Seite - 2 - in options, Band summer 2018

editorialoptions Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat Director General and CEO, IIASA www.iiasa.ac.at2 options ◼ summer 2018 About Options Options magazine features recent IIASA research and activities. Editorial team Philippa Baumgartner and Iain Stewart Writers Ansa Heyl, Katherine Leitzell, Kerry Skyring, Iain Stewart, Jeremy Summers, Helen Tunnicliffe Expert reviewers Juraj Balkovic, Juan Carlos Laso Bayas, Yuri Ermoliev, Tatiana Ermolieva, Gustav Feichtinger, Steffen Fritz, Sir Peter Gluckman, Anne Goujon, Angel Gurría, Julian Hunt, Daniel Huppmann, Leena Ilmola-Sheppard, Jessica Jewell, Sylvain Leduc, Wolfgang Lutz, Junko Mochizuki, Michael Obersteiner, Sergio Rinaldi, Joeri Rogelj, Nandita Saikia, Yusuke Satoh, Wenji Zhou Design Adam Islaam This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For any commercial use please contact repository@iiiasa.ac.at ZVR 524808900 Prepared by the IIASA Communications Department Printed by AV Astoria on recycled paper Options is sent to over 6,500 policymakers, diplomats, and scientists. If you would like to update your subscription preferences or subscribe to Options or other IIASA publications, please visit www.iiasa.ac.at/keepintouch. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions of IIASA or its supporting organizations. About IIASA IIASA uses systems analysis to research the critical issues of  environmental, economic, and technological change we face today. Many of the most pressing problems of our times —climate change, food and water security, and biodiversity decline, to name just a few—are too complex to be solved by a single country or discipline. IIASA produces world-class research that integrates problems, drivers, and impacts, helping countries around the world to produce effective, evidence-based policies to tackle these challenges. IIASA produces  data, models, and research tools;  peer-reviewed scientific papers; and  policy-relevant information. IIASA helps  countries produce effective policy;  develop international research networks; and  support the next generation of scientists. IIASA is represented by its National Member Organizations in the following countries: Austria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India (Observer), Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam. IIASA A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria Phone +43 2236 807 0 Fax +43 2236 71313 E-mail info@iiasa.ac.at Web www.iiasa.ac.at twitter.com/iiasavienna facebook.com/iiasa blog.iiasa.ac.at linkedin.com/company/iiasa-vienna youtube.com/iiasalive flickr.com/iiasa Building bridges to a sustainable future As my term as Director General and CEO of IIASA is nearing its end, I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead the institute in building bridges across political divides through science for the past six and a half years. My thanks go to the IIASA Council, colleagues at the institute, and our global network for their continued support, hard work, and dedication. In this issue of Options, we highlight IIASA's work in analyzing and addressing some of the challenges that society face in multiple domains. Groundbreaking collaborative work undertaken by the IIASA Water Program for example, is looking at how inter-related issues such as climate change, population growth, and urbanization are adding to uncertainties about future water supply in Asia. The research aims to find sustainable solutions to address these challenges at the local, national, and global level (pages 14-17). Migration has also become an increasingly divisive issue across Europe, and continues to be fueled by socioeconomic considerations and armed conflicts. To address this, IIASA researchers are working with EU policymakers to provide a scientific basis for migration policies that will benefit Europe, while simultaneously ensuring that humanitarian needs are met (pages 18-19). Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is inextricably linked to how we understand the challenges we are faced with, and how we connect the scientific knowledge needed to do this with policy-making processes. Systems analysis is critical to achieving the necessary understanding in this regard. Through its National Member Organizations, IIASA has made great strides in advancing the discipline of systems analysis in its member countries. The Southern African Systems Analysis Centre (SASAC) for instance, is currently enabling a whole new generation of scientists to use systems analysis and linking with IIASA to solve complex challenges in their country and on the African continent (pages 12-13). The institute also welcomed Israel as its newest member country in December 2017 (page 25). This new partnership will contribute to the development of international research collaborations, and help to build a research base for systems analysis in the country. I would like to again thank everyone who has contributed to helping IIASA fulfill its mandate and making it the stimulating, productive environment it is today. I look forward to bringing my experiences from IIASA to my new position as first Chief Scientist of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and hope to foster new collaborations between the two institutions in the future.  Options online version: www.iiasa.ac.at/options