The remarkable effort and commitment of the Portuguese Polar Scientists within the IV International Polar Year (IPY 2007-08), were key to promote awareness on the importance of polar science and research for Portugal. By that time, an overview of a National Polar Strategic Planning was designed leading to the creation of the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR).

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Strategic Planning framework

Since the IV IPY 2007-08, the portuguese polar community has fastly grow and consolidate it’s research in a wide spectrum of scientific topics, reinforcing the need for a sustainable strategy for the development of Portuguese Polar science.

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Vision

PROPOLAR aims at contribute to knowledge of the Earth system and its responses to human pressures, by understanding the role of polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic) as key drivers of the Earth‘s climate system and the functioning of the oceans, to help Portugal dealing with developing resilience to environmental hazards and managing environmental change.

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Mission

The mission of PROPOLAR is to promote and support the development of the Portuguese polar science, by providing access of Portuguese scientists to the Arctic and Antarctica, and encouraging multidisciplinary research to enhance knowledge on the Polar Regions, and their role on the global system and on how it reacts to ever-increasing human pressures.

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Objectives

ProPOLAR is devoted to accomplish its mission, setting specific broad goals for their initiatives, on scientific, education and policy levels, either national as internationally.

• encourage the Portuguese scientific community, by promoting multidisciplinary scientific collaboration and dissemination of scientific knowledge, to develop strategies for the development of Portuguese polar science towards integration into national and international policies
• provide access of Portuguese scientists to Polar regions by managing necessary means to ensure their activities, with the support of international cooperation with other Polar programs
• enhance scientific collaboration and logistical cooperation with other countries engaged in polar research
• support young polar scientists by stimulating career development and internationalisation
• increase awareness within the Portuguese society on the relevance of polar regions and ecosystems, and the importance of the national and international polar science, through education and outreach activities
• encourage the engagement of national industry on polar science with a view to supporting innovation and technological development
• collaborate with the Portuguese government to ensure the implementation of standards for research in Antarctica, under the Antarctic Treaty, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and other regulations
• collaborate with the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to implement scientific strategies and action plans for the Portuguese polar science.

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Strategy

Polar Regions are the key drivers of the global climate system, and particularly vulnerable to climate change. Although geographically distant from Portugal, the Earth’s Polar Regions experience changes that affect the rest of the Planet. Portugal has a coastline extension of more than 900 km, influenced by different currents, and referred to as particularly vulnerable to climate change. Temperature and precipitation changes are already affecting Portugal, as well as increasing extreme events such as severe droughts, storms, floods and heat waves, with consequences to ecosystem functioning and dynamics, and therefore to human populations, fisheries, forestry and other natural resources.

The harsh polar environment is a unique laboratory for international and interdisciplinary research and an ideal testing ground for the development of new technologies, where several countries collaborate to potentiate resources, crucial to the development of global knowledge. The Portuguese researchers actively cooperate to maintain this international synergy. National and international recognition of the scientific effort of the Portuguese polar community resulted in the accession of Portugal to the Antarctic Treaty, in 2010, and to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, in 2014. Furthermore, Portugal has established liaison and actively collaborates with the major international polar scientific and management organisations and networks like ATCM, COMNAP, SCAR, FARO, IASC, EPB and IPA.

PROPOLAR in close connection with the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), ensures the consolidation and sustainability of the development of Portuguese Polar science by supporting projects focused on a wide spectrum of scientific topics (atmospheric, marine, cryosphere, earth, environment, biological social and architecture sciences), and encourages new and innovative projects that fully address the scientific grand challenges, and are relevant to global problems and to the Portuguese society as a whole. The PROPOLAR strategy is also based on the synergistic cooperation between polar research programmes and research infrastructures. Managing a Portuguese flight to ensure access of scientists from Portugal and other countries to the Antarctic, as well as providing access to polar research infrastructures for Portuguese researchers remains an enduring effort. Education and outreach initiatives are also another important component of the PROPOLAR strategy, to raise awareness to the importance of polar research and to the relevance of the changes occurring in Polar Regions to the human populations worldwide, targeted to a broad audience, including the young generation, educators, media, stakeholders and policy makers.