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History of Visioning
The International Council for Science (ICSU) is spearheading a consultation process in cooperation with the International Social Science Council (ISSC) to engage the scientific community to explore options and propose implementation steps for a holistic strategy on Earth system research. This research strategy will both encourage scientific innovation and address policy needs. ICSU and ISSC represent the international non-governmental natural and social science communities. The process is outlined in the Visioning White Paper ‘Developing a New Vision and Strategic Framework for Earth System Research‘.
The outcomes of the consultation process should have a major influence on Earth system research for the next decade and beyond. It will thus have significant implications for all stakeholders with an interest in conducting, supporting, or using science in this field. For this reason, the process is designed to engage all groups in multiple ways.
This consultation process reflects the decision of the ICSU General Assembly
‘to note that the Committee on Scientific Planning and Review is planning to organize a consultation, including a high-level meeting, with relevant partners to outline options for an overall framework for global environmental change research and its policy relevance, once the reviews of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme [IGBP review] and the World Climate Research Programme [WCRP review] are completed.’
These reviews were completed in February 2009, and were preceded by reviews of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP Review) in 2006 and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP review) in 2008. The reviews were co-sponsored with the International Group of Funding Agencies for Global Change Research (IGFA) and the relevant programme co-sponsors.
The recurring message coming out of all the reviews—from both within and outside the global environmental change community—is the need to implement a single strategic framework for Earth system research in the near future (by ~2014).
Read further about the Visioning Process
The Three Steps
