Search

IIASA researchers contributed to a recent report published by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) calling for coordinated action on climate change and nature loss.

IIASA is proud to announce that 11 researchers from across various IIASA programs have been named on the 2022 Highly Cited Researchers™ list from Clarivate.

Europe needs healthy ecosystems that benefit biodiversity and people and are resilient to climate change. The Horizon Europe NaturaConnect Project will support European Union governments and other public and private institutions in designing a coherent, resilient and well-connected Trans-European Nature Network.

IIASA researchers contributed to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s Living Planet Report 2022, which highlights the stark outlook of the state of nature and urgently warns governments, businesses, and the public to take transformative action to reverse the destruction of biodiversity.

Dealing with increasing fire frequencies in domestic mountain-dominated forest systems requires assessment and anticipation of fire risks at local scales, as well as a better understanding of its effects on the ecosystem and recreational activities. The Austria Fire Futures Project aims to address this critical situation.

The Land Management for Sustainability (LAMASUS) Project kicks off today and will provide tools and design processes allowing EU policymakers to assess the impacts of future land-use policies ahead of their implementation, and so make informed choices for European agriculture and land use, as well as the global climate.

The ForestNavigator (Navigating European forests and forest bioeconomy sustainably to EU climate neutrality) Project is a new ambitious pan-European research project coordinated by IIASA and funded under the Horizon Europe Program. It brings together 24 research institutions from 13 EU countries and China to support the European Commission and national authorities in designing robust sectoral policies addressing forests and the forest sector for achieving climate neutrality in the EU.

The SOS-Water Project, funded under the Horizon Europe scheme and coordinated by IIASA, will create a holistic and participatory assessment framework of a Safe Operating Space (SOS) for the entire water resources system to inform global and regional water management policies and pathways.  

In a new study published in Global Environmental Change, an international team of researchers from seven institutions, including IIASA, developed a first of its kind forest model intercomparison project (ForMIP) to estimate long-term futures for the world’s forests under different socioeconomic and climate mitigation pathways.

Against the backdrop of climate change and rising water demand, tools for adequately modeling water availability are much needed. In a new study, researchers applied a large-scale model linking surface water to groundwater, which can be used for estimating water resources at a high spatial resolution.

A new Horizon Europe project coordinated by IIASA will provide a novel governance model based on multi-level stakeholder dialogues spanning the European Commission, through national and local administrations down to citizens, as well as the necessary tools for co-designing agriculture, forestry, and climate policies in support of the EU’s climate neutrality target. 

To feed Africa’s growing population, agricultural-food systems need to be modernized. In a new study, researchers analyzed how continental free trade and agricultural development could ensure sustainable food security for Africa.

IIASA recently instituted a new system of awards to recognize outstanding contributions towards meeting the strategic priorities and values of the institute. We are proud to announce that five IIASA research activities have been recognized in the inaugural 2022 award cycle.

Between 2010 and 2019, average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of the success of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.

National biodiversity monitoring programs in Europe face many challenges, according to the first report of the Europe-wide EuropaBON project released today. The analysis includes data from more than 350 experts from policy, science, and environmental protection practice. The team is also drafting a proposal for a transnational monitoring of Europe's biodiversity and ecosystems.

Deforestation continues to be one of the greatest challenges in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate change. Countries all over the world have instituted protected areas, but there is still mounting human pressure on many of these areas. A new study looks at tropical deforestation and the key factors driving it.

Many countries have set carbon neutrality as a policy goal, but according to a new study by an international team of researchers from IIASA, Japan, and the US, there are various risks associated with the reduction of greenhouse gases, especially in the agriculture, forestry, and land use sectors, that need to be considered when formulating mitigation strategies.

China has promised to become carbon neutral before 2060 and has coupled this ambitious target with stringent limitations on industrial water use by 2030. An international team of IIASA researchers and Chinese colleagues explored the effects of simultaneously pursuing these goals.

Area-based conservation targets aimed at stopping and reversing global biodiversity loss are set to form an integral part of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework discussions later this year. An international team of researchers have however found that strictly protecting global land area for conservation could have an adverse impact on human health and food security in some parts of the world.

The carbon stock in managed boreal forest landscapes is increasing, while it is relatively unchanged in less intensively utilized forests where carbon losses due to forest fires have instead been significant during 1990-2017, according to a new report by the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA).