Contact BISO Board on International Scientific Organizations Policy and Global Affairs The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 500 Fifth Street Washington, DC 20001 USA Email: biso@nas.edu Tel: +1 202-334-2807 Fax: +1 202-334-2231
Future Earth is a 10–year international program on Earth system research for global sustainability. The program is being carried out through the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability (the Alliance), comprised of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum (composed of international science funding agencies, including NSF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as an observer.
Get Involved: Knowledge-Action Networks and FE Open Network
Future Earth has created Knowledge-Action Networks to coordinate and promote identify and respond to society’s needs for scientific knowledge to successfully undertake the transformation to sustainability; generate integrated knowledge that is relevant to decision-makers; develop and cultivate research that is solution-driven, inter- and trans-disciplinary; and add value to research that is or has been carried out already.
Eight Knowledge-Action Networks are planned on the following topics:
Another way to get involved in Future Earth is to join the Future Earth Open Network, an online platform for inspiring and supporting collaboration around global sustainability.
Future Earth News and Events
Future Earth Operating Through Globally Distributed Secretariat Future Earth features a unique and innovative structure. Spanning three continents, the Future Earth secretariat consists of five global hubs that function as a single entity. They are located in the United States (Colorado), Canada (Montreal), France (Paris), Japan (Tokyo), and Sweden (Stockholm). For more details, please consult the Future Earth website.
Future Earth Meeting in Washington, DC BISO hosted and participated in an international Future Earth meeting held January 20-22, 2014 at the National Academies in Washington, DC. This meeting allowed members of the Future Earth science and interim engagement committees and the Future Earth Secretariat to meet with the leaderships of ICSU's Global Environmental Change (GEC) core projects and programs to discuss their integration into Future Earth. ICSU’s GEC programs include DIVERSITAS, the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The 74 participants provided input into the merger of the GEC programs, established task forces, and discussed potential fast-track initiatives, cluster activity proposals, and advanced communications among the core projects.
North American Regional Consultation for Future Earth
Over the past several years, Future Earth has offered many opportunities for the U.S. scientific community to become involved. Suggestions from the U.S. scientific community were key in the creation of the Draft Interim North American Consultation Report.
BISO worked closely with the USGCRP (United States Global Change Research Program), NSF and NASA on a Future Earth regional consultation for North America. To assist North American scientists in becoming more familiar with Future Earth and its potential implications for Earth System Science research, two consultation webinars were hosted. The consultations were undertaken on behalf of ICSU and its partners in the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability. Archives of these broadcasts' presentations can be seen below.
