There is a clear, growing awareness among Columbia University faculty and students regarding the linkages connecting climate change, resource degradation and scarcity, poverty, habitat loss, and conflict. This interest is mirrored in high-level scholarly and policy deliberations in the world at large concerning such linkages. ThisEarth Institute Cross-Cutting Initiative, led byThe Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), aims to make the current round of interest in environment-security issues more meaningful.
Objectives:
To connect isolated Columbia University communities in the earth and social sciences
To initiate and innovate the university's research on environment and security linkages
To strengthen the university's curriculum in this area to meet students' growing demand
To provide a mechanism for directing research and findings to the appropriate policymakers, publications, and potential funders
The CCI's short-term activities for Fall 2007/Spring 2008 include:
Formation of a cross-disciplinary working group on environment and security linkages
Holding a seminar series on environment-conflict linkages
Creation of an interdisciplinary geospatial database integrating data on conflict, climate, natural resources, and biodiversity
