Global Change and CAESCG
Global Change concept refers to the set of interferences (causes) and disturbances (impacts) of human activity and, since the industrial revolution, has influenced the processes that determine the balance of the planet (Earth System). Destruction, fragmentation and ecosystems overexploitation, invasive species, biogeochemical cycles changing, diffuse pollution of nitrogen and phosphorus and, especially, climate change, land use changes and land abandonment are among the Global Change causes. The impact generated by these factors, affect the key ecological processes that sustain life on earth, and result in the loss of biodiversity, environmental goods and services and social welfare.
CAESCG is a research center sponsored by the Ministries of Economy, Innovation and Science and Environment, associated to the University of Almeria.Global change projects are linked to the CAESCG as part of its strategy to centralize research activities (people and organizations, bibliography, information, data, metadata) making it available to the scientific community through the Geographic Information Technologies and Communication.
CAESCG is articulated around three main topics:
Development of strategies for ecosystems benefits assessment provided to the human welfare improvement (ecosystem services and natural capital) and its sustainable land management application.
Identification and characterization of global change factors and evaluation and monitoring of its effects on the ecosystems ecological and social processes.
Management measures design for biodiversity protection and assessment of the protected areas role against Global Change.
In 2010, CAESCG has launched the project GLOCHARID "Experimental design of indicators and monitoring program methodology of the global change effects in arid and semiarid regions of Andalusia." This project, lasting three years, is connected to 13 research groups from different universities and to the CSIC, being part of a regional strategy for monitoring the effects of Global Change. Thus, CAESCG emerge as one of the agents of knowledge that constitutes the Andalusian Observatory Network for Global Change.
Innovation and Society Knowledge Transference
CAESCG intends to be a meeting and collaboration platform for Global Change Research and environment management. Commitment to collective intelligence and knowledge transference to the whole society through Web 2.0 services and applications, implementing tools to enhance the collaboration between the scientific community, their disclosure and impacts, open access to the data and results. Moreover, this center will address the use of social networking and multimedia platforms to disseminate and raise awareness of Global Change.R+D+i results transference will help reorient the environmental management politics in the world changes scenario, using protected areas as laboratories and observatories to test adaptive and dynamic management models.
CAESCG wants to contribute to the development of a regional strategy of dissemination and participation that promotes and enhances citizen involvement in mitigation and adaptation to global change processes, especially in education and business sectors.
