Management of the Station
The Princess Elisabeth Station was donated to Belgium by the International Polar Foundation in March 2010. The Station is managed by a dedicated body representing the Belgian State -the Belgian Polar Secretariat- under the aegis of the Minister for Science, with an even representation of the public and private sectors in its governance. The Secretariat has mandated the International Polar Foundation as Antarctic Operator.
Polar Secretariat
The Belgian Polar Secretariat was created by law on July 24, 2008 and its management rules were defined by Royal Decree of May 20, 2009. The BPS manages the Princess Elisabeth station for all administrative, financial, facilities and operational matters.
The Secretariat also seeks to build broad partnerships for activities in synergy with its main missions, namely facilitating research at or in the vicinity of the station, promoting and implementing scientific programs and ensure dissemination of knowledge linked to Antarctic research and climate change.
Polar Secretariat Royal Decree - pdf - 394 KB
Science and beyond!
One project, Multiple dimensions
The PEA project was primarily launched to allow scientists to perform their research in a little explored area of Antarctica.
But PEA is much more than polar sciences. It is indeed about technologies to design for energy efficiency, about education of future generations, about partnerships between various stakeholders public and private, about leadership and behavior.
Polar Sciences
Polar sciences are paramount to better understand the poles, they are key to a sustainable future.
The station is dedicated to scientists from all horizons who expect to take advantage of its peculiar location to access a wide variety of research areas.
Princess Elisabeth operations are managed by the International Polar Foundation to ensure optimized working conditions on location or in the field in the best safety conditions.
Technology
Energy production from renewable sources, energy demand management, an energy efficient building, etc. All these achievements were only made possible through the innovative assembly of various off-the-shelf technologies.
Management of PEA strives to continuously improve the energy balance to address the evolution of demand with new developments year-on-year.
PEA is a technology showcase demonstrating solutions of excellence.
Education
All actions undertaken at PEA for a more sustainable future, either scientific, technological or behavioral, would be incomplete without an information and education feedback towards the general public.
Behavior
From its very beginning, the project has been managed to bring together different stakeholders: public and private, industry and academia, individuals and teams, civil society and politicians, etc.
The purpose is to take a broader view, to reach across boundaries and strive towards a common goal, realizing that science and technology will not suffice to reach a 2°C target for global warming if citizens do not accept to change their behaviors as well and act accordingly.
Belgium’s Antarctic Operator
Since the donation of the "Zero Emission" Princess Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station to the Belgian State in March 2010, the International Polar Foundation was appointed as official Antarctic Operator under the newly established Belgian Polar Secretariat.
Practically, this means that the International Polar Foundation is officially responsible for all operations in Antarctica, but as well as to all transportation (expedition members and gear) to and form the continent.