Speech of H.I.H. Princess Takamado
inthe Opening Session of Science Symposium ISAR-4/ICARPIIIofArctic Science Summit Week 2015
April 27, 2015
Toyama International Convention Center
It is a great pleasure for me to be able to join you for the Arctic Science
Summit Week (ASSW) in Toyama. There are many faces that I recognize and,of course, many new. To all of you from countries other than Japan, anon-Arctic warm welcome to you all. Each time, I attend a gathering of Arcticand Antarctic bodies, I find myself bemused by the many acronyms by which
the organisations and meetings are known, and Toyama is fast proving to be
yet another one of those occasions.
My first experience of the Arctic was in the late 1990s when my late husband
and I visited the Canadian north a couple of times as well as Greenland.
Then, in 1998, I decided to write a children’s book about an iceberg. I waskeen that the book should be “educational” － I was in the middle ofbringing up 3 children － and one that scientists would wish to buy for theirchildren or grand-children. I needed to contact many scientists in order toget accurate information. One of them was Peter Wadhams and, it wasthrough his introduction, that I, as well as the children, became frequent
visitors to the National Institute of Polar Research. The book is called “Luliethe Iceberg”, and depicts the journey of a “young” iceberg from Greenland
who sets off on a journey to meet the elders in the Antarctic ice. You will bepleased to know that, in the glossary, I mention ice coring and comment on
the amazing amount of knowledge that is trapped in the ice.
We have all seen how the Arctic has undergone a drastic transformation inrecent years, rapid changes in the environment are taking a heavy toll on
both arctic wildlife and on indigenous peoples whose lifestyles are groundedin coexistence with the natural world. We must be quicker and moreorganized in the way we take action.

Recently, I had the opportunity to look through the Conservation of Arctic
Fauna and Flora’s recent Arctic biodiversity assessment. One of the urgent
priorities seems to be to maximize the resilience of Arctic ecosystems in theface of what might come. In terms of arctic wildlife, effective protection of
habitat, but in sufficiently large tracts of land, is a must. Global warming isopening up the arctic to resource extraction and shipping, and these cannot
but lead to habitat destruction, pollution and hunting. We must ensure thatthe human race does not end up looting its own bank and losing all theearth’s reserves.
I serve as the honorary president of BirdLife International. Birds areindicators for the environment as they are often visible or audible and, inmany cases, scientific data is more readily available or attainable than forother species. All countries of the world are ecologically linked to the Arctic
by Arctic-breeding migratory birds. These birds may act as the canary in thecoal mine as to conditions in the Arctic. By looking after arctic birds during
their annual migratory visits as well as by ensuring that any activities
undertaken in the arctic by businesses meet high environmental standards,
the ecology of the arctic may be conserved. Over-zealous and short-sighted
development would lead to horrifying results, and it is imperative thatleading organizations and nations show
clear-sighted sense of balance.

deep commitment and aIn this effort, science obviously plays a vital role. Scientists all over the worldmust pool their knowledge and wisdom to gain the clearest possible
understanding of changes affecting the Arctic and the planet as a whole, ofwhat should be mitigated and of what adaptations to change are necessary.
However, science alone cannot solve the problem. All stakeholders––and thatmeans everybody, including scientists, politicians, industry, governments
and non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples, and us, theaverage man in the street––need to share information and insights and worktogether. And let us remember. No one organization, nor one country will beable to solve the various issues, but then one organization or one country isbetter than none. Less efficient, but better.
This year is a milestone year, with ASSW2015 marking 25 years since theestablishment of IASC, and the scheduled ICARP III conference, which will
determine the course of the next 10 years of Arctic research. You havegathered to address the various issues facing the Arctic region and to explore
the various ways in which you may carry out, support and facilitate Arctic
research and ensure that there is international coordination, collaborationand cooperation in all fields of Arctic science.
The eyes of the world are looking northward. I do hope that this meeting ofminds will bring about many fruitful results and I take this opportunity toexpress my most fervent hopes for further progress in Arctic studies on a
global scale, and accelerated efforts to resolve the issues facing this crucial
region of our planet.