A very warm welcome to delegates to the “Carbon Workshop: Global Cycle to Regional
Budget” at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mätauranga O Aotearoa (14-15 April 2008). Whilst there
is a significant core of policy and science researchers based in
The motivation to hold this meeting came from two sources. Firstly, there was the desire of the Royal Society of New Zealand International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (NZ-IGBP) committee to promote the work of the Global Carbon Project (GCP). GCP was established in 2001 in recognition of the enormous scientific challenge and fundamentally critical nature of the carbon cycle for Earth sustainability. Secondly there was a desire by the “Global Process” research programmes in the Crown Research Institutes and by University researchers to review their current work, their collaborations, and to consider new (policy relevant) research directions. Much of the research profiled at this meeting is funded through the Foundation for Research Science and Technology (FRST) research on “Understanding and Adapting to Global Process and Change” and allied portfolios.
The workshop consists of a series of offered and invited talks as well as posters from carbon cycle experts, many who have contributed significantly to the international carbon research effort including the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The talks will review our understanding of the carbon cycle, its response to anthropogenic change, and look at the science needs and wider issues that arise from the policy currently being developed both nationally and globally to constrain carbon emissions.
On behalf of the meeting, I would like to thank the sponsors: Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Landcare Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry , Ministry for the Environment, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and Royal Society of New Zealand for making the meeting possible. I would also like to acknowledge the inter-agency planning team that has worked hard collectively to build the programme. This team includes Troy Baisden, GNS, Suzi Kerr, Motu, Vera Power, MfE, Gerald Rys, MAF, and David Whitehead, Landcare Research. In addition to the planning group, it is through the joint efforts of many, including the “Conference and Events” team that the meeting has come together. Lastly, and importantly, there has been fantastic commitment from individual researchers and analysts, interested in presenting at this workshop.
Beyond, the meeting, we look forward to publication of work presented in a special issue of the leading journal Biogeochemistry under the guidance of guest editors Troy Baisden and Martin Manning. To conclude, I look forward to meeting you for what I am sure will be two very stimulating days.
Mike Harvey, NIWA, P.O. Box 14-901,