Research Project
Natural and man-made disasters are causing huge losses, which are likely to rise due to the risk ignorance, population and development growth in disaster-prone areas, as well as interdependencies among sectors, regions, locations, increasing current and future exposure and vulnerability. The interdependencies among systems and regions involve interactions between socio-economic, natural, technological systems. They resemble complex networks connected through various “balance” relations (supply-demand, input-output, inflow-outflow) at different levels. Disruption of such networks can trigger systemic risks associated with critical imbalances, exceedances of vital thresholds, which affect provision of goods (food, energy, water), environmental norms, endanger population and developments, thus undermining socio-economic-food-energy-water NEXUS security (SEFEW NEXUS security) at local, regional, national levels with possible global spillovers.
Co-development of integrated and multi-disciplinary advanced system analyses and decision support methods and tools is essential for stakeholders and experts to build up regional resilience through timely investments into disaster preparedness and response measures enabling to properly mitigate and adapt to systemic risks of all kinds.
Research Project
Recent technological and scientific advancements have improved our understanding of natural hazards. However, despite efforts, natural disasters continue to take a heavy toll on communities, resulting in loss of life, environmental impact, and economic damage. The MEDiate project aims to use a resilient-informed, service-oriented, and people-centered approach for developing a disaster risk management decision-support system by considering multiple interacting natural hazards and their cascading effects, changes in hazards, vulnerability, and exposure.
Research Project
While the buildings sector is directly responsible for about 10% of Austria’s anthropogenic CO2 emissions, its carbon footprint is 3 to 4 times larger than that if indirect and life-cycle emissions are considered (dependent on the accounting method). In that regard, Austria’s building sector is representative of building sectors of other countries in the European Union. Moreover, the CO2 emissions attributed to the global building stock are structured in a similar way. Thus, due to its interlinkages with other sectors (notably energy generation and industry), building stock provides effective leverage points that are of critical importance for global and national mitigation efforts, and for a successful transition to carbon-neutral economy.
Research Project
In the A-LEVERS project funded by the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP), IIASA researchers contribute to the development of a methodological framework for prioritizing adaptation options. Collaborating with the University Graz, GeoSphereAustria, and experts, they derive adaption pathways for key climate-related risks for Austria.
Research Project
The Citizens for Copernicus (C4C) project, coordinated by the IIASA Novel Data Ecosystems for Sustainability Research Group in the Advancing Systems Analysis Program, aims to develop an Austrian citizen science data component to bridge the in situ data gap for more reliable forest mapping with Copernicus data. The project focuses on the combined use of citizen science and satellite images to develop AI models for forest resource (biomass/carbon) monitoring.
Research Project
European biodiversity is in decline, with can impact important natural services, such as pollination, water provisioning or climate mitigation. Our best chance to halt and reverse biodiversity loss are the expansion and more effective management of protected areas and our natural resources, as also stated by European. Existing protection efforts have largely been insufficient to halt biodiversity loss. There is increasing recognition that an implementation of the biodiversity policies needs adequate planning in an informed decision making process to identify which areas are best to conserve, improved in management or be restored.
INSPIRE will support Member States in making decisions on how to address some of the objectives of the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, such as the expansion of the Natura 2000 network, to achieve the 30% protection/ 10% strict protection targets, or how to best integrate biodiversity conservation into other sectors under current policy priorities (e.g., Green Deal, CAP, CFP, and other sectoral Directives).
Research Project
Climate change (CC) is undeniably responsible for the increase in climate-related disasters affecting Alpine communities. These phenomena are often the result of compound events, a combination of multiple climate-related hazards that contribute to socio-ecological risks. One of the key drivers of the increased vulnerability are changes in forest ecosystems.
Forests provide essential ecosystem services that support human well-being and play a critical role in the mitigation of CC, but their health and stability are also threatened by CC.
Therefore, MOSAIC focuses on hazard-resilient and sustainable protective forest management coping with climate changes’ multiple dimensions, which is essential for managing climate-related risks. In order to support regional and Alpine climate action plans, the project aims to collect, harmonize and share data, models on Alpine climate-related disasters and trends. The project partners strive to raise awareness among foresters, risk managers, decision makers and the public through an Alpine network of forest living labs.
Research Project
The aim of the Premium_EU project funded by Horizon Europe is to explore the impacts and benefits of European migration - between and within countries - and how it contributes to the development of vulnerable regions in Europe. The consortium of researchers will utilize quantitative modeling and qualitative case studies to better understand and model the socioeconomic and demographic impacts of migration and will provide user-friendly tools to policymakers to support evidence-based policymaking.
Research Project
To bend the curve on biodiversity loss, IIASA researchers are co-producing transformative pathways that are workable and effective in a new EU Horizon funded project. Using the latest modelling tools to understand the impact of worldviews and differing equity principles on biodiversity policy outcomes, we will support stakeholders to produce policy pathways that are just and innovative to improve biodiversity across Europe.
Research Project
The aim of the SPES project funded by Horizon Europe scheme of the European Union is to generate new knowledge and evidence about the nexus between economic growth, human flourishing and sustainability, contributing to the creation and uptake of a novel integrated framework fostering the transition towards sustainable human development in European countries and regions.
Research Project
The overarching objective of DISCC-AT is to inform decision makers in Austria about group-specific social vulnerabilities to key climate risks and thereby to enable the implementation of just and cost-effective adaptation measures as well as to in-crease adaptive capacities of private households where most needed.
Research Project
LAMASUS builds on i) decades of experience in direct policy support, ii) unique modeling tools, such as GLOBIOM, the only model that integrates agricultural and land use sectors, and CAPRI, MAGNET and CLUE, which underlie JRC’s land use policy assessments, and iii) novel approaches mobilizing machine learning and citizen science.