Category: News

Since April the La Soufrière volcano, located in the north of the largest island of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, has erupted multiple times. Strong explosions generated ash plumes, which are not only impacting the entire island of Saint Vincent, but also transporting massive amounts of ash to the neighboring island country of Barbados in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies.

The research network Sustainable Global Supply Chains is inviting submissions for the conference “Sustainability in Global Value Chains” jointly organized with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on December 6 and 7, 2021.

UNU- EHS and the Bonn Alliance for Sustainability Research are launching a new series of interactive workshops and dialogue formats to pave the way for scientific contributions to a “Looking beyond 2030” perspective in sustainability. The series will begin with an expert workshop on “Revisiting Sustainability” in July, 2021, in which key members of the Bonn-based community engaged in the sustainability field are invited to discuss the theoretical and practical frameworks in sustainability science and policy. The series was developed as part of UNU-EHS’ emerging initiative Wellbeing, Sustainability and Equity (WiSE) Transformation and invites thematic engagement in future-oriented sustainability.

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW) 2021 officially wrapped up last week, and for participants from the Joint Master’s of Geography of Environment and Human Risk it was a major success. Held online this year, rather than in Geneva, the high-level forum is the humanitarian field’s largest event of the year and it brings individuals, organizations, and networks the opportunity to collaborate and address key issues in crisis response and preparedness. […]

Cities account for 75 per cent of today’s carbon emissions, and meeting global emission goals will require collaboration and city leadership. At the same time, cities are deeply affected by the current climate crisis. Extreme heat events, water stress, deterioration of natural assets and air pollution are having severe negative impacts on health and quality of life in cities and they are also putting severe stress on cities’ infrastructure. There are no quick fixes for solving these challenges. […]

Scientists and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts to the INQUIMUS ‘on tour’ workshop for Transformational risk management and Loss & Damage: What are suitable approaches for assessing climate-related (residual) risks?
Previously hosted by UNU-EHS in 2019, the INQUIMUS workshop will take place from 30 November to 2 December 2021 at International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), in Laxenburg, Austria.

Highly qualified women are actively working in the Bonn Alliance whose perspectives and contributions are crucial for the success of our network and sustainability research!

How Can Risk Analytics Help Us Shift the Paradigm?
It is widely established that it makes sense to invest in risk prevention. Loss of life and economic damage can be prevented if disaster situations are avoided, or if their effects are reduced. However, it appears that societies at large are risk-takers, especially when it comes to rare and high-impact events. Risk management and prevention are often not a priority for us, neither at the individual level, nor for households, enterprises and governments. This is a problem especially for disadvantaged groups as their specific needs tend to be overlooked in disaster situations.