Future Earth
Future Earth moved quickly in 2013 through a series of phases, starting with the Transition Team completing the initial design report, the appointment of the Science Committee and interim director, Professor Frans Berkhout, followed later in the year by the interim Engagement Committee. A core team of four staff, led by Frans, are currently working in the interim secretariat hosted at the ICSU headquarters in Paris. A new logo for Future Earth was developed early in the year, followed by a blog, social media channels, and a new website will be live in early 2014.
Future Earth events and workshops proliferated worldwide throughout the year, thanks to the support of a number of different funding bodies, foundations and partners. These included a Young Scientists Networking Conference at Lake Como, Italy co-sponsored by DFG, ICSU and the International Social Science Council (ISSC), a set of national and regional workshops in Paris, Cyprus, London, and workshops throughout Asia – Sri Lanka, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Taipei – organized by a wide range of bodies from the ICSU Regional Office for Asia-Pacific to the Future Earth in Asia and the Future Earth in China initiatives. Future Earth continued to be present at side events at key scientific conferences during the year, including the AAAS meeting in Boston, the European Geosciences Union (EGU) annual meeting in Vienna and the World Science Forum in Rio de Janeiro.
In Latin America, ICSU’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in partnership with The World Academy of Sciences, CONACYT (Mexico’s entity in charge of the promotion of scientific and technological activities), the Mexican and Brazilian Academies of Sciences organized a conference to engage early career scientists in Future Earth. As a result, several outstanding young researchers representing 18 countries in the region, all nominated by National Academies of Sciences, attended this event.
Finally, ICSU convened a Future Earth Permanent Secretariat Bidders’ Conference held outside Paris in November as part of the overall process to secure the permanent Secretariat for Future Earth. More than 70 participants from all over the world engaged in discussions and consortium building for bids to host the Secretariat.
2013 was also a busy year for the Global Environmental Change programmes which will be merging into Future Earth. For example, the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) led the development of a major new summary of research on oceans acidification which provides clear statements for policymakers based on a range of confidence levels. The report was launched at UNFCCC COP-19 in Warsaw, and generated extensive media coverage. Diversitas and the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) have continued to represent ICSU in the development of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Contributions in 2013 included representing the scientific community at two IPBES plenary meetings; contributing to the definition of the IPBES Programme of Work; and co-chairing the IPBES Multi-stakeholder day, with IUCN, and activities to define a Stakeholder Engagement Strategy for non-governmental organisations.
Urban Health and Wellbeing
The Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has been active throughout the year in promoting the systems approach that is being advocated by the programme and facilitating the development of pilot projects, the first of which has successfully secured funding. In May, the Office hosted a joint meeting of the global and regional science committees and a symposium on urban health challenges.
In September, ICSU co-convened an inaugural international Conference on Intra-Urban Dynamics and health in Paris, which led to a number of new partnerships. Most notably, the Inter-Academy Medical Panel subsequently agreed to be a formal co-sponsor of the programme.
In November, it was confirmed that the International Programme Office for the new research programme on Urban Health and Well Being will be hosted at the Institute of Urban Environment (IUE) in Xiamen, China. Recruitment is now underway for an Executive Director.
Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme
IRDR continued to develop activities to contribute to its four core projects. The IRDR International Centres of Excellence (ICoE) are being designed to collectively embody an integrated approach to disaster risk reduction. The first International Centre of Excellence was set up in Taipei, and a second one on Vulnerability and Resilience Metrics was established in 2013 at the University of South Carolina, USA. A third, on Community Resilience, is in the advanced stages of planning at Massey University, New Zealand.
World Data System
Many new members joined WDS during the course of 2013. By year end, regular membership stood at 53, with an additional eight network members, two partners and 13 associate members. Particular efforts are being made to broaden the disciplinary make-up of the System. WDS co-hosted an International Forum on 'Polar Data Activities in Global Data Systems' at the National Museum of Nature and Science (NMNS) in Tokyo, Japan on 15-16 October 2013, in collaboration with SCAR and the International Arctic Science Committee.
Unions
ICSU hosted a meeting of the Unions in 2013, with a particular focus on how Unions can contribute to global interdisciplinary programmes, and how regionally based networks can best contribute to global activities in the ICSU network. A number of suggestions were made at the meeting and have informed subsequent discussions at CSPR and the Executive Board as to how ICSU might better build on the strengths of the Unions and vice versa. An action plan is now being developed.
The ICSU Geo Unions had a busy year, launching their own website and a major publication in conjunction with other partners looking at the benefits of applying Geo-information to disaster management.
Science for Policy
Sustainable Development Goals
Throughout 2013, ICSU contributed to the work of the UN Open Working Group (OWG) in charge of developing a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for submission to (2014) and approval by the UN General Assembly (2015). This contribution included 1) the organization of an expert group meeting in NY on Science and the SDGs (March 2013); and 2) written and oral contributions to the sessions of the OWG dedicated to sustained and inclusive economic growth, energy, means of implementation and global partnerships (via Future Earth). Incoming contributions include cities, disasters and biodiversity.
In 2013, the ICSU Regional Offices also took part in regional consultative meetings on the Sustainable Development Goals led by regional UN organizations.
External Review
After a decision at the ICSU General Assembly in Rome 2011, an independent External Review of ICSU has been started under the chairmanship of Professor Peter Knight, aiming to report back to the upcoming ICSU General Assembly in Auckland in 2014.
ICSU’s Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS)
The Third World Conference on Research Integrity, co-sponsored by ICSU, was held in Montreal in May and attracted over 450 participants from around the world. The Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science (CFRS) co-organized a session on societal responsibilities and research integrity. The overall conference outcome was a Montreal statement on Research Integrity in Cross-Boundary Research Collaborations.
ICSU’s Committee on Scientific Planning and Review (CSPR)
The Committee on Scientific Planning and Review considered the final report from the expert panel that it had established to review the ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA). It endorsed the key recommendation that CODATA should work more closely with the ICSU World Data System to provide the international leadership that is required as we move into the era of ‘open science’.
The CODATA review was the first in a series of reviews that CSPR agreed on for the next few years. This includes review of the regional offices, the first of which – for the African office – was launched in November.
In the light of suggestions at the Unions’ meeting, CSPR also agreed on a consultation process with Unions to more specifically define shared priorities and mechanisms to address these. One potential such mechanism is the grants programme and a CSPR working group was set up to make a proposal on how this might be revised to stimulate activities at the frontiers between different disciplines.