ICSU ROLAC and ISSC will hold an international workshop on “Society and Nature – Dialogue between Natural and Social Scientists on the Challenges of Sustainability” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 30 September to 1 October 2014.  Jacob Palis, President of Brazilian Academy of Sciences, ISSC Executive Director Heide Hackmann and ICSU President Gordon McBean will open the program. (Download the Program here).

The main objective of this workshop is to facilitate communication between natural and social scientists around energy issues, socio- environmental risks, urban mobility, and problems of poverty and growing inequality. ICSU ROLAC and ISSC expect to identify specific procedures and methodologies to facilitate the development of trans disciplinary projects within the research framework of Future Earth and encourage the creation of multidisciplinary research teams interested on performing this type of research. Successful experiences of joint natural and social science research oriented to solve a specific problem will be presented.

Objectives:
(1) To facilitate communication between natural and social scientists around energy sustainability, socio-environmental risks, urban mobility, and problems of poverty and growing inequality.
(2) To identify specific research areas for multidisciplinary work, as well as procedures and methodologies that could facilitate the development of trans- disciplinary research projects within the framework of Future Earth.
(3) To promote the creation of multi and trans disciplinary research teams interested on performing this type of solution oriented research in sustainability issues and the risks inherent to climate change.

Expected outcomes:
(1) Guidelines for the joint action of natural and social science research on issues of sustainability and climate change.
(2) Identification of specific research areas for joint social and natural sciences research work in the region within the framework of Future Earth.
(3) Set of procedures and methodologies oriented to facilitate the creation of joint social and natural scientist teams for the development of trans- disciplinary research projects within the framework of Future Earth.
(4) Recommendations for a fundraising strategy for multi and trans disciplinary projects in energy sustainability, socio-environmental risks, urban health and mobility, and problems of poverty and growing inequality.

For more details on registration, contact Márcia Graça-Melo at mmelo@abc.org.br / 21 3907-8119.

About Future Earth:

Future Earth is a new 10-year international research initiative that will develop the knowledge for responding effectively to the risks and opportunities of global environmental change and for supporting transformation towards global sustainability in the coming decades. This flagship ICSU program aims to mobilize the scientific community and strengthen communication links between scientists and policy makers. The program is based on effective interdisciplinary collaboration across the natural and social sciences, humanities, economics and technology development, to find the best scientific solutions to these problems that require multifaceted approaches. The disciplinary structure of our traditional education and research programs however do not favor the development of multi and trans- disciplinary research to solve problems that involve the community.

In March 2014 The International Social Science Council (ISSC) launched a new global research funding programme on “Transformations to sustainability” intended as a major contribution to the work of Future Earth of promote research on the fundamental and innovative processes of social transformations needed to secure effective, equitable and durable solutions to some of the most urgent problems of global change and sustainability — including climate change, biodiversity loss, water and food security, energy consumption, and poverty and growing inequalities.

About ICSU ROLAC:

The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) is part of a new worldwide strategy of ICSU. Following its Strategic Plan 2006-2010, ICSU also established Regional Offices for Africa and Asia & the Pacific, and is negotiating a Regional Office for the Arab Region. ICSU ROLAC helps ensure that the regional priorities are reflected in the international ICSU strategic development and enhance the participation of scientists and scientific organizations from the region in ICSU’s research and policy activities, and enable ICSU to play a more effective role in strengthening science within the context of regional priorities and building capacity through collaboration.

In 2013,  IRDR welcomed its first Regional Committee in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, through the newly formed ICSU Regional Office for Latin America and Caribbean (ICSU-ROLAC) Scientific Steering Committee for Integrated Research on Disaster Risk in LAC. IRDR Regional Committees (RCs) support and supplement IRDR’s research initiatives, and help to establish or further develop crucial links between national disaster risk reduction programmes and activities within an international framework.