Climate Change
Individuals and organisations at all levels across the globe are, or will be, affected by unchecked climate change and so Earthwatch is working hard to reach new audiences and address emerging opportunities for effective action.
Earthwatch focuses on addressing the issue of ecosystem sustainability, which we think underpins other issues that have been identified by leading UK government scientific advisors, such as the rise of sea levels, increased prevalence of disease, human conflict arising from changed distribution of resources and changes to the global water supply.
Earthwatch's Climate Change Programme
Earthwatch is currently looking for support to expand its existing climate change work, in order to engage different societal groups in research, education, awareness raising and action for a sustainable environment.
We can develop directed research projects with partners to address key issues of agreed mutual importance, or accept support for the overall research programme.
To inform the Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group (CERG) of our Climate Change work we produce general information about climate change and the corporate sector, CERG briefing documents, and work on specific partnerships with individual companies.
Some of the specific areas that the climate change programme seeks to develop include:
Research
Working with a range of local research organisations all over the world, Earthwatch already has 15 projects that are looking at issues significant to understanding, interpreting and responding to climate change. Earthwatch scientists are currently working to find solutions to some of the following climate change issues: Biodiversity distribution and ecosystem interdependence; Carbon sequestration; Cyclicity; Desertification; and Species responses.
In promoting the action necessary for a sustainable environment, we recognise the importance in researching and modelling how species, habitats and processes are likely to respond to:
- Extreme weather events
- Impacts of changed water availability and temperature
- Dispersal capability to respond to shifting distribution of bioclimatic zones/ areas (climate envelopes)
- Changes in trophic interactions resulting from phenological change and community re- organisation.
Engagement of different groups in the research process, as well as the results themselves, allows scientists to build predictive models and governments to develop appropriate regulation. Businesses can incorporate the models within their strategies.
Education
The decade 2005 to 2015 has been announced as the UN Decade for Sustainable Development, and Earthwatch seeks to support this international dedication by offering locally relevant experiential learning opportunities. Find out more about the UK government's current activities in this area.
Our Climate Change Education work is evolving at three levels:
Teacher Resource Pack
Earthwatch has an established track record of working with the education community. In the past we have produced teacher resource packs on Migration, Pollution and Predation and on Water in the Environment. We work with educational consultants to mainstream our activities with the school curriculum.
2005 is the first year in the UN's Decade for Sustainable Development Education and Earthwatch is currently working with the UK Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) to incorporate an understanding of scientific field research projects within the A-level Applied Sciences curriculum. Earthwatch would now like to build a Climate Change educational pack that would complement this work and may be relevant at other levels of the school curriculum.
A Resource Pack for carbon neutral field research participants
Earthwatch would like to build a resource pack that informs individuals of what it is that carbon neutrality really means, and what other actions are important for addressing climate change. Earthwatch is aiming to provide volunteers with the option to offset the emissions associated with their travel to and from Earthwatch projects. The educational product would be disseminated to field volunteers, to inform them of offsetting principles.
Public Dialogue and Awareness Raising
Earthwatch will be working to incorporate imaginative communications of climate change science in order to promote the action necessary at an individual level to respond constructively to the issue. This may involve a mixture of activities including: online interactive explanation of climate change; adapting existing resources to highlight the local relevance of individuals engaging in both research and adopting low-carbon lifestyle choices; building understanding of the associations between nature and climate change impacts through demonstrating concepts at Earthwatch research sites.
Awareness raising, Engagement and Action
The Climate Change Programme seeks to enhance action on climate change amongst:
Government:
Scientific research findings are expected to support effective modelling at local, regional and national levels and inform policy decisions. Monarch (Modelling Natural Resource Responses to Climate Change) and the UK Climate Impacts Programme, are driving adaptive management within the UK.
We work in accordance with the need to build resilience of biodiversity within appropriate adaptive management strategies.
Business:
Through CERG Earthwatch engages with a number of companies on their approach to climate change.
We are able to provide support, as an informed environmental stakeholder, to company strategy decisions on climate change as a business risk and CSR issue.
Academia:
Earthwatch builds bridges to and from the academic community. We allocate our skills to informing the education sector, as well as using the knowledge of university research to inform other sectors of society.
Civil Society:
Through individual membership of Earthwatch, and through specific individual support for climate change projects and paying volunteers, civil society supports Earthwatch's work on climate change. In turn, we support civil society through engagement, inclusion and empowerment of individuals in individually addressing the climate change challenge.
