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research news 5winter 2016/2017 + optionswww.iiasa.ac.at iiasa research Citizen science observatory European citizens will soon be able to directly contribute to the analysis of land‑use change in Europe and beyond. A  new observatory established by IIASA and  funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program will  combine satellite images with data collected by citizen scientists around Europe. The  IIASA‑led project, LandSense, will link remote sensing data  with modern participatory data collection methods that  involve citizen  scientists. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/landsense-16 Flood resilience portal Flooding affects more people globally every  year than any other kind of disaster. The new Flood Resilience Portal will be a space for civil society organizations and local government field staff to share innovation, knowledge, and successful practices in building vulnerable people’s resilience to floods. It was developed by the  Zurich Global Flood Resilience Alliance, an  interdisciplinary partnership that includes IIASA, the Zurich Insurance Group, and other public and private entities. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/flood-16 Hand strength and health A simple test of hand strength could be used for early detection of health problems that may lead to premature death, according to new IIASA research. The study provides a comprehensive set of reference values that can be used in medical practice. The  researchers say the test could be a simple, efficient, and low‑cost screening tool. The research grew out of an IIASA‑led project aimed at defining new  measures of aging. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/grip-16 Challenges for water security in Asia While water security in Asia has improved in the past five years, major challenges lie  ahead, according to a new report from the Asian Development Bank. Increasing populations and economic development are projected to lead to a 55% growth in  water demand by 2050. In addition, major  disparities remain between rich and poor households and urban and rural areas. IIASA  researchers contributed to the report, which was released at the World  Water Week in Stockholm. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/waterweek-16 Spreading environmentally conscious behavior O ne of the major questions related to sustainability, environmental protection, and climate change is how to convince people to reduce their consumption. A  study published in the journal Ecological Modelling provides new insight through a unique new modeling framework, which links game theory with  psychology. “Psychological studies suggest that while making decisions about how much of a resource to harvest, consumers take both ecological and social information into  perspective,” says Talha Manzoor, a researcher at the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan, who started the work as a participant in the 2013 IIASA Young  Scientists Summer Program. The new study frames a simple model of consumer behavior and information exchange, and their impact on the dynamics of a shared renewable resource. In many cases when a “tragedy of the commons” occurs, the absence of coordinated decisions by individual consumers leads to overuse of the resource. The researchers used the model to examine to what extent information exchange can help overcome the challenge, and whether affinity between consumers helps them to use the resource more efficiently. They were surprised to find that, at least in the theoretical framework, consumers’ individual actions could go a long way towards optimizing the use of the shared resource. In particular, when individuals placed more importance on information about the actions of others as compared to information about the state of the resource, they were more  likely to modify their actions to reduce their own consumption. “This creates an awareness that it is society, and not nature, that is responsible for the scarcity and so the only way to save the stock is by modifying the mindsets of consumers,” explains Manzoor. “The beauty of this study is that we have taken complex psychological research and managed to translate it into a formula that can be used to examine a global problem,” says  IIASA Advanced Systems Analysis Program Director Elena Rovenskaya, a coauthor. KL Further info Manzoor T, Rovenskaya E, Muhammad A (2016). Game‑theoretic insights into the role of  environmentalism and social‑ecological relevance: A cognitive model of resource consumption. Ecological  Modelling 340:74–85 [pure.iiasa.ac.at/13808]. Elena Rovenskaya rovenska@iiasa.ac.at