KOREA INSTITUTE OF GEOSCIENCE AND MINERAL RESOURCES

- Presiding over his first steering committee after being elected as the first-ever Korean to become chairman of the steering committee 




 As the global movement to solve climate change becomes more active, a steering committee in which the vision and future direction of CCOP (Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia) for responding to climate change in Asia and solving common issues in geoscience was held and presided over by a Korean committee chairman. This is the first time in 49 years of Korea’s participation in CCOP that a Korean has assumed such a position.
* Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia 

President Kyu Han Kim of the Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources (KIGAM) presided over his first meeting as the steering committee chairman when he participated in the 66th CCOP Steering Committee, held from March 9th to 11th in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

This steering committee is the first meeting that President Kim has hosted since he was elected as the first-ever Korean Chairman of the CCOP Steering Committee. Kim was unanimously selected by 14 CCOP member nations at the 65th Steering Committee held in Xi’an, China this past November, and began his tenure from January 1st of this year. A CCOP steering committee chairman retains the right of final approval on international joint projects and operation of the CCOP secretariat for solving major issues in the field of geoscience. 

At this committee meeting, current issues were reported and each member nation’s opinions and proposals were discussed. Reports on the current status of CCS-M (CO₂ Storage Mapping Program) project, one of CCOP’s main focuses, and on the operation of the CCOP secretariat in 2015 as well as revision and newly updated items of the CCOP Work Plan 2016 were also conducted. 

In addition, other important items such as the commemorative event for CCOP’s 50th anniversary, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand this year (2016), preparation updates of the 52nd CCOP annual general meeting and 67th steering committee, and recruitment of CCOP regional experts were reported.

With its 50th anniversary looming, CCOP is at a critical point to establish strategic plans for the next five years (2016 – 2020). To solve such geoscience issues such as climate change, groundwater resources, geoparks, geological storage of CO2, shale gas and oil, joint projects are being planned and applied to energy resource policies of each country. 

Chairman Kim stated, “the role of CCOP as an international organization contributing to mankind by solving geoscientific issues for the past 50 years is all the more important now as Asian nations are gathering global attention in solving climate change issues in the new climate system. CCOP, which leads geoscience in Asia, must also actively cooperate on an international basis for sustainable growth.” 



CCOP is an international organization aiming to solve common issues in the field of geoscience, particularly in the East and Southeast Asian regions, and improve the overall quality of research. It comprises 14 member nations*, including Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam, and 14 collaborating nations** that support with funds, technology and dispatching of experts. In Korea, KIGAM serves as the representative agency.  

* 14 member nations: Korea, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, East Timor, Laos, and Myanmar
* 14 collaborating nations: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States