E-Letter responses to:

editorial: Chris Huntingford and John Gash Climate Equity for All Science 2005; 309: 1789 [Summary] [PDF]

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Published E-Letter responses:

Re: We are trying, but...

Abhijit De   (20 October 2005)

We are trying, but...

Carlos A. Sierra   (29 September 2005)

Re: We are trying, but... 20 October 2005
Abhijit De, Senior Lecturer - Physics Presidency College Respond to this E-Letter: Re: Re: We are trying, but...	In his e-letter, Carlos A. Sierra’s Colombian experience is quite analogous to the Indian scenario. In both nations, scientific attitudes and politics are mutually exclusive. Infrastructural facilities for research are inhomogeneously distributed and insufficient among the institutes (educational and research). Educational institutes (primarily colleges) are expected to do only teaching, while research organizations are only concerned with research and little teaching. Lately, certain steps have been taken to incorporate teaching to purely research organizations, encourage interdisciplinary work, and provide research scopes for college faculties. At this very juncture, I feel the necessity to contemplate seriously on the following: 1) Coordinated efforts from physical, biological and chemical sciences to understand and combat human related problems. 2) Courage to indulge in solving of problems related to new areas. 3) Thrust for interdisciplinary areas rather than individual and / or laboratory restricted research. 4) Accommodate changes in present under-graduate and post-graduate courses. I speak from an institute where the classical mode of education is undergoing transition. Our students are among the best young brains and are very eager to accept challenges in core problem areas rather than peripheral options. Can we bridge the phenomenological changes?
We are trying, but... 29 September 2005
Carlos A. Sierra Oregon State University Respond to this E-Letter: Re: We are trying, but...	I agree with the opinions of Huntingford and Gash in their Editorial about the role of developing countries’ scientists in local climate and environmental policies. However, I also want to mention some of the challenges and limitations associated with this political role, mainly based on my personal experience in Colombia. Scientists are rarely involved in politics because of the complexities of the bureaucracies. Usually, they are not directly involved in decision-making processes of local environmental policies. Contrary to scientists in the European Union, researchers in developing countries play a similar role than in the United States. They are listened to by the governments but the decisions are taken by high-level politicians (the Kyoto Protocol is the best example). In addition, resources such as access to scientific literature, laboratory equipment, and computational facilities are very limited. There are not many channels to communicate scientific results with a broader impact on the general public and policy makers. However, we, the younger generations, are aware of this challenge. At least my group of collaborators in Colombia and I feel that things should change, and we are making efforts to produce and disseminate scientific information to a broader audience (http://www.carbonoybosques.org/). A long and tortuous road is ahead though. Carlos A. Sierra Departmento of Forest Science Oregon State University USA Research Center on Ecosystems and Global Change (C&B) Medellin, Colombia