• A personal note on IGBP and the social sciences


    Humans are an integral component of the Earth system as conceptualised by IGBP. João Morais recalls key milestones in IGBP’s engagement with the social sciences and offers some words of advice for Future Earth.
  • IGBP and Earth observation:
    a co-evolution


    The iconic images of Earth beamed back by the earliest spacecraft helped to galvanise interest in our planet’s environment. The subsequent evolution and development of satellites for Earth observation has been intricately linked with that of IGBP and other global-change research programmes, write Jack Kaye and Cat Downy .
photo: iStockphoto/Pawel Gaul

International research

International research requires a collaborative research framework and common science questions.
IGBP projects develop the comprehensive science plans through a process of discussion and consultation with the global scientific community, involving hundreds of scientists from all continents. This ensures the development of truly international research frameworks and fosters international and interdisciplinary networks within national and regional research efforts.

IGBP-sponsored projects and initiatives

All IGBP projects have published their science plans.

International policy
IGBP provides direct links to international policy through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Council for Science and other routes.

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Please note!

IGBP closed at the end of 2015. This website is no longer updated.

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  • Global Change Magazine No. 84


    This final issue of the magazine takes stock of IGBP’s scientific and institutional accomplishments as well as its contributions to policy and capacity building. It features interviews of several past...

  • Global Change Magazine No. 83


    This issue features a special section on carbon. You can read about peak greenhouse-gas emissions in China, the mitigation of black carbon emissions and the effect of the 2010-2011 La Niña event on gl...
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