UNESCO Project IGCP 732 - "LANGUAGE" of the Anthropocene
The International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) Council chose “LANGUAGE”, a knowledge network of geological signals for the Anthropocene, as one of 18 new global UNESCO Earth sciences project. The project is coordinated by Michael Wagreich of the Department of Geology at the University of Vienna.
Plastic waste, radioactive fallout, concrete or a new global species extinction event in geological sediments: The Anthropocene, the geological epoch of global human impact on Earth, is associated with many different markers. The project “LANGUAGE – Lessons in anthropogenic impact: a knowledge network of geological signals to unite and assess global evidence of the Anthropocene”, has been approved as one of 18 new projects of the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) in March 2021, seeks to unite different forms of knowledge about the Anthropocene, as well as approaches how to manage this novel planetary crisis in a sustainable way.
Perspectives of developing countries
For this, the project concentrates on developing countries because their perspectives are often missing in the scientific discourse. Although most developing countries are even more affected by environmental changes in the anthroposphere, most stratigraphic studies related to contemporary geological successions are still located within, or are carried out by scientific teams from developed countries. However, there are a lot of young scientists, scattered worldwide in small communities, doing remarkable research into environmental degradation through pollution, spread of intensive agriculture and loss of biodiversity, or trying to understand how environmental changes in the geological past can give insights into more recent human-induced world-wide changes. The project therefore aims at connecting those scientists as well as indigenous communities to a global infrastructure.
Voices of female scientists and indigenous communities
Together with Co-PIs from Pakistan, Poland, Brazil, Kenya, UK, Japan and China –all of them female, which is quite rare in geology, where female voices are often missing too – the knowledge network LANGUAGE in the next five years is uniting and assessing global evidence of the Anthropocene. The research team is going to develop a network of expertise as well as fostering workshops in developing countries and design and collate an open database of existing information and expertise on the Anthropocene.
Chance of interdisciplinarity
The project also aims at widening the discourse about the Anthropocene in regard to interdisciplinarity, which is of particular importance. The concept evolved in geology and in general the natural sciences, but in the meantime it has spread to various disciplines. While this is an important advantage, it has also led to the risk of confusion of different meanings of the term Anthropocene. Eventual formalization of the Anthropocene in geology would help stabilize its use and gives a common starting point for interdisciplinary discussions and research, including to help societies to navigate the many challenges of the emerging Anthropocene world.
About the project
In March, the project LANGUAGE (Lessons in anthropogenic impact: a knowledge network of geological signals to unite and assess global evidence of the Anthropocene) has been approved as one of 18 new projects of the UNESCO International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) by the IGCP Council. The eighteen new IGCP projects increased the IGCP family, which is now formed by a total of 57 active projects. Out of these, 50 projects will receive a total funding of $335k from IGCP in 2021.
International Geoscience programme of the UNESCO
UNESCO is the only United Nations organization with a mandate to support research and capacity building in geology and geophysics. The International Geoscience programme (IGCP) serves as flagship in this regard. This joint venture created 49 years ago by UNESCO, and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) continues to promote the sustainable use of natural resources according to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), advancing new initiatives related to geo-diversity, geo-heritage and geohazards risk mitigation with the financial supports of UNESCO, IUGS, Jeju Province Development Corporation and UNESCO Chinese National Commission. The IGCP Council, supported by the Scientific Board, is responsible for evaluating project proposals according to the IGCP Guidelines, as well as for the quality assessment of projects in progress.