The Climate Affairs Program has established several multidisciplinary activities, with others in progress and still others proposed. Green indicates activities already established; red indicates activities in process, and yellow indicates possible activities that have been discussed but have not yet become active. The map is current as of 1 August 2006.
Priority 3: Improving Public Awareness and Understanding
Climate Affairs
Background
The SERE Lab's Center for Capacity Building (CCB) has continued to expand its Climate Affairs Program, which enables educators in a variety of disciplines to improve their understanding of the ways in which climate affects society and society affects climate. Climate Affairs enables students, trainers, and educators alike to concentrate part of their educational experience in an area of research, impacts, application, and policy that centers on the climate system and climate-related issues. CCB is fostering this template for undergraduate and graduate education and training. While some multidisciplinary educational programs link science and policy, Climate Affairs programs also consider other relevant areas, such as ethics and equity issues. Climate Affairs helps to build the capacity of individuals and institutions to deal with climate-related matters.
Progress
The Center for Capacity Building expanded its Climate Affairs Program during FY 2006 to include two more centers in China and held an international, interdisciplinary workshop for Southeast Asia with support from NSF and the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research. More on all of these programs can be found here. CCB also began publication of its El NiÒo Affairs site in Spanish.
Plans
CCB plans to continue expansion during FY2007 in China through the development of a Coastal Urban Affairs Center at the Tianjin Meteorological Bureau in Tianjin, and the inauguration of the Marginal Lands Center in Harbin, China, in early FY2007. In addition, CCB is planning to hold a five-year review of the Desert Affairs Center in Urumqi, China in late 2007.
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