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On 22 November, associate professor of sustainable development research and head of the TU Institute of Ecology Mihkel Kangur was elected the head of the Future Earth Europe Alliance. Previously, Kangur was the head of the Estonian Committee in the alliance, as well as President of the Estonian Geography Association.

“One of my main tasks will be to harmonise the actions between the national committees, the alliances, and the European centre of Future Earth,” said Kangur. “On the other hand, we have to improve the communication and collaboration between national committees to work better together in finding sustainable solutions to global challenges.”

Kangur also says global issues cannot be resolved by scientists on their own. Problems of such scale can only be tackled by cooperating with decision makers, entrepreneurs and university staff on the local as well as global scale. “These ‘big’ questions will be the main theme of the conference we will host in Tallinn next autumn,” Kangur added.

Future Earth is a major international research platform providing the knowledge and support to accelerate transformations to a sustainable world. Launched in 2015, this 10-year initiative seeks to advance Global Sustainability Science, build capacity in this rapidly expanding area of research and provide an international research agenda to guide natural and social scientists working around the world. It is also a platform for international engagement to ensure that knowledge is generated in partnership with society and users of science.

The Tallinn University Institute of Ecology concentrates on the study of the structural-functional organisation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and their responses to changing environmental conditions. As a practical result, the data obtained in basic research is used to prognosticate the development of ecosystems, landscapes, communities and physiological changes in plants connected with natural processes, climate changes and human activities.