Research
Earthwatch is one of the largest private funders of scientific field research.
Each year, we support 130 to 140 field research projects with grants, and provide roughly 4000 volunteer field assistants to scientists doing research around the world. Earthwatch support not only provides scientists with valuable people-hours of data collection, it also helps scientists communicate the importance of their work to interested people, who will, in turn, share their newfound knowledge with friends and family.
Projects can include anything from tracking Madagascar’s elusive fossa (a cat-like carnivore) to banding migratory birds in Hungary to educating people about health and hygiene in India and much more!
Earthwatch supports research projects that address the world's pressing environmental issues. Earthwatch particularly seeks to fund research that investigates the following four target priority areas:
Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
The world's natural resources provide the necessities of life on which we all rely, such as food, clean water, timber, fiber, and medicines. Earthwatch supports research that investigates the protection of habitats and species across a range of ecosystems, from those with rich, unspoiled biodiversity to multi-use, farmed, or forested lands. Earthwatch-supported research tackles the challenges of sustainable resource management, identifying solutions to issues such as human-wildlife conflict, habitat connectivity, maintaining water supplies, and managing soil fertility.
Climate Change
Climate change poses the greatest challenge to the sustainability of societies and the ecosystems upon which they depend. Earthwatch funds research that examines the growing impact of climate change on natural habitats, species, and human livelihoods. Earthwatch also supports research that examines adaptation and coping strategies employed by wildlife, and develops management strategies for maintaining functional ecosystems during climatic shifts. Research that provides basic information on the sequestration, storage, and release of carbon from plants and soils around the world is also a high priority for Earthwatch.
Download Earthwatch's position statement on climate change (pdf).
Oceans
A great deal of our efforts in the sustainable management of natural resources and climate change priority areas will also apply to understanding the critical issues affecting the health of the coastal seas. These areas are the most productive part of the oceans, and also the areas that feel the majority of human impacts on the oceans due to human activities such as fishing, fish-farming, oil exploration and production, shipping and its infrastructure, and run off pollutants. Earthwatch supports research that seeks solutions to impacts on critical species such as turtles, manatees, dolphins, whales, sharks, and seabirds. Habitats of particular concern include coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests.
Sustainable Cultures
Earthwatch's sustainable cultures focus will contribute to a better understanding of human interaction with the environment, both past and present, through assessments of behavioral change, attitudes, adaptation, and evolution. Our research examines cultural links to both successful environmental management as well as its degradation. This is achieved through an understanding of the knowledge and practices of communities today as well as investigating the archaeological evidence of past cultures. These outcomes will help with environmental management strategies and policies at local and national levels, including generally safeguarding cultural heritage.
Earthwatch views these priority areas as building blocks for understanding links between the environment and the human population, which can form the basis of positive action. Earthwatch will be developing and refining its priority area focus in the year ahead, shaped in part by input from our volunteers and research fellows in the field.
We look forward to working with international scientists and local communities to ensure a sustainable environment for today and for future generations.
Learn more about opportunities for scientists to work with Earthwatch.