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Tag: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

  • Revealing the power of citizen science for SDG advancement

    Revealing the power of citizen science for SDG advancement

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    Newswise — The 17 SDGs are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including climate change, environmental degradation, and inequality. The achievement of the SDGs depends on the ability to accurately measure progress towards meeting the associated targets based on timely, relevant, and reliable data. Citizen science offers an innovative approach to complement and enhance official statistics. Additionally, citizen science can help raise awareness, mobilize action, and therefore achieve transformative change. 

    The collection brings together academic papers that offer insights into the contributions of citizen science to the SDGs and other international frameworks. The call for abstracts for this collection attracted 40 submissions, from which 21 papers were reviewed and accepted for publication. 

    “The interest in contributing to this collection reflects the importance and popularity of Citizen Science,” notes Dilek Fraisl, a researcher in the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group of the Advancing Systems Analysis Program, who is leading the collection. “We received high-quality submissions from a diverse community, including citizen science researchers and practitioners, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), and international organizations, from both the Global North and South.” 

    Core themes that run across the set of diverse papers include monitoring and data collection, and the transformative potential of citizen science. The collection also reflects on the progress achieved in the scientific literature and through practical implementation over the past few years. 

    An example of a paper showcasing the potential of citizen science for monitoring the SDGs is the paper by Proden et al (2023), to which Fraisl contributed together with Linda See, who is also associated with the Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group at IIASA. 

    “This paper focuses on the views and experiences of the official statistics community, including representatives from NSOs, on citizen science data, along with the opportunities and challenges that these data present,” explains See. “Despite the widely recognized value of citizen science for monitoring the SDGs, we have discovered a conspicuous lack of awareness with this approach among members of the official statistics community.” 

    The collection serves as a comprehensive compilation, gathering the latest research, findings, and practical recommendations from a diverse set of actors. Additionally, it explores the development of this emerging field of study, providing a roadmap for future research and proposing tangible actions. It is worth noting that, even after eight years of pursuing the SDGs, nearly half of the 92 environmental SDG indicators still lack data. The collection demonstrates that citizen science has vast untapped potential for driving progress towards achieving the SDGs and other international frameworks, highlighting its capacity for collaborative problem solving. 

    “With this collection, we call for stronger cooperation between all citizen science actors, and for the Citizen Science Global Partnership (CSGP), to help bridge the gap between the citizen science and official statistics communities and stakeholders. We urge the official statistics community to consider the inclusiveness and relevance of their practices and encourage funders to reassess their strategies, to go beyond short-term pilot studies, and to provide genuine financial support to citizen science initiatives focused on monitoring and achieving sustainable development,” concludes Fraisl. 

    Note: Citizen Science: Theory and Practice is an international peer-reviewed journal focused on impacts and effective practices associated with public participation in scientific endeavors in all disciplines and across the globe. This open-access journal is a publication of the Citizen Science Association.

     

    References

    Fraisl, D., See, L., Campbell, J., Andrianandrasana, H., Danielsen, F. (2023). Special Collection: Contributions of Citizen Science to the SDGs and International Development Frameworks. Citizen Science: Theory and Practice https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/collections/contributions-of-citizen-science

    Fraisl, D., See, L., Campbell, J., Danielsen, F., Andrianandrasana H. (2023). Editorial: The Contributions of Citizen Science to the United Nationals Sustainable Development Goals and Other International Agreements and Frameworks. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/cstp.643

     

     

    About IIASA: 

    The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

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  • IIASA analysis underpins new 2040 climate targets by EU Advisors

    IIASA analysis underpins new 2040 climate targets by EU Advisors

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    BYLINE: Embargoed until 15 June 2023 00:01 CET

    Newswise — In two new reports, IIASA researchers, with support from colleagues at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), examined the feasibility and fairness of emissions targets and considerations for the European Climate Law. Keywan Riahi, a member of the 15-strong EU Advisory Board and IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program Director, took the lead in conducting the analyses. 

    The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change is an independent board entrusted with the crucial responsibility of providing transparent and scientific guidance to the EU on setting a new emissions reduction target to be achieved by 2040, as well as budgets for greenhouse gas emissions within the EU from 2030 to 2050. This guidance should align with other global commitments, including the Paris Agreement. 

    “The Advisory Board has recommended that the EU should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90-95% by 2040 relative to 1990 levels, having identified pathways that are fair, feasible, and consistent with the EU’s climate commitments. The feasibility and fairness of the Advisory Board’s advice have been substantially informed by two IIASA reports published this week and builds on a long history of hosting climate, emissions, and energy data for the research community, and transparently supporting scientific assessments and policy advice such as the latest IPCC report,” states Riahi, who is also the lead author of various IPCC reports. 

