We connect knowledge and capacity in sustainability science across the Future Earth community in Asia to accelerate the co-design and co-production of research, science–policy engagement, and communications for sustainable transformation in Asia.
How we work
Achieving a sustainable and resilient society requires understanding the root causes of challenges and finding scalable solutions. System science and knowledge synthesis help guide policy decisions and prioritize investments. Future Earth Asia addresses interconnected sustainability challenges, unpacking interactions between social, economic, and environmental systems through transdisciplinary approaches. We seek systems-based, locally actionable, and transformative solutions to advance the SDG agenda. We promote international collaboration to leverage science initiatives focused on specific countries and areas for cross-learning and broader impact.
Solution-oriented and Actionable Knowledge Synthesis
Future Earth Asia aims to bridge two critical communities—“knowledge generators” from academia, local stakeholders, and Indigenous groups, and “knowledge implementers” from policy, planning, and management—through targeted knowledge synthesis. We will embed the scientific expertise of the Future Earth community in Asia into the policy and management domains and integrate it with knowledge and experience on the ground to produce robust solutions to complex problems.
Our knowledge synthesis initiatives, focusing on different themes, will deliver comprehensive insights into the state of natural resources and vulnerability from the perspective of human and natural system security to help develop guidance and principles for policy reform and assess and support good governance.
Meta-Network Hub for Sustainability in Asia
The Meta-Network Hub Asia (Meta Hub) seeks to improve functional outcomes in socio-ecological systems that support ecological integrity, social equity, and resilience in Asian hotspots where critical SDGS related to water, climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystem health are falling behind. The Meta Hub is a transdisciplinary collaborative space for multiscale knowledge co-production, synthesis, and application. The Meta Hub will facilitate co-design processes with key stakeholders to develop transdisciplinary demonstration projects in select sites to accelerate actions on critical SDGs. Using an innovative combination of science and digital technology, the Meta Hub will help transcend current science approaches by integrating fragmentary and diverse sources of knowledge from different levels (local, regional, global) and sectors, leveraging interconnected networks of experts, stakeholders, institutions, technologies, and data sources to produce transdisciplinary insights and advance science-driven solutions that reflect the needs and values of diverse Asian communities.
For more information, please see the International Science Council website.
Solution-oriented approaches to unlock and pinpoint investment opportunities in sustainable and resilient agrosystem
This research initiative focuses on creating a sustainable and resilient society in Asia by addressing the challenges of land, water, and agricultural management. Asia is home to nearly half of the world’s biodiversity, but human activities such as expanding agriculture threaten these ecosystems. This project will explore how to balance the need for increased agricultural production with preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Science-Policy Dialogues
Science and policy dialogue events
Through a series of science and policy dialogue events, we aim to identify key issues, formulate priority areas, and understand how evidence-based science can help Asian countries and organizations accelerate their transition to sustainability.
Our purpose is to create opportunities for scientists and key actors such as policymakers, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and educators to be partners in the policy consultation process and co-produce knowledge, develop knowledge into concrete actions and innovative solutions, and implement and monitor progress in achieving various targets.
The science-policy dialogue events focus on three I’s: Innovation, Interlinkages and Implementation.
Capacity Building
Future Earth Asia community fosters a culture of partnership and co-creation among scientists, local governments, and communities with transparency, inclusiveness, collaborative learning, and interdependence in implementing the initiative. Capacity building is a key element in the integration of knowledge and the science-policy dialogue.
Ongoing Capacity Building Programs for early-career researchers by Future Earth Global Hubs in Asia:
Networking
Enhancing collaboration in Asia
We are committed to expanding and strengthening our collaboration with the sustainability research and practice community in Asia. Our efforts include hosting Future Earth Asia community meetings and webinars, organizing regional sessions at major international conferences such as the Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress and the Science Council of Asia and facilitating the launch of new Future Earth National Networks in Asia.