Professor Sackett examines the role of science diplomacy in combating global issues like climate change, over-population, disease and food security.

• 10 August 2010

Imagine for a moment that the globe is inhabited by a single individual who roams free across outback plains, through rainforests, across pure white beaches — living off the resources available. Picture the immensity of the world surrounding this one person and ask yourself, what possible impact could this single person have on the planet?

Now turn your attention to today’s reality. Almost 7 billion people inhabit the planet and this number increases at an average of a little over one per cent per year.  That’s about 2 more mouths to feed every second. 

Do these 7 billion people have an impact on the planet? Yes. An irreversible impact? Probably. Taken together this huge number of people has managed to change the face of the Earth and threaten the very systems that support them. We are now embarked on a trajectory that, if unchecked, will certainly have detrimental impacts on our way of life and to natural ecosystems. Some of these are irreversible, including the extinction of many species.

But returning to that single individual, surely two things are true.  A single person could not have caused all of this, nor can a single person solve all the associated problems. 

The message here is that the human-induced global problems that confront us cannot be solved by any one individual, group, agency or nation. It will take a large collective effort to change the course that we are on; nothing less will suffice. 

Our planet is facing several mammoth challenges: to its atmosphere, to its resources, to its inhabitants. Wicked problems such as climate change, over-population, disease, and food, water and energy security require concerted efforts and worldwide collaboration to find and implement effective, ethical and sustainable solutions. These are no longer solely scientific and technical matters.  Solutions must be viable in the larger context of the global economy, global unrest and global inequality.  Common understandings and commitment to action are required between individuals, within communities and across international networks.

Science can play a special role in international relations. Its participants share a common language that transcends mother tongue and borders.   For centuries scientists have corresponded and collaborated on international scales in order to arrive at a better and common understanding of the natural and human world. 

Values integral to science such as transparency, vigorous inquiry and informed debate also support effective international relation practices. Furthermore, given the long-established global trade of scientific information and results, many important international links are already in place at a scientific level. These links can lead to coalition-building, trust and cooperation on sensitive scientific issues which, when supported at a political level, can provide a ‘soft politics’ route to other policy dialogues. That is, if nations are already working together on global science issues, they may be more likely to be open to collaboration on other global issues such as trade and security.

Many countries have recognised the value of science diplomacy. In March this year, the US passed a bill to fund a Global Science Program for Security, Competitiveness and Diplomacy. Earlier, President Obama used his speech in Cairo to announce an expanded team of science envoys in the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia.

In April, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband made the case for research as a political bridge.  In Australia, there are two science envoy posts, one in Brussels and the other in Washington DC.

In my own role as Chief Scientist, I engage with researchers and agency heads of other nations to improve Australia’s scientific relations. For example, my recent trip to the United States included a visit with Professor Daniel Kammen, Clean Energy Envoy of the US State Department, and previous trips have established a connection with Chief Scientists and Scientific Academy Presidents in Britain, China, India, New Zealand, and the United States.

Central to these diplomatic efforts, is the establishment and continued nurturing of collaboration. Scientific collaboration operates best as a network of individual researchers supported by corporate and government policy and investment.  The keys then are forging links at the ground level and providing clear and consistent bi-national and multi-national policy and funding frameworks to sustain these links.

In Australia, we are in a unique position for international collaboration. Our relative geographical isolation and small world fraction has, from the beginning, necessitated self-reliance and native capacity-building on one hand and the need for strong couplings to the bulk of the world’s research overseas on the other hand.  This means that we have strong and unique capabilities to bring to the table and also experience in sharing with and learning from others.

Our vast continent stretches from the tropical north to temperate and semi-desert areas, and includes the Southern Ocean and Antarctic territories, a remarkable diversity of environments that are fundamental to understanding the diversity of ecosystems and interconnectedness of the Earth system.   Medical research, dryland agriculture, climate science, water management, and tropical and marine ecosystems are just some of the areas in which the world relies disproportionately on Australian expertise.  Increasingly, Australia is seen as an important player in the Asia-Pacific region and a link between the cultures of the Occident and the Orient, a powerful role in world diplomacy. 

As one single individual or one single nation, Australians and Australia is neither the sole cause nor the sole solution to global challenges.  But by nurturing existing scientific collaborations and building new ones, we can build bridges of trust and cooperation that will allow a freer flow of knowledge and expertise to the benefit of our nation and our partners, benefit that would not accrue from unilateral action.  This, coupled with supportive policies, goodwill, and a desire to use the strengths of our nation for the benefit of humanity will place us, as Australians, as leaders in international scientific diplomacy, and multiply our greater diplomatic efforts on the global stage.

This article was written by Professor Sackett and published in the Forum for Australian-European Science and Technology cooperation magazine in August 2010.