This award to The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) will support the 12th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment on the theme ?Environment and Security.? The conference will be held January 18-20, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. Over 1,100 participants from higher education institutions, government, civil society organizations, research and policy organizations, business, international organizations and governments are expected to attend. How we address national security in the 21st Century is expanding, reflecting global environment pressures that pose challenges to the well-being and resilience of both human society and the natural environment. The Environment and Security Conference will address how environmental factors impact both national and personal security with a focus on five interconnected themes: climate disruption and security, energy security, water security, environment and public health security and food security. The conference program will feature six keynote presentations, six plenary roundtables, 23 symposia and 25 interactive breakout workshops. Over 200 distinguished thought leaders, scientists, federal agency officials, policy experts and international authorities will speak at the workshops.
The 12th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment developed strategies for increasing the role and utility of sciences (physical, life, and social) and engineering in supporting decision making by the United States when addressing issues related to climate disruption, energy, water, public health, and food security. The event engaged and drew on the expertise of over 1,000 participants from the military, research, government, civil society, policy, business, and education communities. Experts came from such diverse institutions as: the U.S. Army War College, Sandia National Laboratories, several hundred universities and colleges, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Conservation International, the Texas Water Development Board, and agencies of the federal government. Strategies were developed in workshops covering 24 areas within the five themes of significant security interest to the U.S.: Geographic Combatant Commands and climate change adaptation; Models and decision support for understanding risk, climate disruption and security; Climate change, security and risk assessment; Non-linear climate disruption and security; Fisheries and food security; Conserving critical ecosystems and biodiversity while achieving global food security; Climate change and food security; Remote sensing, food security, and climate change; Trade and national security dimensions of food policy; Achieving universal energy access by 2030; Tradeoffs among new sources of domestic energy; Integrating people into decisions about water; World Water Forum; Watershed payment for ecosystem services; Urban water security; Women, health, and environment; Rural to urban migration; Climate change and health; Biosecurity in a changing climate; Forests and environmental security; Environmental literacy for a secure future; The water-food-energy nexus; Human ecology, human security; and, Water security for humankind and biodiversity. Each workshop: included speakers carefully selected for balanced and diverse viewpoints, as well as international viewpoints; held pre-event conference calls to discuss the workshop goals to generate relevant, broadly-supported, actionable outcomes; involved those in scientific enterprise working across traditional boundaries with each other and with important stakeholders using the science; developed 7-12 actionable strategies to integrate science into specific decision-making processes; and, disseminated those strategies as outcomes from the event. In addition to the reported outcomes from the workshops, participants: shared the current state of knowledge, communicated key messages and reframed issues to reflect 21st-century environment and security challenges; catalyzed partnerships among institutions and organizations to advance research and policy related to environment and security issues; and, worked with students at "student mentoring tables". The conference was covered by 20 media outlets, including several top national publications. Media groups included The New York Times, The Washington Post, Science Magazine, National Geographic Magazine, CQ Roll Call, and The Houston Chronicle. Noted journalists Philip Brasher, Gannett Newspapers; Juliet Elperin, The Washington Post; and Richard Harris, Jonathan Hamilton, and Tom Gjelten, NPR, guided plenary sessions. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman provided a keynote address. Following the conference: NCSE distributed the developed strategies to a wide range of scientific and decision-making entities and continues to make them available through the conference website www.EnvironmentandSecurity.org. The conference website also includes related articles and other resources, videos, and interviews with conference participants and other experts. Special attention in disseminating the strategies was given to NCSE's 200 university members and to federal agences as well as key partner organizations. Solutions Journal featured a special issue on "Sustainability as National Security," presenting articles on key issues addressed at the conference. Contributing authors included noted scientists and policy experts, many of whom participated in the conference. Solutions Journal is an online and print publication devoted to innovative ideas for solving the environmental, economic and social problems. NCSE worked to advance conference strategies through collaboration and possible partnerships with key institutions (such as CNA, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Florida Atlantic University). Each of these project outcomes was notably significant because of the diversity of scientific and non-scientific participants.
