Your Health and a Changing Climate: Newsletter - Volume 1

Funding and Partnerships

Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) Joint Project on Global Environmental Change and Health

At the "Global Environmental Change and Health" meeting in February 2003, participants agreed that a new joint project on health constitutes a priority since there is no long-term research initiative on this topic and no established international scientific community. Member groups of ESSP include the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP -- visit: www.igbp.kva.se), International Human Dimensions Program (IHDP -- visit: http://www.ihdp.org/) World Climate Research Program(WCRP -- visit: www.wmo.ch/web/wcrp/wcrp-home.html) and DIVERSITAS (an international global environmental change program -- visit: http://www.diversitas-international.org/) Participants produced a draft scientific framework, entitled "Global Environmental Change and Human Health" which was finalized in November 2003 and then sent around for consultation.

The ultimate goal of the project is to protect and enhance human well-being and the environment in the face of the threats of global environmental change (GEC). Specific objectives include: assess past, current and future health impacts of GEC; elucidate the particular health-related upstream drivers of GEC; harmonize mitigation and adaptation; and develop and use new methodologies to explore the tension between particular pathways of economic development, environmental change and human health.

Funding for some activities (eg. Workshops) will be availabe but there will be NO FUNDING FOR RESEARCH. There may be seed grants for developing countries' scientists and international summer courses for young scientists. This activity will feed directly into the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2007)

>>> For more information, visit:
http://www.ihdp.unibonn.de/html/projects/jointprojects.html

Government Invests $10 Million in Northern Ecosystem Initiative

The Minister of the Environment recently announced a five-year contribution of $10 million to improve environmental decision-making in Canada's North. The funding renews the Northern Ecosystem Initiative (NEI), a partnership based program that supports research to improve and enhance the health and sustainability of communities and ecosystems across Canada's North.

>>> For more information, visit: http://www.pnr-rpn.ec.gc.ca

Climate Change Action Fund

Call for Letters of Interest (LOI) for impacts and adaptation research on climate change and human health and well-being was posted December 11, 2003. Deadline for submissions is February 18, 2004. Total funding available in this call -- $750,000.

>>> For more information, visit:
http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/proposal_e.asp