Two University of Georgia professors have co-authored a “roadmap” that outlines six “grand challenges” to the U.S. in regards to natural resources.
Rhett Jackson, a professor in the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, was one of 35 authors of the roadmap. He said the purpose of the roadmap is to prioritize research and policy decisions by deciding the most important issues surrounding natural resources. “The idea of this roadmap is to set priorities for research and outreach that the scientists, by consensus, decide are the issues that are most important that we need to be focusing on,” Jackson said.
The six grand challenges that the researchers determined were sustainability, water, agriculture, energy, climate change and education.
Jackson said he worked on the portion of the map that dealt with water challenges. “We collaboratively went through the literature, talked to colleagues, and the point of the roadmap was, based on current knowledge, decide what most important water quality issues are,” he said.
The audiences the map is meant for are the federal science agencies, state governments, universities and the general public, Jackson said.
From The Red & Black: https://www.redandblack.com/uganews/uga-researchers-outline-grand-challenges-for-natural-resources/article_ad6f1d98-f589-11e3-8c47-0017a43b2370.html