What are "Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change"?
Global Environmental Change (GEC) is the set of biophysical transformations of land, oceans and atmosphere, driven both by human activities and natural processes. These transformations take place on local, regional and global levels, and affect the quality of human life and sustainable development on a worldwide scale. Therefore, research on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change puts people into the center of the analysis. It also takes into account that global environmental change is driven by and takes influence on processes of socio-economic, political and cultural globalization.
IHDP Profile

Why is IHDP needed?
Human activities are having a measurable influence on many aspects of the Earth's environment. Nearly 50% of the land surface has been transformed by direct human action, with significant consequences for biodiversity, soil structure and climate. More than half of the accessible freshwater is used directly or indirectly by humankind, and underground water resources are being depleted rapidly in many areas. The atmospheric concentrations of several important greenhouse gases have increased rapidly since industrialisation began, with potentially dramatic consequences for the Earth's climate. Coastal and marine habitats are being altered at a rapid rate, while fisheries world-wide are being depleted. Scientists world-wide have been studying the causes and consequences of such changes, as well as the possible responses. It has become clear that understanding these global environmental changes needs coordinated contributions from natural scientists, such as ecologists, climatologists and oceanographers, as well as from social scientists, for example economists, anthropologists and sociologists. Research on the human dimensions of global environmental change investigates the human causes and consequences of change, as well as the human responses to change. This research is interdisciplinary and requires input from scholars in developed and developing countries. Global environmental change research in recent years has increasingly recognised the importance of including humans as a central part of the Earth System (see IGBP Science 4: Global Change and the Earth System: A planet under pressure). The International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) is playing an important role in this development.
IHDP Profile

How is IHDP funded?
IHDP-related research activities are funded by a large number of national, regional and international bodies around the world. IHDP's support structure carries out the essential networking and integrating activities and provides a base from which additional funding can be raised to carry out specific research activities. IHDP's scientific and other activities are funded at two levels:

International Project Offices
Each International Project Office (IPO) of the four core projects receives an annual grant from IHDP's core budget. In addition, the IPOs are funded by national bodies and other sources. The annual budget of the IPOs varies, depending on special grants and circumstances. Funders include the U.S. National Science Foundationa (IDGEC),the Research Council of Norway (GECHS), and The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the Netherlands Research Programme on Climate Change (IT). Also, all IPOs receive in-kind support from their host institutions.

IHDP Secretariat
The total income of IHDP in 2003 was US$ 1,344,660. The International Council for Science (ICSU) and the International Social Science Council (ISSC) as joint scientific sponsors of IHDP provided an annual financial contribution to the programme. The German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Research Ministry of Nort-Rhine Westphalia (MWF) granted the core funding of the work of the IHDP Secretariat in 2003. Specific activities such as capacity building workshops, meetings, and publications, were supported by a number of organizations and funding agencies, namely START, APN, IAI, the U.S. Consortium of Social Science Assoiations (COSSA), and the German National Research Center for Environment and Health (GSF). In addition, IHDP received in 2003 national contributions from Austria, China Taipei, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. For 2004, Spain has announced a national contribution to the Secretariat.
Funding

Is IHDP represented in my country of origin?
The harmonization of national and regional research activities on global environmental change within the international global change programmes is gaining more and more importance. The global network of social scientists represented in its National Committees and National Contact Points is one of IHDP's leading strengths and driving forces of research activities, connecting international research agendas to national and regional research agendas. Not only does this network bring together leading scientists to work on human dimension-related issues in their countries or regions, but they also play a leading role in naming participants to IHDP Core and Joint Science Projects as well as influencing the identification of research themes for the Programme as a whole. In order to support research in our field, IHDP places high priority on balancing representation of all regions of the world. To-date, 62 nations are actively linked to our research community. IHDP has 32 National Committees (16 are Global Change Committees with representation from two or more GEC Programmes) and 30 National Contact Points. Out of these countries, more than half are located in developing countries transition economies.
Capacity Development
Activities
National Committees

Does IHDP offer any opportunities for young researchers?
IHDP's commitment to promote the development and strengthening of National Human Dimensions Programmes in developing countries and transition economies continues to be matched by considerable interest and activity in a growing number of countries. Beginning in late 1998, IHDP allocated resources from the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to run a small Seed Grant Initiative to provide "seed grants" to colleagues in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Grants awarded are committed to the production of National Inventories of human dimensions research in selected countries (a "Who is Doing What" report), and toward the organization of national or regional workshops for human dimensions researchers to facilitate the creation of new or strengthening of existing research networks. To-date, twenty-seven seed grants have been awarded in twenty-six nations through the IHDP Seed Grant Initiative.
Seed Grants
Opportunities

Argentina
Chile
Mauritius
Senegal
Bangladesh
Cote d'Ivoire
Mexico
South Africa
Belarus
Fiji
Nepal
Tanzania
Bolivia
Georgia
Nigeria
Vietnam
Brazil
India
Philippines
Yemen
Bulgaria
Kenya
Romania
Cameroon
Laos
Russia