    “From a total of 63 scenarios that were compatible with the target of 1.5°C and the European Climate Law, 27 scenarios were identified with high feasibility concerns. This left us with 36 scenarios that were recommended for further analysis by the Advisory Board,” says author Elina Brutschin, a researcher in the Transformative Institutional and Social Solutions Research Group in the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program. 

    The database and evaluation of different scenarios form a solid and transparent foundation for the Advisory Board’s recommendations to the EU on reducing emissions. These recommendations are expected to become a part of EU law later this year. IIASA researchers have additionally released a report examining the fairness and equity considerations to the EU’s mitigation challenge. 

    “There are long-standing debates surrounding countries’ historical responsibility for global warming, as well as vulnerability to impacts and the ability to pay for mitigation. The analysis supports a discussion of Europe’s “fair share” and responsibility, that will help determine the EU’s climate ambition both within the EU as well as in international climate negotiations in alignment with the normative principles to which the European Union ascribes,” says Setu Pelz, a researcher in the same group at IIASA. 

    “The findings presented in these reports underscore the importance of ambitious emissions reductions and climate leadership by the EU in responsibly mitigating emissions and limiting the impacts of climate change. This will bring significant and transformative changes to how people live, the economy, and the environment in the EU,” concludes author Edward Byers, a researcher in the Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group.

     

    References

    Byers, E., Brutschin, E., Sferra, F., Luderer, G., Huppmann, D., Kikstra, J., Pietzcker, R., Rodrigues, R., & Riahi, K., 2023. Scenarios processing, vetting and feasibility assessment for the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg.  https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/18828

    Pelz, S., Rogelj, J., Riahi, K., 2023. Evaluating equity in European climate change mitigation pathways for the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg. https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/18830

     

     

    About IIASA:

    The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

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  • Exploring the underground connections between trees

    Exploring the underground connections between trees

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    Fungal networks interconnecting trees in a forest is a key factor that determines the nature of forests and their response to climate change. These networks have also been viewed as a means for trees to help their offspring and other tree-friends, according to the increasingly popular “mother-tree hypothesis”. An international group of researchers re-examined the evidence for and against this hypothesis in a new study.

    Trees in a forest are interconnected through thread-like structures of symbiotic fungi, called hyphae, which together form an underground network called a mycorrhizal network. While it is well known that the mycorrhizal fungi deliver nutrients to trees in exchange for carbon supplied by the trees, the so-called mother-tree hypothesis implies a whole new purpose of these networks. Through the network, the biggest and oldest trees, also known as mother trees, share carbon and nutrients with the saplings growing in particularly shady areas where there is not enough sunlight for adequate photosynthesis. The network structure should also enable mother trees to detect the ill health of their neighbors through distress signals, alerting them to send these trees the nutrients they need to heal. In this way, mother trees are believed to act as central hubs, communicating with both young seedlings and other large trees around them to increase their chances of survival.

    This is a very appealing concept attracting the attention of not only scientists, but also the media, where this hypothesis is often presented as fact. According to the authors of the study just published in New Phytologist, the hypothesis is however hard to reconcile with theory, prompting the researchers to re-examine data and conclusions from publications for and against the mother tree hypothesis.

    The study, led by Nils Henriksson at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, found that the empirical evidence for the mother tree hypothesis is actually very limited and theoretical explanations for the mechanisms are largely lacking. While big trees and their interconnections with their neighbors are still essential for the forest ecosystem, the fungal network does not work as a simple pipeline for resource sharing among trees. This means that apparent resource sharing among trees is more likely to be a result of trading between fungi and trees rather than directed transfer from one tree to another. Very often, this even results in aggravated competition between trees rather than support of seedlings. 

    “We found that mycorrhizal networks are indeed essential for the stability of many forest ecosystems, but rarely through sharing and caring among trees. Rather, it works like a trading ground for individual trees and fungi, each trying to make the best deal to survive,” explains Oskar Franklin, a study author and a researcher in the Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services Research Group of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program. “The forest is not a super organism or a family of trees helping each other. It is a complex ecosystem with trees, fungi, and other organisms, which are all interdependent but not guided by a common purpose.” 

    “Although the narrative of the mother tree hypothesis is scarcely supported by scientific evidence and is controversial in the scientific community, it has inspired both research and public interest in the complexity of forests. It is vital that the future management and study of forests take the real complexity of these important ecosystems into account,” Franklin concludes.

    Reference

    Henriksson, N., Marshall, J., Högberg, M.N., Högberg, P., Polle, A., Franklin, O., Näsholm, T. (2023). Re-examining the evidence for the mother tree hypothesis – resource sharing among trees via ectomycorrhizal networks. New Phytologist DOI: 10.1111/nph.18935

     

    New Phytologist is a leading international journal focusing on high quality, original research across the broad spectrum of plant sciences, from intracellular processes through to global environmental change. The journal is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of plant science. https://www.newphytologist.org/

     

     

    About IIASA:
    The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. www.iiasa.ac.at

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