Falklands Symposium: Q&A with Dr Carlos Andrade – Amaya (Colombia)

Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, the first ever Pan–American Science Delegation to the Falkland Islands is participating in a week-long mission to showcase the beauty of the UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories and immense opportunities for scientific research and collaboration in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

Scientists from the US, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Columbia have the opportunity to form partnerships and collaborate with the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) with the aim of establishing the Falklands and the wider South Atlantic as a place for groundbreaking scientific research.

The Falkland Islands are a largely un-researched, pristine environment for scientific exploration but also due to its remote location not much is known about life on the island.  What did you expect the Falklands to be like in terms of culture and heritage? How is the reality different to your expectations?

I have learned how much value the Falkland Islanders give to their culture and heritage. I am glad to see the level of conciseness most people have about it.

SAERI and the Falkland Islands Government highlight that environmental stewardship is vital to establishment of home for scientific expertise on the Islands as well as its long term sustainability. What have you observed in this regard on the Island?

That is very true. We had had the opportunity to listen about and observe the very unique habitat (terrestrial and marine) the Islands have. To understand sustainability, it is necessary to understand different time scales, making the critical path to begin by initiating systematic observation, in my case, of the physical and chemical parameters of coastal waters around the islands.

As a scientist and expert in your field, what are you hoping to get out of this delegation?

We had had the opportunity to find different strategies to add to our efforts for concrete projects that may fill in the gaps SAERI has. We have several specific ideas of cooperation that will explore in the near future.

The UK places a great deal of value on excellence in Science and the importance of the internationalisation of Science. Do you have international collaborations in place with the UK?  If so, please describe

No, I have had, but not at the moment.

Global environmental challenges require international cooperation to achieve effective solutions. SAERI is a world class research institute working in the South Atlantic. What ways do you see SAERI contributing now and in the future

SAERI should be the center for the Subantarctic studies, given this unique geographical position. I hope to see SAERI invested with proper infrastructure and financial capability to care for the environmental management of the Islands and broader knowledge of the oceanography of the area.

Describe what you do and how the Falklands Islands provide an environment for scientific study. What are the broader applications of your work?

Most of my recent research deals with the impact of climate change in coastal areas, particularly in sandy beaches, due to the great vulnerability they have to short, violent events that cause great impact on their equilibrium, with a net loss on sand. In the Falklands, sand beaches are important habitat for many magnificent species on where, modern tourism is based.

The Mesoscale oceanography (eddies) is poorly known, how oceanic currents really are around the islands and their importance on fisheries, oil spill risk management etc, is also vital for governmental decisions.

This delegation was designed to bring together delegates from a diverse range of countries and academic backgrounds in order to build a network of people who know about and use the Island as a scientific resource. What role do you think this scientific delegation will play in creating links between countries and disciplines?

We have begun already. We have found we can combined mutual interests into concrete ideas to share resources based on the notion that SAERI will be capable to support those efforts in the area. Several proposals are already in study. I have already inquiries in other sources of financing and Institutes.

It has been an honor to know and learn from this group of so many distinguished scientists.

Dr Andrade-Amaya, a retired Naval Officer, has more than 30 years experience in Colombian, Latin American and Caribbean marine communities, scientific oceonographic and maritime security affairs. He is a Correspondent Member of the Colombian Academy of Sciences and former Director of the Colombian Naval Oceanographic Research Center.