As research on global environmental change has advanced in recent years, scientists have become increasingly aware that humans (acting as individuals and through institutions) have significant and complex interactions with natural systems. Humans alter natural environmental conditions, and they respond to changes in those conditions. Independent research projects examining the human dimensions of global environmental change have clarified some of the processes of anthropogenic change, and a number of conferences and publications have tried to synthesize information from different disciplines and outline future research needs. These efforts have not been well coordinated, however, nor have many of them involved leading scholars with experience in the analysis of human-environmental interactions. This award will partially fund the operations of a Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change to be sponsored by the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBASSE) of the National Research Council. Through its meetings and commissioned studies, this committee will (1) assess previous research on the topic, (2) evaluate extant data sources, (3) consider how collaborative research would enhance the generation of knowledge and attract more social and behavioral scientists to conduct work in this important field, and (4) develop a research agenda that could be implemented in the near future. The committee will publish a report with its assessments and recommendations by the summer of 1990. This committee will play a crucial role in the evaluation of research that already has been conducted and in the determination of research strategies that will be most productive in the analysis of the human dimensions of global environmental change. Because of its stature and its experience in the conduct of studies like this, the National Research Council will involve more of the nation's leading scientists in this project and will provide a more effective and wide- spread means of disseminating the conclusions reached by the committee. As a result, future research on this topic will be grounded in a more rationale context than would otherwise evolve.
