Geoscience for Sustainable Futures

Why geoscience matters

Engagement of earth sciences in providing solutions to the major challenges recognised in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) critical to underpinning economic development.

Many of these challenges, including food and water security; urbanisation; energy poverty; resilience to natural hazards, and climate change, span the interface between the Earth and human systems.

For example, understanding the effects on both human welfare and the environment of the exploration, analysis, and extraction of natural resources (energy, water, minerals and food) is critical to promote security of supply. Similarly, understanding dynamic natural earth hazards (landslides, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) that directly affect lives and livelihoods and pose major welfare challenges also requires informed citizens and effective communications to deliver better preparedness and resilience to sudden change.

Our vision and research themes

Working collaboratively with countries on the DAC list of ODA recipients, the 2017–2020 BGS ODA programme builds upon and integrates our recent and ongoing research on:

• groundwater
• soils
• minerals
• energy
• urban planning
• environmental modelling
• geohazards

Our vision is to deliver new research, underpinning datasets and capacity building via three research platforms working across 13 countries. Our engagement will be participatory, characterised by a collaborative approach, with the research being co-designed and developed with stakeholders to address development priorities and need.

We will seek to build new links with the UK research base and use our platforms to support bids into Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and Newton Fund opportunities.

Publications

• ODA Global Magazine 2016–17: the BGS global geoscience magazine showcasing international work by the BGS