SPC Geoscience Division

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SPC GEOSCIENCE PROGRAMMES

The Geoscience Division’s work focuses on providing assistance to Members in three technical programme areas: Geoscience for Development (formerly Ocean and Islands), Water and Sanitation and Disaster Reduction.

  • Geoscience for Development provides applied ocean, island and coastal geoscience services to support countries to govern and develop their natural resources, increase their resilience to hazards and facilitates data-based approaches to adaption. These vital technical services will be strategically deployed in response to specific Member requests to assist in the development, management and monitoring of natural resources and unique island environmental systems and processes.
  • Water and Sanitation Programme provides technical support to Members through capacity building, awareness and advocacy related to the management of water resources and the provision of water supply and sanitation services.
  • Disaster Reduction Programme provides Members with technical and policy advice and support to strengthen disaster risk management practices. The programme carries out this responsibility in coordination and collaboration with other technical programme areas within the Division and also with a range of regional and international development partners and donors.

Technical Support Services that cross cut the work of the three technical work programmes of the Geoscience Division are: natural resource economics; GIS and remote sensing; technical equipment and services; data management; and publications and library.

Corporate Services Support to the technical work programmes and technical support services of the Division are through ensuring effective policies and practices are in place for the orderly and efficient delivery of work. Corporate Services Support consists of finance, administration and IT support facilities, all of which would progressively integrate within the SPC beginning 1 January 2011.


 

Newsflash

Delegations from Pacific governments, along with international donors and prominent scientific organisations will meet in the Cook Islands during the second week of October to investigate and discuss aspects of mineral resources development in the Pacific region.

This will be during the Third meeting of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) Applied Geoscience and Technology Division (SOPAC), whose running theme will be 'Opportunities and challenges of developing natural resources in large ocean states'.

The meeting will be held in conjunction with the 2013 Circum-Pacific Council (CPC) meeting, along with 2013 STAR* (Science, Technology and Resources Network) Session.

Professor Michael Petterson, SOPAC Division Director, expressed his gratitude to the Cook Islands Government for hosting the meetings, and further added that 'As a new Director attending my first Divisional meeting, I am very excited to be able to meet and discuss one of the key aspects of development for the Pacific: sustainably and inclusively developing mineral resources. The advent of Deep Sea Minerals could bring many changes to the Pacific and we all need to prepare and be informed. I will also be presenting my new vision for where I would like to take SOPAC Division during my tenureship. Let us also not forget STAR and the very last year of it's chair, Professor John Collen who has, again, produced a very exciting programme for us to learn from and contribute to. I look forward to seeing everybody and extend a very warm welcome.'

Circum-Pacific Council is an association of earth scientists, engineers, and oceanographers in the Pacific region, while STAR was founded in 1985 to facilitate the continuing provision of advice to SOPAC by the international geoscience community.

The main theme of the STAR Conference is 'Large ocean states: challenges, opportunities and risks in developing non-living marine and onland natural resources', and papers on renewable energy and deep sea minerals will be presented.

For further information, please go to: http://www.sopac.org/index.php/sopac-3