Future Earth workshop – Kuala Lumpur Breakout session 2: Research priorities and opportunities to strengthen capabilities within Future Earth in Asia and the Pacific Key messages

Joyashree Roy (chair) Anantha Duraiappah (TT) Yukio Himayama Cindy Shirata Nobuko Saigusa Bach Tan Sinh Mohd Nordin Hasan David Black Harini Nagendra Yuan Tseh Lee Michael Manton Kon-Kee Liu Anne-Sophie Stevance Participants

1. Global development Livelihood security, social equity and sense of place and identity are key issues for Asia-Pacific Coastal hazards, vulnerability and impacts on communities and new development plans Climate change Link between GEC and disaster and how to increase resilience Urbanisation versus rural 3 unique areas: coastal, semi-arid and mountains Key social pressures: urbanisation, rapid economic growth, population, consumption, global connectivity Competing demands for water and land Security as primary concern of policy-makers: food sovereignty, energy self-reliance, water security, livelihood security (flow of income) 1. What are the regional research questions for each of the 3 research themes that need to be answered to achieve your vision for Future Earth in the Asia-Pacific region?

2. Dynamic planet 1.Defining and identifying regional thresholds and hotspots (which are changing) from both natural and social perspectives 2.Human trends in those critical areas Natural characteristics of the region: sismic risks, monsoons, cyclons, heat stress Identify human risks and redefining risk zones Impacts of GEC Include communities’ knowledge 3.Mapping and tracking social indicators 4.Developing scenarios at multiple temporal and spatial scales 5.Analysis of communication problems in the past 6.Enhanced communication strategies and interpretation 1. What are the regional research questions for each of the 3 research themes that need to be answered to achieve your vision for Future Earth in the Asia-Pacific region?

3. Transformation towards sustainability 1.Social transformation and social tipping points 2.Institutional changes (driving forces: government, communities?) 3.Scientific and technological changes and their social embedding Understanding past interface between technology and social trends and steps that led to transformation Identifying social impacts of technology Linkages between local transformations and achieving global sustainability Actors who make transformation happen Bringing together transformation studies and governance studies 1. What are the regional research questions for each of the 3 research themes that need to be answered to achieve your vision for Future Earth in the Asia-Pacific region?

Need to bring together natural, social sciences and engineering Networks of researchers, universities/ institutions, young students Observation networks Mobility of researchers Consistent long term socio-economic data Systematic observation and monitoring and access to data Observation, monitoring, data management, modelling and analysis Scenario development at various scales 2. What are the set of capabilities needed to answer these questions?

Prerequisite: knowledge of existing research activities Need for a research gap analysis in the region Rapid assessment of MDGs achievements with a view to establishing SDGs within the principles of Future Earth Integrating sustainability education, curricula and networksin traditional subjects On-going studies on social experiments in the energy, transport and water sectors, also low carbon cities Examples of policy relevant studies: looking at linkages and trade-offs between biodiversity, food security and energy, Integrate social sciences in climate change studies Building on the blue carbon (coastal sinks) inventory and assessment activities Inventory of social experiments which are delivering environmental benefits Downstream effects of changes in the hydrology of the Himalaya and TP 3. What could be early research activities that would demonstrate the new research that Future Earth seek to foster in the region?