The Natural Sciences Programme of the Office designed and implemented

Transcription

1 2 NATURAL SCIENCES

2 The Natural Sciences Programme of the Office designed and implemented its activities during the biennium in Aruba, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, guided by the Medium-Term Strategy ( ) adopted by the 34 th session of the UNESCO General Conference, which establishes in its second overarching objective the importance of mobilizing scientific knowledge and policy for sustainable development. For this purpose, the specific characteristics of these countries were also taken into consideration, primarily those related to their condition as small island developing states and their geographic location in the western Caribbean, an area subject to extreme natural phenomena such as hurricanes and earthquakes. 2.1 STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF SCIENCE During the biennium the Office continued to foster the generation and exchange of scientific knowledge, as well as the implementation of different actions to promote interest in the sciences and the protection of the environment, as can be observed in the activities described below. 8 th and 9 th Meetings for Scientific Culture. AUGUST 2010 AND SEPTEMBER 2011, HAVANA, CUBA Organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) and the Academy of Sciences of Cuba (ACC), with the support of the Office, these events were held to promote a greater exchange of experience and knowledge among the members of the scientific community in the country, and to facilitate the dissemination and implementation of new contents and technological advances in national development plans. The vocational orientation and promotion that exists in the country, the role of the media in nurturing a scientific culture, and the science vs. pseudoscience debate were some of the issues addressed as part of the programmes for the two events. In the inaugural session of the 9 th Meeting for Scientific Culture, the Director of the Office made a special presentation where he recognized the space won by these forums as a means to concretize the theme of the social appropriation of scientific knowledge in the framework of the policy implemented in the country for this sector. Presentation-Colloquium The UNESCO Science Report 2010: The current state of science around the world. JANUARY 2011, HAVANA, CUBA The activity, organized by the Office and the UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector, with the active participation of the Cuba National Commission for UNESCO (CNCU), the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, included a special presentation made by Ms. Susan Schneegans, editor of the Report and officer of the Division of Scientific Policy and Sustainable Development of the UNESCO Natural Sciences Sector, who referred to the main trends in the field of science, technology and innovation addressed in the document. Among the countries selected as case studies in the Report, there is a group of developing countries with a significant performance in the field of research, among them Cuba. The different sectors of the scientific community in the country were well represented at the activity. In his words of welcome, the Director of the Office underscored that the presentation hoped to foster a closer linkage to the content of some themes and chapters directly related to the scientific movement in the countries of the Caribbean, an action that, in addition, forms part of the implementation process of the Organization s Medium-Term Strategy. Among the prestigious speakers participating in the activity were the President of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, the Dean of the School of Pure and Applied Sciences in Mona Campus (University of the West Indies of Jamaica), the Representative of the Caribbean Scientific Community, and the President of the Cuba National Commission for UNESCO. International Workshop on the role of the Academies of Sciences in international scientific cooperation: Latin American and Caribbean region. MAY 2011, HAVANA, CUBA»» The event took place with the participation of more than a hundred experts and representatives from international scientific organizations, and formed part of the commemoration of the 150 th 21

3 ACTIVITY REPORT NATURAL SCIENCES Anniversary of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. At the event, the panel on Strategic programmes of international scientific organizations was moderated by the Director of the Office and included the participation of the President of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the representative of the InterAcademy Panel (IAP)/ Third World Academies of Science (TWAS), the TWAS representative in Cuba, and the Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Montevideo. During the activity the greetings and congratulations sent by the UNESCO Assistant Director- General for Natural Sciences were received. Children s Vocational Festival for En el periodo la Oficina continuó realizando la traducción al español, el diseño gráfico y la revisión general de los textos del Boletín Trimestral de Información sobre las Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Un Mundo de Ciencia, publicación editada por la UNESCO que constituye un importante medio para la divulgación de las novedades científicas en el mundo hispanoparlante. Science and Technology. JULY 2011, HAVANA, CUBA The Office collaborated with the Academy of Sciences of Cuba and Havana s Metropolitan Park in the organization of this activity seeking to support the efforts made by national organizations to provide the new generations with an attractive sample of scientific and technological advances through their participation in interactive activities linked to the environment and their exchange with scientists from different branches of knowledge, thus contributing to nurture in children and young people the scientific culture required for sustainable development. Production of an audiovisual material on handling bacteria with laser rays. DECEMBER 2011, HAVANA, CUBA In order to promote the dissemination of scientific activity through innovative means and for sustainable development, the Office supported the Cuban Society of Physics in the production of an audiovisual material whose creators suggestively christened Electrobacterializing. In the video, an Escherichia coli bacteria is moved with the help of focused lasers that act like tweezers of light, with which objects measuring barely hundredths of a millimetre can be grasped, while an allegorical choreography by dancers from the National Ballet of Cuba (BNC) is performed. The footage showing how bacteria may be handled with laser rays was taken at the School of Physics of the University of Havana and the Institute of Science and Technology of Materials (IMRE) of the University of Havana during a course given in 2009 on biophysics and nanobiology. The Academy of Sciences of Cuba also participated in this project together with the other aforementioned institutions. 2.2 STRENGTHENING CAPACITY- BUILDING IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE EDUCATION The Office contributed to build professional capacities in science, technology and innovation with a view to sustainable development through the support given to the following actions during the biennium: Facilitating the participation of specialists from Aruba, Cuba and the Dominican Republic in scientific activities Seeking to foster the exchange of knowledge and institutional capacity building, the Office continued to sponsor the participation of certain specialists in the following scientific activities: Attendance of specialists from Aruba and the Dominican Republic to the 8 th Meeting for Scientific Culture. August 2010, Havana, Cuba Participation of a specialist from the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment of Cuba (CITMA) in the 10 th Latin American Congress of Botany Conservation and sustainable 22

