Grants 2011

List of Grants awarded in 2011

COSPAR

Capacity Building Workshops in Space Science

Space missions produce large amounts of data. These data are available in archives hosted by agencies in countries that conduct those missions. Space agencies also develop software to access and analyze those data. While data and software are usually freely available to everyone, scientists in developing countries need to overcome a threshold to use those data for their research. The COSPAR Capacity Building program helps to solve this problem by organizing practical workshops in developing countries, where about 8 “lecturers” (scientists directly involved in specific space missions, who helped develop the data archives and the software to access those data) are brought together with about 20-30 "students" (PhD students, post-docs, young professionals), half from the host country and half from other countries in the region. During the 10-day workshops, mornings are devoted to science lectures on topics related to the mission(s) central to the workshop, and afternoons are spent working on real data, from access and download to reduction and analysis. Each student learns how to install the software, download and analyze data; each lecturer oversees the work of 2-4 students. All the student projects have the potential to lead to a scientific publication. At the end of the workshops each student presents the result of his/her project in a talk or poster. COSPAR has also set up a fellowship program by which students may spend 4-6 weeks at the institute of one of the supervisors to complete the project and strengthen relationships formed with seniors scientists from developed countries during the workshops. To date thirteen COSPAR Capacity Building workshops have been organized in all areas of space research, and at least three more workshops are planned over the next two years. Strengthening links with ICSU Regional Offices is an objective COSPAR plans to pursue through forthcoming workshops.

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IGBP

Policy and public outreach for the Planet Under Pressure: new knowledge towards solutions conference, 2012

The defining challenge of our age is global sustainability. In March 2012, the international Earth system science community will gather in London for a major conference focusing on solutions to planetary sustainability. The conference, Planet Under Pressure: new knowledge towards solutions, will help provide a scientific foundation for the United Nations Rio+20 Summit in June 2012.

The conference has already begun to generate interest (BBC, Humanity needs to take a giant leap, Nature, A sustainable planet needs scientists to think ahead)

Through ICSU, the conference organizers* are developing close links to the Rio+20 Summit. The conference will produce nine policy briefs on subjects ranging from the green economy and international governance, to energy and food security. The binding theme will be the interconnections between these global challenges.

The organizers have also engaged UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon’s, Global Sustainability Panel. The panel’s report, scheduled for publication in January 2012, will provide valuable input into the Rio+20 Summit.

The conference will provide a platform for discussion of the state of the planet and solutions for sustainable development. The organizers, led by Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, will discuss a new contract between science and society. Improved communications will be a key element of this contract. Through grants awarded by ICSU, the organizers are already developing new data visualization of the interlinkages between all aspects of the Earth system to communicate better the pressure the planet is now under.

The Planet Under Pressure conference aims to attract sectors beyond the research community. It will be designed to engage industry, policy, the public and media.

26-29 March 2012 www.planetunderpressure2012.net

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IGU

Transdisciplinary Intercultural Ecological Research for Sustainability (TIERS)

The International Geographical Union’s Transdisciplinary Intercultural Ecological Research for Sustainability (TIERS) project will highlight the possibility and the necessity of developing transdisciplinary applied science focused on human/environment interactions in different parts of the world. The project aims to strengthen sustainability science by fostering widespread understanding of the varying ways scientific knowledge, social practices, and environmental policies combine in different cultural and language realms.

The project has two main objectives: 1) to document the latest theoretical developments in integrative research on the society/nature interface in and outside the academic mainstream; and 2) to investigate the varied ways environmental sciences are applied in different parts of the world, with specific attention to mitigating unsustainable practices and adapting to climate change at the local level. The TIERS project’s overarching objective is to produce an integrated view of both the society/nature and the science/policy interfaces. Specific outcomes will be: 1) identification of promising research approaches outside mainstream debates; 2) bringing together young scientists and policy developers to identify possible shortcomings in the current implementation of scientific insights; and 3) establishing a network for enhancing coordinated global action on sustainability.

TIERS will yield a special issue of a major environmental journal or alternatively, an edited volume containing the main papers and summarizing the insights and results of discussions at the 2012 conference. This publication will be the main basis for the dissemination of TIERS insights and it will also serve as the basis for developing teaching modules for use in secondary schools. Further dissemination and extension of TIERS results will be undertaken at future congresses and conferences of the lead and supporting applicants including, in the case of IGU, the Köln International Geographical Congress in 2012 and the Kyoto IGU Regional Conference in 2013.

