Future Earth has hired a Director of the Secretariat of the newly-formed Earth Commission, a group of leading international experts tasked with synthesizing the latest science to underpin the development of science-based targets. The commission will work over the next few years to create a high-level synthesis of scientific knowledge on the biophysical and social processes that regulate the stability of the “Global Commons” — our shared land, seas, and atmosphere, as well as the ecosystems and species they host that are critical for the support of life on Earth.

Alongside his colleagues in the Secretariat, Apurva Dave will work closely with the experts on the Earth Commission and its working groups, key staff at Earth Commission partner organizations PIK and IASSA, and the Future Earth secretariat. He will also work to connect the Commission’s work to the broader effort it is part of, the Global Commons Alliance.

Learn more about the Earth Commission here.

Apurva will also act as Research and Innovation Lead for Future Earth, working with science officers in the Future Earth secretariat and the international project offices to develop stronger strategies and structures for working with its Global Research Projects and Knowledge-Action Networks. 

“We have worked with Apurva since Future Earth was launched in the U.S. and it’s really exciting to be able to get such a strong endorsement that he is willing to join our team,” said Josh Tewksbury, Global Hub Director, Colorado, Future Earth.

Apurva will be working from George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth, one of the three core hosting institutes supporting Future Earth in the U.S., including Colorado State University’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SOGES) and University of Colorado Boulder’s Sustainability Innovation Lab at Colorado (SILC). He will be working from Mason’s Fairfax campus in Virginia, and from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) offices in Washington, D.C.   

Apurva is well-placed for this work with Future Earth, as he is leaving three years as the International Coordinator for the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). In this position, he oversaw the implementation of USGCRP’s strategy to promote international cooperation on global change research, and coordinated the International Activities Interagency Working Group. He also facilitated connections between U.S. agencies (NASA, NOAA, NSF, and more) and international programs (Future Earth, Belmont Forum, ISC, IAI, WCRP and more). Apurva’s roots are of Indian and East African origin and he spent his early years in the UK before moving to the U.S.

“Apurva’s experience from coordinating and synthesising science at the U.S. Global Change Research Programme will be extremely valuable for the Earth Commission. I am very excited to have Apurva join the team and lead the Earth Commission secretariat,” said Wendy Broadgate, Global Hub Director, Sweden, Future Earth.