International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP)
The International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) is a collaborative initiative that focuses on the interplay between human activities and environmental change. Operating under the auspices of prominent scientific organizations, including the International Council for Science and UNESCO, IHDP aims to address the complexities of global environmental challenges through an interdisciplinary lens, encompassing both social and natural sciences. The program investigates critical questions concerning the impacts of human lifestyles on the environment, the effects of environmental changes on societies, and strategies for minimizing human-induced ecological harm.
IHDP coordinates various research projects that tackle diverse issues such as sustainable development, climate change impacts on vulnerable populations, land-water interactions, and urban planning. Key initiatives include the Earth System Governance project, which seeks sustainable responses to environmental changes, and the Global Land Project, which examines human interactions with land and water systems. Additionally, IHDP supports pilot projects to empower emerging researchers and foster collaboration across different regions.
Through its comprehensive approach, IHDP endeavors to translate scientific research into practical solutions for policymakers, aiming to enhance environmental sustainability and address the pressing challenges facing both developed and developing societies. As global environmental issues become increasingly urgent, IHDP is poised to expand its role in shaping policies that promote sustainable practices and resilience in the face of change.
International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP)
- DATE: Established 1996, Dissolved 2014
Mission
The International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) was an umbrella organization that funds and coordinates studies relating to the human impact on all biological, physical, and chemical systems and how those impacts relate to patterns of human social organization. An international, interdisciplinary science program specializing in a social science perspective on global change, it was a joint program of the International Council for Science (ICS), UNESCO’s International Social Science Council (ISSC), and the United Nations University (UNU).
All IHDP projects address three major questions:
- • How do human lifestyle choices and patterns of consumption contribute to global environmental change?
- • How are humans affected by changes in the natural environment?
- • How can humans reduce their negative effects on natural ecosystems necessary to support continued human existence?
Significance for Climate Change
IHDP brings together scientific researchers as well as social scientists and political and economic policymakers in order to consider all aspects of human contributions to pressing environmental problems, probable consequences of continued stresses on a variety of ecosystems, and possible response to mitigate and even eliminate some anthropogenic environmental problems. All IHDP programs share a mission to help translate scientific research on environmental change into practical advice for policymakers. These programs and research projects may be local, regional, or global in scale.
IHDP administers six core scientific research projects. Earth System Governance (ESG) studies anthropogenic changes, local to global, in all physical and biological systems on the planet. The overarching goal of all research projects under ESG is to construct appropriate responses that can actually be implemented. Some finds of sponsored research projects are published in the journal Climate and Development, as well as in the IHDP publication Institutions and Environmental Change.
Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) studies the impact of environmental changes on vulnerable human populations primarily located in the developing world. Flooding, drought, soil erosion, conflicts over access to natural resources, and human population issues are all research topics sponsored by GECHS, which publishes its research reports in the journal AVISO. GECHS encourages cooperation and communication between climate researchers and political leaders in the developing world.
The Global Land Project (GLP) sponsors projects on local and regional levels to study how human interact with both land and water-based systems. GLP projects also give direction on how humans might interact with those systems in more sustainable ways. The GLP projects also consider the negative impact global economic changes produce on local and regional environmental systems, primarily in the developing world.
Industrial transformation (IT) research initiatives look for ways to reduce the negative impact technology developments will continue to have on the natural environment, specifically in the developing world. IT-sponsored projects target energy production, distribution and usage, food production and consumption patterns, and urban development.
Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) is more narrowly focused than the other IHDP core projects. LOICZ research projects focus on coastal communities that are among the first to feel negative effects of environmental changes in the form of soil erosion, depletion of fishing stocks, increased water salinity, overdevelopment, decreased freshwater supplies, and increased vulnerability to catastrophic weather events.
Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) projects study urban planning and lifestyle choices as well as patterns of consumption of energy, food, and goods and services. The research results are then used to suggest planning policies that would allow urban areas to become more environmentally sustainable and reduce the impact of environmental change on the urban poor.
In addition to the six core scientific research projects and their subprojects, IHDP shares joint responsibility with Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) to promote research into climate change, agricultural responses and food security. IHDP also funds smaller pilot projects that allow younger researchers opportunities to secure funding and collaborate on an international scale. The goal of many of the pilot projects is to seek ways to reduce carbon production. IHDP also participates in a variety of research networks. The four primary research networks include the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), Population and Environment Research Network (PERN), System for Analysis Research and Training (START), and Young Human Dimensions Researchers (YHDR) including students associated with research teams. The development of research networks allows researchers in developed countries to share funding, access to research information, and expertise with colleagues in the developing world. IHDP specifically funds research projects on issues of concern to societies in both the developed and developing world.
In its second decade, 2006-2016, IHDP looked forward to increased funding for pilot projects in order to increase the scale of the projects until some could become additional core scientific projects. As environmental concerns become more urgent and the capacity and economic feasibility of sustainable technologies more widely available, IHDP anticipates playing a wider, more public role in drafting policy positions related to environmental change and its impact on the human community. However, before it could fulfill many of these goals, the program was dissolved in 2014.
Bibliography
Houghton, John. Global Warming: The Complete Briefing. 4th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2008.
"What Is Climate Change? A Really Simple Guide." BBC, 26 Nov. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24021772. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
Young, Oran R. The Institutional Dimensions of Environmental Change: Fit, Interplay, and Scale. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002.