4 use of Latin American indigenous flora, October 2010, La Serena, Chile. Research visit by a specialist from the School of Biology of the University of Havana to the Genetics Institute of the University of the Andes, March 2011, Bogotá, Colombia. Attendance of the Chairperson of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme National Committee in Cuba to the XV Meeting of the Ibero-American Network of Biosphere Reserves and MAB Committees (IBEROMAB), November 2011, Tumbes, Peru. PROJECT Perception of Science and Technology by High School Students in the Dominican Republic Headed by the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic with the support of the Office, this initiative is designed to contribute to the social appropriation of scientific knowledge and technology, and to facilitate a closer look at the issues related to the low enrolment figures in basic sciences currently affecting the country. In the first stage (September 2009 January 2010) a study was conducted on the perception of science by senior-high school students of the National District and the province of Santo Domingo, whose results would be presented in the Summary Report that was published and disseminated among the national authorities and the mass media in the country, in the framework of the workshop convened to that effect. In the second stage of the project (July-December 2011) a standardized diagnosis was made on the perception of science by seniorhigh school students in the provinces of Monte Plata, Santiago Rodríguez, Hermanas Mirabal and Bahoruco, and the results were compared to those obtained in the first stage, also confirming the low rate of selection of these specialties in these provinces among the population surveyed, as shown in the corresponding Summary Report. The third stage of the project, still in process, consists in issuing policy recommendations which, in the framework of the country s plans, will favour sustainable development. CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CHEMISTRY During 2011 the Office gave its support to numerous activities in honour of the International Year of Chemistry in the country, organized by the Cuban Society of Chemistry in coordination with different national institutions under the precept Chemistry: our life, our future. A postage stamp issued in honour of the occasion, the 1 st National Chemistry Olympiad held with the participation of more than 50 students from several universities throughout the country, the 20 th Chemistry Conference of Oriente, and, as part of it, the Symposium Cuba in the International Year of Chemistry, as well as a special session dedicated to this science in the country s IX Meeting for Scientific Culture were some of the actions developed in order to stimulate an interest in the study of chemistry among young people and promote its public recognition as a field of knowledge that is of critical importance in order to address the needs of the present world. The concert honouring the birth of Álvaro Reynoso and Marie Sklodowska Curie offered by the National Symphonic Orchestra and the José Martí Young People s Choir at the Basílica Menor of the Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, and the production of a promotional TV spot on this date also constituted actions that contributed to raise awareness of this important celebration in the country, in addition to the nationwide coverage it had in the press, on radio and television during the entire year. 23

