Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP)
The ESSP is a partnership for the integrated study of the Earth System, the ways that it is changing, and the implications for global and regional sustainability.
The urgency of the challenge is great: In the present era, global environmental changes are both accelerating and moving the earth system into a state with no analogue in previous history.
To learn more about the ESSP, clink on links to access Strategy Paper and a video presentation by the Chair of the ESSP Scientific Committee, Prof. Dr. Rik Leemans of Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
The Earth System is the unified set of physical, chemical, biological and social components, processes and interactions that together determine the state and dynamics of Planet Earth, including its biota and its human occupants.
Earth System Science is the study of the Earth System, with an emphasis on observing, understanding and predicting global environmental changes involving interactions between land, atmosphere, water, ice, biosphere, societies, technologies and economies.
Appointment of new IHDP Executive Director
The International Human Dimensions Programme for Global Environmental Change (IHDP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Anantha Kumar Duraiappah, an environmental-development economist with more than two decades of experience at the international level.
Until his appointment with IHDP, Dr. Duraiappah has served as the Chief of the Ecosystem Services and Economics Unit at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya. He is also a scientific committee member of DIVERSITAS. Read more.
ESSP welcomes Anantha, we look forward to working with him and tapping his expertise and experience as we strengthen the GEC research programmes partnership in Earth system science.
Carbon Budget 2008
The ESSP Global Carbon Project (GCP) has launched the 2008 update of the global carbon budget and trends, published in Nature Geoscience. The 2008 carbon budget highlights that despite the economic effects of the global financial crisis, carbon dioxide emissions from human activities rose 2 per cent in 2008 to an all-time high of 1.3 tonnes of carbon per capita per year. GCP scientists say that rising emissions from fossil fuels last year were caused mainly by increased use of coal but there were minor decreases in emissions from oil and deforestation. The GCP also estimates that the growth in emissions from developing countries increased in part due to the production of manufactured goods consumed in developing countries.
Click here to access the Global Carbon Project (GCP) 2008 carbon budget.
The GCP, jointly with UNESCO, SCOPE and UNEP have developed a Policy Brief on this year's carbon budget release. The brief is intended for a broad audience, particularly the climate policy community. Click on link to download the Policy Brief:
- Low resolution (pdf, 1.5 Mb)
ESSP Strategy for Integrative Global Environmental Change Research and Outreach
As a result of an independent review (commissioned by the International Council for Science and the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research), the ESSP has developed a new strategy that will provide an internationally coordinated and holistic approach to Earth system science. The approach - developed by the global environmental change (GEC) research programmes (DIVERSITAS, IGBP, IHDP, WCRP), ESSP Joint Projects (GCP, GECAFS, GWSP and GECHH), START and MAIRS - integrates natural and social sciences at the regional to global scale. The strategy paper emphasizes that the mainstay of the ESSP is to identify and define Earth system science challenges, enable integrative research to address these challenges, and build scientific capacity.
Click on links to access ESSP strategy paper and an interview with ESSP Chair, Prof. Dr. Rik Leemans to learn more about the new journal on Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability.
Click on links to access issue 1 (October 2009) and issue 2 (December 2009).
CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture & Food Security
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Challenge Program "Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security" (CCAFS) is a major collaborative endeavour between the CGIAR and their partners, and the ESSP.
It is aimed at overcoming the additional threats posed by a changing climate to achieving food security, enhancing livelihoods and improving environmental management in the developing world.
The main objectives are:
- Overcome critical gaps in knowledge of how to enhance - and manage the tradeoffs between - food security, livelihood and environmental goals in the face of a changing climate.
- Develop and evaluate options for adapting to a changing climate to inform agricultural development, food security policy and donor investment strategies.
- Assist farmers, policy makers, researchers and donors to continually monitor, assess and adjust their actions in response to a changing climate.
Click on link to read CCAFS LAUNCH PRESS RELEASE and Secretariat Launch PRESS RELEASE.
The Chairs of the Alliance Executive and the ESSP Scientific Committee are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Thomas Rosswall as Chair of the CCAFS.
CCAFS Report No. 1 which describes the CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security is now available.
Get Involved!
GEC researchers are invited to indicate their potential in collaboration with this Challenge Program.
Click here for more details.
GWSP Digital Water Atlas
The Global Water System Project (GWSP) has launched its Digital Water Atlas. The purpose and intent of the Digital Water Atlas is to describe the basic elements of the Global Water System, the interlinkages of the elements and changes in the state of the Global Water System by creating a consistent set of annotated maps. The project will especially promote the collection, analysis and consideration of social science data on the global basis. Click here to access the GWSP Digital Water Atlas.
A Strategy for Global Environmental Change Research in Africa
The African Network for Earth System Science (AfricanNESS) science plan and implementation strategy "A Strategy for Global Environmental Change Research in Africa" has been completed and is now available for download. The plan focuses on four top-level issues: food and nutritional security; water resources; health; and ecosystem integrity. Framed around these issues, the science plan describes a strategy for global environmental change research in Africa that concentrates on eight thematic clusters: rainfall, land cover, livelihoods, cities, diseases and pests, Africa and the earth system, marine, and integrated development. Examples of possible research programs are provided for each of these areas. Finally, the plan outlines a way of implementing and organizing a network of earth system scientists in Africa, and connecting them to scientists around the world. The science plan was developed over a period of three years through the collective efforts of many African scientists, as well as colleagues from outside the African continent. The editors gratefully acknowledge the support from the US National Science Foundation, the South Africa National Research Foundation, IGBP, ESSP, START, and the ICSU Regional Office for Africa. Printed copies of the report are available on request from the IGBP Secretariat.
Click here for electronic version of the report.
Carbon Neutral
The Global Carbon Project has published an ESSP commissioned report, "carbon reductions and offsets" with a number of recommendations for individuals and institutions who want to participate in this voluntary market. Click here to learn more and to download the report from the GCP website.
The ESSP is a joint initiative of four global environmental change programmes:
