Core Research

The GCI has four core research areas:

Adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change

• The identification, co-development and testing of adaptation pathways in a changing world
• Reducing the risk of climate-related risks in rural and urban contexts, through knowledge and innovation
• Aligning the objectives of global change adaptation and mitigation with other strategic development goals, such as elimination of poverty and stemming the loss of biodiversity

Coupling ecosystem integrity and human wellbeing 

• The nexus of land use, food security, biodiversity, human health and nutrition
• The causes and consequences of long-term African trajectories in ecosystem goods and services
• Minimising the negative consequences of extractive industries, and maximizing the rehabilitation of post-extractive landscapes and communities

People, Practice and Policies

• Action research on environmental policies and justice in relation to sustainable development goals
• Transdisciplinary approaches to promoting positive change in the presence of diverse knowledge systems, social values and power

Building resilience

• Looking beyond trying to sustain the unsustainable: into transformation of coupled human and ecological systems in such a way as they are able to satisfy core needs indefinitely, adapt to unforeseen future changes, and provide options for future people
• Sustainable urban living through improved water, waste and energy management
• Understanding, building and maintaining ecosystem function and diversity in cities, the landscapes on which they depends, and the area influenced by their wastes
• Migration into and out of urban areas, and the integration of migrant populations