5 ACTIVITY REPORT NATURAL SCIENCES 2.3 MITIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND PROMOTION OF THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF FRESHWATER, LAND RESOURCES AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY The Office continued to promote during the period its ongoing exchange and collaboration with the National Committees of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and to participate in relevant scientific events and contribute to the environmental education of the general public on issues related to climate change and the mitigation of its effects in society, as is shown in the following actions implemented during the biennium: Coordination meeting of the programmes, projects and work groups of the International Hydrological Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (IHP-LAC). JANUARY 2010, MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY The Office facilitated the participation of two specialists from the National Hydrological Institute of Cuba (INRH) and the National Hydrological Institute of the Dominican Republic (INRHI) at the meeting, where the annual IHP-LAC programmes of activities, projects and work groups in the region would be adopted. Travelling exhibition Biological Diversity is Life. Biological Diversity is Our Life. DECEMBER 2010-JULY 2011, HAVANA, CUBA The travelling exhibition was officially inaugurated in Havana with the words of the Ambassador of the Republic of France to Cuba and the Director of the Office. It was conceived in the framework of 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, through the joint effort of the Centre Science in France, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, the World Environment Fund (WEF), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UNESCO. In order to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding biodiversity, the processes that threaten it, and successful initiatives to preserve it, the exhibition, originally mounted on the wrought-iron fence surrounding the Office grounds, was later displayed on the outer fence of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, in the historic centre of Old Havana, a World Heritage site. Seminar Global environmental change and social and cultural implications in Latin America and the Caribbean. MAY 2011, HAVANA, CUBA The event, organized by the UNESCO Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO Montevideo) and the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, was held with panels on global environmental change and biocultural change; risks, vulnerability, environmental conflicts and land management; the social impacts of environmental change on the region and the contribution of Social Sciences in addressing its effects and consequences, among other themes of interest. In his opening speech, the Director of the Office stressed the need to adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to the issue of climate change and underlined how UNESCO s intersectoral nature constitutes a strength in this respect. Collaboration with the TRAZAGUAS Project , HAVANA, CUBA The Office collaborated with the National Institute of Hydrological Resources (INRH) and the United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF) in Cuba in implementing various activities as part of the TRAZAGUAS project (UNICEF-INRH), among them the Children s National Drawing, Short Story and Poetry Contest of the same name that was held in the framework of this initiative to promote awareness among children and adolescents of the importance of preserving water for life. 24

6 DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL NETWORKS OF BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN CUBA AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC In the framework of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, the Office continued to support the functioning of the National Networks of Biosphere Reserves in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, providing assistance in particular to the respective national MAB committees in implementing the following activities and projects: The final stage of the Project for the Recovery of the Management Capacity of the Cuchillas del Toa and Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserves (March 2010, Cuba), which included training workshops for community members and local decision-makers, the publication of educational brochures and booklets on preventive measures, and a multimedia with the main results obtained. These actions clearly showed the importance of applying autochthonous knowledge in activities designed to protect the population, an issue that forms part of the joint work agenda of these biosphere reserves and the Office. The great number of women participating in these activities is to be noted, both as community members and as hosts and facilitators of the different initiatives implemented in the framework of the project. Monitoring Climate Change in the Jaragua-Barahuco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve (December 2011, Dominican Republic). The activity, sponsored by the Dominican National Commission for UNESCO (DNCU), Jaragua Group, Inc., and the National Council for Climate Change, was aimed at evaluating the impact of climate change in the ecosystems inside the only Biosphere Reserve in the Caribbean country, of considerable interest given the endemic nature of its plant and animal species at the regional and world levels. As a result, measures were proposed to mitigate those effects. A workshop to evaluate the results is to be held when the implementation of this activity is renewed in the biennium. Preparation of a new Biosphere Reserve proposal in the Sierra de los Órganos in Pinar del Río, Cuba. It is expected that the proposal will be definitively adopted at the next meeting of the Cuban MAB Committee and made ready to be presented at the corresponding UNESCO agencies. Holding the 7 th Annual Meeting of the National Network of Biosphere Reserves in Cuba (December 2011, Villa Clara, Cuba). The main purpose of the meeting was to analyze how the six Biosphere Reserves existing in the country work and function, and to evaluate the activities of the Cuban MAB Committee relative to the norms and implementation of the Management Plans. The forum, headed by the Chairperson of the Cuban MAB Committee, was also attended by the Office Natural Sciences Programme officer, the directors of Cuba s Biosphere Reserves, and specialists from the Cuba National Commission for UNESCO, the Alexander Humboldt Institute of Fundamental Research in Tropical Agriculture (INIFAT) and the Delegation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) in the province of Sancti Spíritus.

7 ACTIVITY REPORT NATURAL SCIENCES Publication of the booklet Protect your family from swollen rivers, mountain torrents and floods. JULY-DECEMBER 2011, HAVANA, CUBA The Office collaborated with the Cuban Society of Geology in the publication of this thematic booklet, which forms part of the collection Protect your family from..., whose main objective is to contribute to having the knowledge of those processes associated with climate change and geological hazards become a means for people to protect themselves. The remaining booklets in the series published until the present deal with water pollution, earthquakes, the collapse of buildings and landslides, erosion and soil loss, the rise in sea level and extreme coastal flooding events, and climate change and its consequences. Publication of the booklet Lionfish, twelfth in the series Let s get to know the sea. DECEMBER 2011, HAVANA, CUBA Published by the National Aquarium of Cuba to contribute to the formation of Cuban children regarding the need to protect the sea and its resources, the collection Let s get to know the sea is specifically used in the Environmental Education programme that the institution has prepared for children of all ages. The Office gave its support to publication of this collection, which ranges from the life of sharks, fish and dolphins, to the universe of coral reefs and sea turtles 26