VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWL #0036/01 0101822
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD6926E2 MSI9833-695)
R 101822Z JAN 07 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3710

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000036 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y  (Signature added) 
 
STATE FOR OES/FO AND EAP/ANP - DAN RICCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TSPL SENV PREL PGOV NZ
SUBJECT:  Scenesetter for A/S McMurray's visit to New Zealand: 
Highlighting US-New Zealand Science Cooperation to Strengthen 
Overall Ties 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The upcoming commemoration of the 50th 
anniversary of U.S. - New Zealand cooperation in Antarctic provides 
a terrific opportunity to strengthen NZ public understanding of the 
depth and significance of US-NZ scientific cooperation, an often 
unrecognized strength in our bilateral relationship.  While much of 
our cooperation takes place in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, it 
focuses on fields that extend to global issues of concern to many 
New Zealanders, such as climate change, sustainable fisheries, and 
whale conservation.  With 40 percent of New Zealand scientists 
maintaining active links to the U.S. science community, the United 
States is New Zealand's most vital scientific partner.  Fifty 
percent of New Zealand's science effort is publicly-funded, and 
frequently involves ties with NASA, NOAA, NSF, USGS, and other USG 
agencies, making the bilateral science relationship a success story 
for government-to-government cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
Background 
-------------- 
¶2. (SBU) The U.S. and New Zealand have had a science and technology 
cooperative agreement since 1974 (renewed in 1991), but bilateral 
scientific efforts began well before that, especially extensive 
cooperation in Antarctica starting in the International Geophysical 
Year (IGY) in 1957-58.  The first U.S. science counselor to New 
Zealand, Dr. Paul Siple, was the science lead for the first U.S. 
team to winter-over at the South Pole.  Whereas other aspects of the 
bilateral relationship have waxed and waned over the years, 
bilateral scientific cooperation, particularly that associated with 
Antarctica, has remained strong and constant.    Regrettably, the 
New Zealand public remains largely unaware of this.  The 50th 
anniversary of U.S. - New Zealand cooperation in Antarctica provides 
a valuable opportunity to highlight the relevance of the cooperative 
scientific effort, both for the underlying science itself as well as 
for the overall bilateral relationship. 
 
Highlights of Current Cooperation 
----------------------------------------- 
¶3. (SBU) Currently the United States and New Zealand are 
collaborating on a multinational Antarctic Drilling Project 
(ANDRILL) to investigate climate change over time. The Long Term 
Ecological Research (LTER) Network is a cooperative effort run by 
the National Science Foundation investigating ecological processes 
over long temporal and broad spatial scales.  New Zealand scientists 
provide base data to the project.  In another significant Antarctic 
project, the NZ and US Antarctic programs are collaborating to clean 
up the Cape Hallett Station site.  Some of the artifacts from the 
site have been relocated to an exhibit at the Canterbury Museum, 
including living quarters and a magnetic dome. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In October 2002, the U.S. and New Zealand initiated a 
Bilateral Climate Change Partnership to enhance and accelerate 
practical cooperation on climate change issues.  The initial round 
of 26 projects was launched in 2003 and has grown to 35 projects in 
nine priority areas:  climate change science, technology 
development, greenhouse gas accounting in forestry and agriculture, 
engagement with business, emissions registries, cooperation with 
developing countries, climate change research in Antarctica, public 
education initiatives, and product & process standards.  In fact, 
our cooperative work on the issue is more significant than New 
Zealand's climate change partnership with Australia (NZ's only other 
climate change partnership), which only has about ten active 
projects. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Climate change is an issue that attracts a lot of 
attention with the New Zealand public, whose knowledge of U.S. 
policies of the issue is typically limited to our decision not to 
join the Kyoto Agreement.  In July 2006, Foreign Minister Winston 
Peters appointed career diplomat Adrian Macey as New Zealand's first 
Climate Change Ambassador.  Ambassador Macey led the New Zealand 
delegation to the very successful U.S. - New Zealand Climate change 
talks held in Washington during August 2006, but few Kiwis seemed to 
have noticed.     The 50th Anniversary Celebrations will highlight 
our cooperation as a domestic news story, giving it a higher 
profile. 
 
¶5. (SBU) While Antarctica and climate change have been the main 
areas of government-to-government science cooperation in recent 
years, other significant fields of scientific cooperation include 
agricultural, astronomy, biomedical and biochemical research, earth 
sciences, marine & zoological science, and mathematical & 
information sciences.  More broadly, U.S. and New Zealand core ESTH 
policy interests and concerns align closely including those related 
to biodiversity and CITES, fisheries, forestry and whales.  New 
Zealand strongly supports our position in the International Whaling 
Commission, even though at times this strains GNZ's otherwise close 
relationship with some Pacific Island nations. 
 
The New Zealand Scientific Landscape 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 
 
¶6. Research and development in New Zealand's economy has 
traditionally focused on primary sector products -- including 
agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting products -- which account 
for 72 percent of goods exports,   Most primary sector research has 
been performed in public research institutions such as the 
government enterprise Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and tertiary 
education organizations (TEOs) - which together account for nearly 
70 percent of the R&D effort.  More than 50 percent of New Zealand 
researchers are active in non-medical biological and allied 
sciences; of these most are concentrated at five of the nine CRIs, 
Massey and Lincoln universities, and the dairy multinational 
Fonterra. 
 
¶7. For the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 fiscal years, the Foundation for 
Research, Science and Technology (FRST), the financing arm of the 
New Zealand science program, has identified biosecurity,  oceans, 
sustainable energy, and sustainable water as its highest priority 
areas.  This additional focus will complement ongoing priorities for 
advanced materials, energy, information technology and agricultural 
biotechnology. 
 
International Scientific Collaboration 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶8. International collaboration plays a vital role in New Zealand 
scientific research, and  New Zealand scientific papers co-authored 
with overseas scientists have higher impact here (i.e., are cited 
more often) than papers authored solely by New Zealanders.  The U.S 
science community is New Zealand's most important science partner. 
Of New Zealand's 15,000 science researchers, 40 percent of them have 
relationships with U.S. researchers, compared to 30 percent with 
Australia, 28 percent with the United Kingdom, 14 percent with 
Germany, and 7 percent with France. 
 
¶9. In December 2004, New Zealand appointed Dr. Brian Young, 
doctorate in behavioral neurology, as its first Science and 
Technology Counselor to the U.S.  New Zealand has one other science 
counselor, assigned to Brussels and New Zealand's mission to the 
European Union.  The Ministry of Research, Science, and Technology 
(MoRST) is also advancing plans for a third science counselor to be 
assigned to Beijing. 
 
MCCORMICK