Tsukuba Declaration

We, the participants in the four “IGY+50” programs – the International Polar Year (IPY), the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), the Electronic Geophysical Year (eGY), and the International Heliophysical Year (IHY) – which mark the 50-year anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), meeting in Tsukuba, Japan on 10-13th November 2008,

note the outstanding success of these international science year programs in building on the legacy of IGY by

• advancing discovery and producing remarkable new insights into geophysical, biological, and sociological aspects of our Earth and space environment,
• improving our understanding of the physical and social impacts on human society of complex environmental phenomena and Earth’s vulnerability to natural and human-induced change,
• expanding Earth observational capabilities,
• fostering cooperation among scientists from all over the world, and facilitating coordinated, inter-disciplinary investigations of global phenomena,
• reducing the “Digital Divide” by engaging scientists from developing countries,
• creating opportunities for young scientists to participate in international projects,
• exploiting scientific and technical advances, particularly in information and communication technologies,
• moving towards the goal of a scientific information commons by promoting ready, full, open, and timely access to data, together with long-term data preservation,
• raising public awareness of the wonders of our planet and its space environment,
• widening the knowledge base needed for managing the health of our planetary home,
• and promoting a common spirit of cooperation and harmony among nations;

assert that these functions must continue and expand in the future if Society is to achieve equitable, sensible, and sustainable life on Earth, as well as satisfy man’s innate curiosity about our wonderful planet and its surroundings; and

look forward, beyond IGY+50, to enhanced cooperation among the global science community, national academies of sciences, research funding agencies, industry, national governments, and inter-governmental bodies so that society and its leaders will have at their disposal the best possible data and information to make the decisions necessary for a sustainable future for humankind.

Tsukuba,
13th November 2008

For further information, please contact:
Organising Committee of the International Symposium: Fifty Years after IGY
E-mail: igy50sympooc@swdclx19.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp