


SilvaCarbon leverages state-of-the-art science and technology to advance the generation and use of information in managing forest and terrestrial carbon.
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Since 1989, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has submitted annual reports to Congress called Our Changing Planet. The reports describe the status of USGCRP research activities, provide progress updates, and document recent accomplishments
In particular, Our Changing Planet highlights progress and accomplishments in interagency activities. These highlights represent the broad spectrum of USGCRP activities that extend from Earth system observations, modeling, and fundamental research through synthesis and assessment, decision support, education, and public engagement. Highlights describe the state of science at the time of publication of each yearly report, and may not reflect more recent advances in understanding. The date of publication of the source report is noted on each highlight page.
SilvaCarbon leverages state-of-the-art science and technology to advance the generation and use of information in managing forest and terrestrial carbon.
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USGCRP co-led an international group of funders and implementers in initiating development of a collaborative research action.
The Belmont Forum is an international partnership between national research funding agencies and international science organizations focused on advancing transdisciplinary global change science and accelerating its application. Its Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs) combine natural science, social science, and stakeholder perspectives to produce knowledge for understanding and responding to global environmental change. In November...
SERVIR—meaning “to serve” in Spanish—combines NASA’s Earth-observations data and tools with USAID’s expertise in international development, supporting the use of geospatial technologies to help decision makers in developing countries respond to environmental change. Through the SERVIR network, experts at regional hubs in Eastern and Southern Africa, Hindu Kush-Himalaya, and the Mekong River Basin partner with local decision makers and U.S.-based scientists to create new datasets, maps, and decision-support tools related to climate...
Since 2014, Jamaica has experienced one of its worst droughts in a decade, and the fourth worst on record since the 1970s. The drought has profoundly affected the agricultural sector: agricultural production fell by roughly 50% between 2013 and 2014. In response, Jamaica's Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Jamaican Meteorological Service (JMS), in collaboration with the International Research Institute...
Food security is a critical challenge in rapidly urbanizing, low-income regions of the world. Climate change is likely to increase disruptions to food availability and prices, further exacerbating food insecurity for the urban poor. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) can serve as an important food source for cities in the developing world, contributing to dietary diversity and economic activity. However, UPA systems are stressed by factors such as rapid urban growth, weak governance over land and water allocation, and pollution. Moreover, the potential of
SERVIR—meaning “to serve” in Spanish—is a joint initiative that connects USAID’s expertise in international development and training with NASA’s portfolio of satellite observations. Its goal is to help decision makers in developing regions respond to global change. Over the past decade, SERVIR has worked closely with regional organizations in the developing world to provide analytical products and services that inform decisions about climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk
Agricultural production is a critical sector of the domestic and global economy that is affected directly by climate change. The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP)—supported in part by DOE, NASA, USAID, and USDA—is a major international effort linking the climate, crop, and economic modeling communities to produce improved projections of climate impacts on the agricultural sector, thereby enhancing capacity to prepare for and respond to these climate-driven changes. To learn more about AgMIP, visit: http://goo.gl/ZmU82S
In the Caribbean, the economic importance of agriculture and tourism—combined with rural poverty and widespread vulnerability to climate-related hazards like hurricanes and drought—makes planning for climate impacts an urgent necessity. USAID and NOAA are working together on multiple fronts to connect climate research with risk management, climate-resilient development, and adaptation challenges in this region.
For example, the USAID- and NOAA-supported International Research and Applications Project (IRAP; to learn more, visit: http://goo.gl/