Sustainability Under Uncertainty

The concept of the Sustainability Under Uncertainty program is to explore the possibility of building an integrated, collaborative, interdisciplinary program at the University of Arizona that specifically focuses on the sustainability of ecosystems in the arid and semiarid borderlands. The organizers of the program have been awarded an NSF Decision Making Under Uncertainty (DMUU) grant to support two workshops aimed at achieving this goal. These workshops take the first steps toward envisioning a world-class program that capitalizes on the expertise and synergies of experts to enhance scientific knowledge about the ecosystems of the Southwest, to build the tools needed for decision support, and to improve education and outreach efforts needed to achieve sustainability in this region. The knowledge created will also serve as a foundation for similar efforts being undertaken in other arid and semiarid areas of the world.