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IRDR

Integrated Reseach on Disaster Risk workshop

The Integrated Research on Disaster Risk International Programme Office (IRDR IPO), in partnership with the ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and IRDR National Committees (China, Canada, France, Japan, Germany and New Zealand), is developing a symposium on Integrated Disaster Risk Research scheduled to take place during the Pacific Science Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in June 2011. It will be used to bring together the IRDR National Committees, regional partners, young scientists and others with an interest in disaster risk reduction. The symposium will allow for an extended network of disaster risk reduction researchers to be developed and implemented.  Additionally, it will result in an enhanced capacity throughout the region and around the world to address hazards and make informed decisions on actions to reduce their impacts. This symposium will include a shift in focus from response–recovery towards prevention–mitigation strategies, and the building of resilience and reduction of risk through learning from experience and the avoidance of past mistakes. By way of this enhanced capacity and shift in strategic approaches, there will be a reduction in loss of life, fewer people adversely impacted, and wiser investments and choices made by civil society, when comparable events occure.

This project aims to bring multiple disciplines together, build scientific capacity, and reach to multiple countries in support of reducing natural and human-induced environmental hazards and disasters, which are all key components of the ICSU Strategic Plan 2006-2011. It will help to share scientific knowledge and competencies of scientists from a variety of countries in the Asia and Pacific regions. Faced with significant challenges from storms, drought, floods, fire and earthquakes, the need for strong, coordinated, transdisciplinary scientific leadership is urgent. The proposed symposium provides an opportunity to promote a collaboration between the IRDR National Committees from around the world and the ICSU ROAP.

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IUGG

eGYAfrica - better Internet connectivity for research and education institutions in Africa

This project is the next step in the development of the eGYAfrica initiative to reduce the digital divide in Africa by securing better Internet access in Universities and similar research and education establishments in Africa. eGYAfrica originated during the Electronic Geophysical Year, 2007-2008 and is now part of IUGG’s Geoscience in Africa program and is an activity of the IUGG’s Commission for Data and Information. Support comes also from the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), ICSU Regional Office for Africa (ROA), and the ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). Involvements of the ICT Commissions in African countries will be encouraged.

The core function of eGYAfrica is to influence decision makers at national and regional levels. eGYAfrica provides (i) a focus for these groups, (ii) information they can use to argue for better internet connectivity (policy statements and declarations; cost-benefit analyses; survey data; case histories illustrating problems, progress, and successes; objective measures of internet performance; and news about Internet access and about broadband connection among participating institutions and to the outside world), and (iii) links to organisations and programs that share the aim of reducing the digital divide in Africa.

The ICSU grant will be used mainly to fund the third eGYAfrica Workshop, to be held in Kenya during the latter part of 2012. The Workshop is central for managing eGYAfrica. It will enable to review and revise goals, work plans, and task allocations; heighten the common sense of purpose among eGYAfrica participants; strengthen and expand national eGYAfrica groups, and expand collaboration with other organisations. This Workshop, together with participation in other meetings and conferences also raises awareness about the digital divide issue and what eGYAfrica and others are doing about it.

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IUPsyS

Building Capacity for Psychological Intervention after Disasters in the Asia and Pacific Region

This project seeks to develop the capacity of researchers, educators and practitioners in the Asia and Pacific Region to better understand and respond to the mental health consequences of the aftermath of regional disasters, based on international scientific and applied expertise. The Asia and Pacific region has a very high population density. In last decade, 41% of the natural disasters around the world occurred in this region, bringing untold damage, loss of life and hardship.

Following a natural disaster, the physical and infrastructural devastation is addressed.  Less attention is  paid to psychological/behavioural aspects: problems arising for people who suffer the loss of close relatives, significant property or environmental loss, and the effects of physical injury or other stressors. The World Health Organization estimates that, after a disaster, prevalence of mental distress sharply increases. However, severe the disaster, there is always a remarkable variation in the severity of the response. When the response is much weaker in intensity and duration, or even comes close to normal functioning despite severe stressors, this competence against the odds is called "resilience". It is a phenomenon of all complex living systems and reflects the effect of well-known capabilities to “deflect” stress.

