Trans- and interdisciplinary education and research agenda
SAGE contributes to empowering societies to find science-based solutions to adaptive management of natural resources in a changing world. With a strong focus on the regional aspect of transboundary resources and many activities related to capacity building, SAGE not only helps in creating more effective resource management via scientific expertise, but also promotes a transdisciplinary dialogue of scientists and stakeholders concerned with climate change.
Based on the need to look at nature and society simultaneously, SAGE adopts an integrated approach where research, education, and application (Fig. left) include the entire social-ecological systems (Fig. below). To that end, we have assembled a highly inter- and transdisciplinary group of experts who jointly address the challenges. These will work together to train a new generation of scientists and stakeholders in the development of effective, science-based solutions to the environmental crises in the Middle East.
These strategies will not only focus on the processes in the natural subsystem but also place a particularly strong focus on the implementation gap, i.e. the ultimate reasons for the lack of effective policies and management measures, even when they are known. We know that some of these may be overcome when transboundary resources are managed jointly, and knowledge is shared in the region. Therefore, aspects of regional cooperation play a key role in our education and research agenda.
Our guiding principle is the the interconnectedness of the social-ecological systems. To that end, we have defined four intertwined core areas of expertise:
Area A – Climate and Hydrology
Area B – Biodiversity and Land Use
Area C – Ecosystem Services and Socio-Economy
Area D – Governance and Ethics
DAAD Global Centres
SAGE is one of four international Climate Centres funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Its main host is the An Najah National University. SAGE is coordinated by the University of Tübingen, Germany. SAGE closely cooperates with the other DAAD Climate Centres in South America, Africa and Asia and thus benefits from a broad international perspective.