| Strategy |
Fostering policies, technical capacity-building, research, networking, education and international cooperation in the fields of water, ecological and earth sciences for enhancing societal responses;
Knowledge base relating to the impacts of global change (including climate change) on river basins and aquifer systems improved – particularly in arid and semi-arid regions – via development of adaptation strategies and sharing of strategies with national authorities and other decision-makers;
Institutional capacities in ecosystem management and applied geosciences strengthened to foster policies, research and learning for reducing biodiversity loss, for mitigating and adapting to global change, and for enhancing earth system understanding and monitoring, including the fight against desertification;
Sustainable development promoted via establishment of interdisciplinary learning laboratories using sites of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves for research on biodiversity and sustainability;
Ecological, biodiversity and biological resources management knowledge improved, and capacities enhanced for socio-ecological research including eco-hydrology, to attain the MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals.