IAPH’s Golden Jubilee year began with a celebration in Tokyo on 14 January 2005. Some 400 delegates were present at the event, which commemorated the association’s milestone achievements (with a congratulatory address from Japan’s minister of land, infrastructure and transport) but also provided a moment for solemn reflection on the Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami, which took place less than a month earlier. The association also responded to the disaster by encouraging members ‘to develop guidelines on effective preparedness for natural disasters to mitigate their consequences.’ Following further Europe/Africa anniversary celebrations in London in March (hosted by the Port of London Authority), IAPH held its annual conference in Shanghai in May. The agenda called for strong infrastructure expansion and highlighted the centrality of ports to China’s goal of becoming a global trade and manufacturing hub. Green policies were also on the agenda, and this would only increase by the next edition of the conference, which returned to Houston in 2007. As secretary general Satoshi Inoue observed in Ports & Harbors, the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ had increased awareness of the problem of global warming; ‘Ports have a responsibility to tackle global warming,’ Inoue opined, adding that ‘the way forward needs to be systematic, as a one-size-fits-all solution won’t take account of different air-pollution levels’. For IAPH, that solution came in the form of the IAPH Tool Box for Port Clean Air Programs, a digital planning tool developed by the Port Environment Committee, chaired by Geraldine Knatz of the Port of Los Angeles. The initiative was launched at the Houston conference, alongside the unanimous adoption of a resolution on clean air programs. Such efforts showed that progress was being made on many fronts – as did the election of the association’s first female president, O C Phang.
Dancers perform during the 2005 IAPH Conference, held in Shanghai
