23 April 2015, during the ASSW at Toyama International Conference Center, Japan. The meeting, attended by 15 delegates from 5 Members and an observer (Thailand) was presided by Dr. Kazuyuki Shiraishi of NIPR, the designated acting Chair for the Toyama gathering.
The AFoPS Committee discussed a range of issues on research/logistics cooperation and AFoPS operation, aided by 9 working and 6 information papers. The following highlights the key decisions made by the Members:
- The Committee endorsed and encouraged all 5 proposed AFoPS cooperative projects. The project proponents will be asked to report its progress to the Committee regularly.
- The Members commonly recognized a need for a well-functioning, strong secretariat and agreed to carry on with a discussion on how to en- sure the stability. The draft Terms of Reference for the secretariat submitted by Malaysia was accepted with minor changes. Proposed standard procedures for the meeting management have been agreed by the Committee.
- The Members welcomed interorganizational cooperation with
IASC and SCAR. Accordingly, this will be communicated to the IASC-SCAR representatives for their internal considerations.
This new initiative of AFoPS was introduced to the ATCM XXXVIII in Sofia Bulgaria as an information paper which was welcome by the Parties and the SCAR President.
Newsletter available here.