Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize winners 2009
Durban, South Africa. Two eminent scientists who have done pioneering work on the intricate relationship between agriculture, climate and the environment, and who have enhanced our understanding of the probable impact of climate change on agriculture, have been named the winners of the 2009 Ernesto Illy Trieste Science Prize. Pramod Kumar Aggarwal from India and Carlos Clemente Cerri from Brazil were honoured at the opening ceremony of the TWAS 11th General Conference, in Durban, on 20 October. The two will share a USD100,000 award funded by the Ernesto Illy Foundation.
Aggarwal, who is ICAR National Professor at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, has developed a broad range of innovative strategies to examine the potential impact of global warming on agriculture, especially in India.
Studies have shown that in India global climate change could lead to crop losses of 10% to 40% by the end of this century as a result of rising temperatures, more variable rainfall and declining water supplies for irrigation. Aggarwal acknowledges that simple adaption strategies, such as changing the date of planting or relying on more drought-resistant plant varieties, may help reduce agricultural losses - at least initially. But his research also indicates that greater climate variability due to warming will ultimately require more aggressive mitigation and adaptation measures, including developing new genotypes and devising alternative water management systems to reduce agriculture's footprint on the environment.
As one of India's leading climate change experts, Aggarwal has served as the coordinator of a government-sponsored national network designed to quantify the sensitivity of crops, forests, livestock and fisheries to global climate change. Comprised of 150 scientists from 23 universities and research centres, the network has been a major source of capacity building for addressing climate change challenges in his native country.
While Aggarwal's research has focused on the impact of climate change on agriculture and food supplies, Cerri, who is a senior scientist at the Universidade de São Paulo, has led the way in examining the impact of land use changes on climate, especially in Brazil. He has earned an international reputation for his studies of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the conversion of savannas and tropical forests to farm and grazing land in the Amazon.
Cerri's research has broken new ground in detailing the extent of carbon exchange that is taking place between the soil and atmosphere in the face of rapid development in the Amazon, where over 600,000 square kilometres of tropical forest, covering an area four times the size of Greece, have been converted to farm and grazing land.
Cerri has also developed an innovative research methodology and accompanying technology, since adopted by scientists in many parts of the world, to measure the amount of carbon dioxide that is released by ploughed soil and decomposing plant matter. He has been an influential advocate for the adoption of best agricultural management practices - for example, no tillage and minimum tillage farming - to reduce agriculture's impact on global warming. Most recently, he has turned his attention to examining the carbon footprint of biofuels produced from sugarcane to help assess the role of biofuels in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate change represents the world's most formidable environmental challenge. It is an issue that has sparked heated debate, not only about its potential impact, but also about the policies and strategies that should be pursued to reduce the risks that it poses. Path-breaking research conducted by eminent scientists like Aggarwal and Cerri is helping us to assess the dimensions of the challenge, while providing a wealth of information to assist policy makers in devising effective responses to this complex and far-reaching problem.
Source: TWAS
