Headline: News 2014

Much of the water in the rivers of Kyrgyzstan comes from melting snow and glaciers in the Pamir and Tian Shan...

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 840 million people live in...

<p>He is passionate about eco-friendly driving: <a href="http://www.iass-potsdam.de/people/prof-dr-ching-chuen-chan" target="_blank">Professor Ching Chuen Chan</a>, a Senior Fellow of the <a href="http://www.iass-potsdam.de/" target="_blank">IASS</a>, was awarded the 2014 Prince Philip Medal for his role in advancing the field of electric vehicles.</p>

<p>A Russian flag lies 4 261 metres beneath the ice on the Arctic seabed. It was planted there by a submersible in August 2007. While this may have been a merely symbolic act, it nevertheless shows the great interest in the possibilities presented by the Arctic as it heats up. “The claims to future resource mining are already being staked today,” remarked maritime law expert Professor Nele Matz-Lück from <a href="http://www.uni-kiel.de/" target="_blank">Kiel University (CAU)</a>.</p>

<p><strong>Rising temperatures, melting sea ice, new sea routes, mining of previously unexploited resources – the Arctic is currently experiencing rapid change with grave consequences. The huge challenges presented by the “Arctic in the Anthropocene” are the focus of the first<a href="http://www.potsdam-summer-school.org" target="_blank"> Potsdam Summer School</a>. From 23 June to 4 July 2014 38 up-and-coming scholars from 26 countries will discuss urgent matters concerning climate change in the Arctic.</strong></p>

<p>To coincide with World Oceans Day on 8 June, the IASS Potsdam together with the French research Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations <a href="http://www.iddri.org/" target="_blank">(IDDRI)</a> have published comprehensive proposals aimed at a more sustainable management of the high seas. These marine areas account for almost half of the earth’s surface and are increasingly being exploited as a reservoir of resources. However, as yet no adequate international regulations exist to protect them.</p>

<p>At the annual meeting of the <a href="http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/home.html" target="_blank">Alexander von Humboldt Foundation</a> on 3 and 4 June, Germany’s Federal President Joachim Gauck received more than 570 international scientists in Schloss Bellevue – among them <a href="/node/1276" target="_blank">IASS Fellow Dr Bing Xue</a>. At the opening reception, a range of issues were covered from researchers’ daily routines to the ethics of science.</p>

<p>The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region suffers from severe air pollution. <a href="http://www.rrcap.ait.asia/abc/" target="_blank">UNEP’s Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC)</a> project has identified the HKH foothills region as one of the hotspots of the globe in terms of poor air quality. Indoor and outdoor air pollution contributes to 2 million premature deaths a year in South Asia. Furthermore, studies have shown how air pollution affects the hydrological cycle in the HKH region, with significant effects on monsoon patterns.</p>

<p>The Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) has joined the multidisciplinary initiative Geo.X. Founded in 2010, the geoscience network of excellence in Berlin and Potsdam explores the mechanisms and consequences of people’s interactions with the earth system with a view to finding answers to the problems of global climate change, the growing number of devastating natural disasters, and the challenge of supplying a steadily growing world population with enough food and energy.</p>