Alain Hubert

Alain Hubert

Alain Hubert (born September 11, 1953) is a Belgian explorer. He is a certified mountain and polar guide,[1] a civil engineer, the President of the Board and one of the founders of the International Polar Foundation.[2] He is the founder and president of the International Polar foundation. With the Foundation and its private partners, he built and financed the construction of the scientific research station ‘Princess Elisabeth’. This station is the first ‘zero emission’ station in Antarctica, designed under the spirit of the Madrid Protocol establishing in 1992 the strictest environmental rules to date for a continent through the Antarctic Treaty System. In 2010, the Foundation donated the station to the Belgian State as part of a special partnership agreement with the sine qua none condition that the Foundation is the operator for the maintenance and conduct of scientific operations.

Since 2007, Alain Hubert assumes with the Foundation the responsibility for all scientific research expeditions to and from the Princess Elisabeth Station.

However and immediately upon signature of the protocol of donation, the federal administration has opposed this common decision of the management of the station by the Polar Secretariat in which public and private sectors share equally all responsibilities. A harassment that in 2015 finally lead the State Secretary for Science Policy to expel the private sector and the Polar Foundation from the Polar Secretariat in an attempt to unilaterally nationalizing the station and its facilities. Imposing his own expedition in defiance of the law and the agreements between the Foundation and the Belgian State, its policy was invalidated by the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 17 December 2015.[3] The decision of the court reaffirm that the donation of the station to the Belgian State and the privileged partnership with the IPF are inseparable, and that therefore the Royal Decree approved by the Government on 08.10.2015 (ousting the Polar Foundation of the Polar Secretariat) is illegal.[4][5] The court invites the parties to negotiate a new partnership agreement as soon as possible to ensure the organization of future scientific expedition at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.

Biography

Alain Hubert obtained his Civil Engineering diploma from the Université Caholique de Louvain (UCL) in 1974. As an adolescent, he became an avid practitioner of outdoor sports: marathon, canyoning, ski and para-gliding.

Professionally, he founded a co-op specialized in carpentry and joinery (CHERBAI) and established himself in the Belgian Ardennes. Alain Hubert has been going on major polar and mountaineering expeditions. His achievements include being the first Belgian to ever reach the North Pole in 1994 with Didier Goetghebuer,[6] a world record crossing of the Antarctic continent in autonomy (3924 km in 99 days) with Dixie Dansercoer in 1998[7] and 5 attempts at the Everest. The Arctic Arc expedition with Dixie Dansercoer in 2007 is the First ever Siberia-Greenland crossing via the North Pole.

During his expeditions, Alain Hubert witnessed the pace and magnitude of climate change first hand and dedicated himself to that cause. He collaborates with scientists and collects ground data for them during his expeditions (for example snow depth ground data for Cryosat during his Arctic Arc Expedition).[8] He is one of the founders of the International Polar Foundation, with André Berger and Hugo Decleir. The International Polar Foundation supports polar scientific research, promotes informed action on climate change, and the development of a sustainable society.[9]

During the 2004-2005 and 2008-2009 BELARE Campaigns, the International Polar Foundation builds the first ever "Zero Emission" Antarctic research station: Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.[10] The project is initiated by Alain Hubert and is funded by private partners and the Belgian government.[11]

Distinctions and awards

Publications and films

Expeditions

Mountaineering expeditions

Arctic and Antarctic expeditions

References

  1. ↑ "International Polar Guides Association - Hubert Alain". polarguides.org.
  2. ↑ "About Us". polarfoundation.org.
  3. ↑ Cour d'appel de Bruxelles, arrêt 2ème Chambre Affaires civiles (répertoire 2015/10049), 17/12/2015.
  4. ↑ Arrêt cour d'appel de Bruxelles -17/12/2015, n° 45 -p 31, §7 (" Il y a donc une apparence d'illégalité qui entâche l'arrêté royal du 10/07/2015 dans la mesure où il sort du cadre posé par la loi du 24/07/2008")
  5. ↑ Arrêt cour d'appel 17/12/2015, n°49-p34 ("les éléments cités suffisent, au stade des apparences de droit, pour retenir l'illégalité de l'arrêté royal litigieux sans qu'il soit nécessaire d'aborder les autres moyens soulevés à ce propos")
  6. ↑ Du Brulle, Christian (1 June 1994). "Alain Hubert et Didier Goetghebuer racontent leur conquête du 'Grand Clou'". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Borloo, Jean-Pierre (10 February 1998). "Les deux Belges ont triomphé de l'enfer blanc". Le Soir (in French). p. 13. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Arctic explorer delivers unique snow-depth data for CryoSat". European Space Agency. 2008-05-23.
  9. ↑ "About Us". polarfoundation.org.
  10. ↑ "Bepoles" (PDF). p. 9.
  11. ↑ "Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid - Politique scientifique fédérale - Belgian Science Policy Office." (PDF). belspo.be.
  12. ↑ "UCL - Le Professeur Michael Heller, lauréat du Prix Georges Lemaître 2012 !" (in French).
  13. ↑ "Moniteur Belge - Belgisch Staatsblad". fgov.be (in French).
  14. ↑ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - The 23 nominees for the 2005 Descartes Prize for Science Communication". europa.eu.
  15. ↑ "Actualités - Soirée de remise des Prix de la Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco". fpa2.com (in French).
  16. ↑ Nyka, Jözef (1984). "Asia, Nepal, Ama Dablam, East Ridge" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 26 (58): 235. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  17. ↑ Hawley, Elizabeth (1993). "Asia, Nepal, Ama Dablam Winter Ascents" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 35 (67): 212. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  18. ↑ Hawley, Elizabeth (1990). "Asia, Nepal, Cho Oyu, Attempt, Tragedy and Assault" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 32 (64): 239. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  19. ↑ Hubert, Alain (1991). "Asia, Tibet, Cho Oyu" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 33 (65): 292. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  20. ↑ Hawley, Elizabeth (1992). "Asia, Tibet, Everest Attempt" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 34 (66): 263–264. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Hubert, Alain (2001). "Antarctica, Dronning Maud Land, Holtanna, First Ascent, and Various Other Climbs" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 43 (75): 317. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  22. ↑ Gildea, Damien (2004). "Antarctica, Ellsworth Mountains, Sentinel Range, Overview" (PDF). The American Alpine Journal 46 (78): 325. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  23. ↑ "Arctic Explorer Alain Hubert - National Geographic Adventure Magazine". nationalgeographic.com.

External links

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