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Collaborative research is a powerful way to build capacity across various domains, from academia to industry (Gamo et al., 2010). At its core, collaborative research is characterized by shared objectives, mutual trust, and collective problem-solving (Lang et al., 2012; Moeenian et al., 2022). Here, we describe the project entitled SARgassum risk across the Atlantic: building capacity for Transformational Adaptation in the Caribbean and West Africa (SARTRAC, https://sartrac.org), which brought together researchers from the global North and South from 2019 to 2023 (Figure 1). Institutions involved included the University of Southampton and the University of York (UK), University of Ghana (Ghana), Mona GeoInformatics Institute (Jamaica), and University of West Indies-Mona and -Cave Hill campuses (Barbados). The objectives were to investigate the drivers behind the Sargassum influx, understand the biology of Sargassum, develop early warning systems, identify alternative uses for Sargassum, and educate the vulnerable communities who are significantly impacted by its presence. We show how this collaborative research enhanced capacities, bridged knowledge gaps, and fostered innovation, and explore how projects like SARTRAC can serve as dynamic platforms for holistic development.
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Higher education institutions can accelerate societal climate action
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) have great collective capacity to address major societal challenges. This was apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, as academic institutions in the United States and across the globe quickly mobilized to protect their students and staff, help develop and administer vaccines and diagnostic tests, and provide trusted information to caregivers, the public and government decision-makers. The strains that Earth's rapidly changing climate places on the economy, the environment, and society call for an even greater exercise of this capacity (Leal Filho et al. 2023, Lippel et al. 2024). Such calls are not new. In 2006, the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) encouraged IHEs to “model ways to minimize global warming emissions” and “provid[e] the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality.” Nearly 20 years later, many IHEs are broadly engaged in deepening climate knowledge and preparing students to develop and implement climate solutions. Academic researchers are developing innovative low-carbon technologies and improved methods to build climate resilience. Many of the 284 signatories to the ACUPCC are decarbonizing their campuses and participating in the dramatic, market-driven transformation of global energy systems. IHEs across the nation are working with partners in the public, private, and social sectors to disseminate climate knowledge and solutions. But the escalating scale and pace of the climate challenge, with extreme heat, floods, droughts, and fires battering campuses and communities, call for a more robust and better coordinated response.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2103754
- PAR ID:
- 10650857
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- BioScience
- ISSN:
- 0006-3568
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf139
