View this email in your browser

Year 2024 – Vol. 36 – N.2

Providing a path to international climate science

EDITORIAL

Voices from the global South have to be included and heard in our response to the climate crisis 

Quarraisha Abdool Karim, TWAS President

Amid all the pressing challenges facing humanity, recent anomalous weather patterns and increasingly frequent natural disasters are a reminder that this existential threat needs urgent attention globally. In the words of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on World Environment Day: "The need for action is unprecedented but so is the opportunity—not just to deliver on climate, but on economic prosperity and sustainable development."

Unsurprisingly, the global South is bearing a disproportionate burden of climate change’s impact due to the limited infrastructure, capacity, and resilience to respond timeously and effectively in the face of multiple competing priorities. TWAS has begun seeking ways to bridge some of these gaps through novel approaches to training and capacity development—equipping climate scientists from the Global South with the means to have their voices heard when global climate policy and decisions are being made, and enabling them to contribute to evidence-based decision-making nationally, regionally and globally.

In this edition of the TWAS Newsletter, you will see some of the results of these efforts. We highlight a special training workshop that showcased the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and how participation in it influences policy.

Climate Ambassadors 

Bringing new voices into international climate science

Climate change is a global crisis that requires a global response—but the fact remains that some regions in the world, particularly in the global South, will bear the brunt of its effects. But how can the world community ensure that scientists from regions that will bear the brunt are included in the process of assessing it, and shaping the world’s response?

To address this question, TWAS brought together 45 scientists from 36 developing countries and 15 highly accomplished climate experts with the UN-run Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Trieste, Italy, on 14–16 May. While there, the global South researchers received unique training on how the IPCC works, as well as the challenges of communicating its findings to policymakers and a global audience. 

Networking and mentorship are key for climate action

When Peter Kabano was invited to the TWAS workshop that addressed climate issues at the international level, he welcomed the news as an opportunity to expand his competence in this field, address the challenges of effective communication about this topic, and receive unique training on how the IPCC works.

Kabano, a geospatial data scientist from Uganda, is a past recipient of two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scholarships. The TWAS workshop, which hosted IPCC experts, appeared to be an excellent chance of scientific growth.

Stronger negotiation skills to protect the environment

Nkeletseng Mats'umunyane is a Lesothan expert in water resources management and geographic information systems (GIS)—a tool used for environmental modelling, management, and planning. As a recipient of a TWAS-Sida PhD Scholarship for Climate Research for Students from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), she is poised to explore questions related to climate change and its impact on protected areas.

Her research will focus on lands and rivers within these areas of Lesotho, where natural resources are safeguarded and managed sustainably. 

TWAS HIGHLIGHTS

TWAS Fellow’s essay makes the case for trusting science

Science educators today face a dilemma: Digital technology provides students with an unprecedented deluge of information, some of it true, and much of it false. How does science, which strives to reveal insights about the universe through meticulous, rigorous work and careful inspection from professional peers, thrive in such an environment?

A new essay seeks to address this challenge, describing science, its processes, and the basis of its credibility in clear terms. The authors’ aim is to help educators give students, from age 12 to college age, a clear understanding of how science works, and why evidence-based judgments are more credible than a simple belief.

Biosecurity: where science and diplomacy combine

From virus detection to preventing biological weapon development—biosecurity is an arena in which science and diplomacy must ultimately combine, said the participants at the latest science diplomacy course co-organized by TWAS.

The event brought 18 early-career researchers from low- and middle-income countries to Trieste, all life scientists for whom science diplomacy was new, to teach them about the field, as well as research responsibility. The event also taught them ways to provide policy advice, contribute to international agreements, and build on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After two days of the course on science diplomacy, the participants relocated to International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) headquarters in Trieste for three days of hands-on biotechnology training in the laboratory.

Computer algorithms to fight malaria

Fetenech Meskele Ganebo, dean at the School of Informatics, Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia, is using artificial intelligence to predict the spread of malaria within Ethiopian communities.

The computer scientist visited the University of Trieste, in Italy,  from 15 January to 15 April 2024 under a TWAS-SISSA-Lincei Research Cooperation Visits Programme fellowship. During her time there, she worked to leverage the power of machine-learning approaches. Her aim is to develop algorithms that predict how the disease may affect the population according to climatic conditions and demographic situation.

Providing timely assistance to pregnant women

Pregnant women who live in Kenya’s degraded areas, including slums, often receive poor or delayed health care and may die during childbirth. Malawian demographer Nyovani Janet Madise is committed to improving their conditions, and for her advocacy for these women to African governments, including raising awareness, she has received the 2023 TWAS-Fayzah M. Al-Kharafi Award.

"I'm humbled and honoured for this recognition, which comes without expectations on my side. This award is like the icing on the cake because getting governments to act is a prize in itself," she said. "I hope that this award makes policymakers aware of pregnant women’s situations that are not acceptable anymore."

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Support TWAS

A donation contributes to the advancement of science,
engineering, and technology in developing nations.

The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) works to support sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy and diplomacy.

TWAS was founded in 1983 by a distinguished group of scientists from the global South and global North, under the leadership of Abdus Salam, the Pakistani physicist and Nobel laureate. As of January 2024, TWAS had 1,416 elected Fellows representing over 110 countries; 13 of them are Nobel laureates. It is based in Trieste, Italy, on the campus of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).

Through almost four decades, the Academy’s mission has remained consistent, namely to:

• Recognize, support and promote excellence in scientific research in the developing world
• Respond to the needs of young scientists in countries that are lagging in science and technology
• Promote South-South and South-North cooperation in science, technology and innovation, and
• Encourage scientific and engineering research and sharing of experiences in solving major problems facing developing countries.

With its partners, it has graduated over 1,000 PhDs and offered hundreds of postdoctoral fellowships to developing world scientists. The Academy also hosts prestigious scientific awards in the global South, has offered numerous research grants, and supports exchange visits for scientists.

TWAS hosts and works in association with two organizations, also hosted on the ICTP campus: the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) and the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) .

At its founding in 1989, OWSD was the first international forum uniting women scientists from the developing and developed worlds. Today, the organization has more than 8,200 members. Their objective is to strengthen the role of women in the development process and promote their representation in scientific and technological leadership.

IAP represents more than 140 national and regional science and medical academies worldwide. It provides high-quality analysis and advice on science, health and development to national and international policymakers and the public; supports programmes on scientific capacity-building, education and communication; leads efforts to expand international science cooperation; and promotes the involvement of women and young scientists in all its activities.

TWAS, a programme unit of UNESCO , receives its core funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

TWAS NEWSLETTER
Produced quarterly by The World Academy of Sciences
for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS)

Strada Costiera 11, 34151, Trieste, Italy
e-mail: info@twas.org | website: www.twas.org 
 
TWAS Council: https://twas.org/council 
TWAS Executive Director a.i.: Atish Dabholkar
TWAS Public Information Unit: https://twas.org/press-room