The concept of resilience is a potentially powerful asset in understanding responses to disaster. Our level of knowledge allows us not only to recommend the means for identifying possible circumstances for resilient outcomes, and to recommend interventions at the right points in the cascade of effects to promote relief and recovery.

Since the degree of resilience to stressors depends on both social and individual factors, within a particular region, it is important to be mindful of the cultural and infrastructural context. The first objective of the work is  to define an interpretive framework for the Asia and Pacific region based on current scientific understanding and application evidence. This framework will be refined in a four-day expert workshop leading to recommendations on scientific development, training  and infrastructure . The final phase will establish one or more regional networks to support recommended developments, building on the Union's links with its National Members and the ICSU Regional Office as well as the new Office for IRDR.

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IUTOX

Building Capacity for Human Health Risk Assessment in Western and Central Africa

This project seeks to develop the capacity of researchers, educators and practitioners in the Asia and Pacific Region to better understand and respond to the mental health consequences of the aftermath of regional disasters, based on international scientific and applied expertise. The Asia and Pacific region has a very high population density. In last decade, 41% of the natural disasters around the world occurred in this region, bringing untold damage, loss of life and hardship.

Following a natural disaster, the physical and infrastructural devastation is addressed.  Less attention is  paid to psychological/behavioural aspects: problems arising for people who suffer the loss of close relatives, significant property or environmental loss, and the effects of physical injury or other stressors. The World Health Organization estimates that, after a disaster, prevalence of mental distress sharply increases. However, severe the disaster, there is always a remarkable variation in the severity of the response. When the response is much weaker in intensity and duration, or even comes close to normal functioning despite severe stressors, this competence against the odds is called "resilience". It is a phenomenon of all complex living systems and reflects the effect of well-known capabilities to “deflect” stress.

The concept of resilience is a potentially powerful asset in understanding responses to disaster. Our level of knowledge allows us not only to recommend the means for identifying possible circumstances for resilient outcomes, and to recommend interventions at the right points in the cascade of effects to promote relief and recovery.

Since the degree of resilience to stressors depends on both social and individual factors, within a particular region, it is important to be mindful of the cultural and infrastructural context. The first objective of the work is  to define an interpretive framework for the Asia and Pacific region based on current scientific understanding and application evidence. This framework will be refined in a four-day expert workshop leading to recommendations on scientific development, training  and infrastructure . The final phase will establish one or more regional networks to support recommended developments, building on the Union's links with its National Members and the ICSU Regional Office as well as the new Office for IRDR.

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URSI

A Geophysical approach to assess Natural Disasters and Space Weather impacts on Earth

URSI, in collaboration with SCOSTEP (Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics) prepared and submitted a proposal entitled “A Geophysical Approach to Assess Natural Disasters and Space Weather impacts on Earth”. The project is lead by Dr. Jean-Pierre Raulin, Centre of Radioastronomy and Astrophysics, Presbyterian Mackenzie University, São Paulo, Brazil and includes participation from research groups in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and possible extension to groups in Chile and Paraguay.

The main objective is to incentivize the development of a regional centre for the use of geophysics as a new approach for natural disaster prevention, and to assess the impacts of space weather phenomena on the Earth's environment and technological systems. Since radio communications and observations are important to assessing geophysical hazards, the former objective implies a natural collaborative activity between Latin-American scientists involved in radio and geophysical sciences.

The South American region is particularly affected by natural disasters as consequences of earthquakes, El Niño, and global-change related phenomena. Casualties and property losses could be significantly reduced by discussing and providing improved geophysical methods to evaluate the risk of such natural hazards.

In the same region, space weather impacts and effects are enhanced, because space weather spreads over a large latitudinal sector, including equatorial regions and the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly. It is therefore crucial to characterize all aspects of space -weather dynamics, from the long-term and transient solar phenomena, to the arrival of magnetic clouds at the Earth's orbit responsible for disturbed geomagnetic conditions. All of these are capable of affecting the Earth's atmosphere and terrestrial technological systems.

Groups of excellence on these subjects already exist in South America, and an intense network of instrumental facilities is rapidly growing. Thus, for the first time it is desirable to join efforts and discuss converging research activities within a common regional structure.

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