The “CAST (China Association for Science and Technology) in International Mega-Science Research Programs” is a long-term VOC column that follows up with the work of the CAST in advancing international science research projects, and showcases the contributions of the Chinese sci-tech community to international sci-tech governance.

The column incorporates an array of specific international science programs, such as the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), Future Earth, and the Urban Health and Wellbeing Program (UHWB).

Integrated Research on Disaster Risk

The IRDR is an international scientific program cosponsored by the International Science Council (ISC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and supported by China Association of Science and Technology (CAST).

The IRDR aims to usher in an inclusive, safe and sustainable world by promoting a better understanding of disaster risk and the effective use of risk science in decision-making.

The IRDR contributes to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction through “A Framework for Global Science in Support of Risk-informed Sustainable Development and Planetary Health” toward 2030 and beyond.

The mission of the IRDR is to mobilize science for the reduction of all types of disaster risk; building resilience and reducing vulnerability by integrating risk science with climate change adaptation and mitigation and sustainable development. IRDR aims to usher in an inclusive, safe and sustainable world by promoting a better understanding of disaster risk and the effective use of risk science in decision-making.

Future Earth

Future Earth aspires to advance research in support of transformations to global sustainability.

Future Earth convenes researchers and scholars around the globe, across different societal and academic sectors, and across the natural, social, and human sciences. Future Earth initiates and supports international collaboration between these researchers and stakeholders to identify and generate the integrated knowledge needed for successful transformations towards societies that provide good and fair lives for all within a stable and resilient Earth system.

Future Earth uses a rigorous transdisciplinary research and systems thinking approach throughout its work in which basic and applied research are combined to generate actionable, solution-oriented knowledge to inform and guide decisions by policy makers and practitioners at all levels of governance.

Future Earth is a network of scientists, researchers, and innovators designed to provide the knowledge needed to support transformations towards sustainability. It focuses on systems-based approaches seeks to deepen our understanding of complex Earth systems and human dynamics across different disciplines. We use this understanding to underpin evidence-based policies and strategies for sustainable development.

Urban Health and Wellbeing Program

The UHWB is a global science program and interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC, previously ICSU), supported by the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and the United Nations University (UNU). Its International Program Office (IPO) is hosted by the Institute of Urban Environment (IUE) of the Chinese Academy of sciences (CAS) in Xiamen, China.

The overarching vision for the UHWB is for people to develop aspired levels of wellbeing by living in healthy cities. A healthy city is one that is continually creating and improving those physical and social environments and expanding those community resources which enable people to mutually support each other in performing all the functions of life and developing to their maximum potential (WHO 1998). The goals of the program are to create knowledge about the multi-faceted determinants and drivers of health and wellbeing in urban environments and communicate this knowledge with science, policy and for capacity building.

The program will generate knowledge which is relevant to people and policy-makers for improving health status, reduce health inequalities and enhance the wellbeing of populations living in urban environments. The type of science applied will take a systems perspective on urban health and wellbeing. This involves systems analysis and modelling approaches but also a trans-disciplinary and problem-oriented approach, actively involving stakeholders in the co-production of knowledge.