PROGRAM TITLE: Human Dimensions ACTIVITY STREAM: Assessment SCIENCE ELEMENT:Human Interactions DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION DESCRIPTION: This program supports high priority USGCRP research on social science dimensions including economic dimensions of global climate change and efforts to convey the scientific results to the public. Areas of special emphasis that derive from NOAA's mission are: i) value of scientific information in policy and resource management decisions; ii) human interactions in coastal areas, particularly economic and other social consequences, including ocean industries; iii) past climate and human adaptation via historical (including archaeological) techniques, and iv) outreach efforts in the coastal community. Among the FY 1993 and 1994 multi-disciplinary projects, spanning the natural and social sciences, that will be expanded are: i)sequential decision- making modelling of responses to climate change, ii) incorporating topographic uncertainty in management of natural hazard induced by climate change, iii) value of reducing uncertainties in ENSO forecasting, iv) social costs of coastal climate change, and v) trade-offs among climate and environmental problems using stochastic multi-objective modelling. A new area of emphasis will be regional integrated assessments addressing climate change and other significant environmental problems. The focused Education Program will continue to train trainers, support postdoctoral candidates, and issue at least one monograph/year. To date, NOAA's level of effort to educate informal educators and the general public is unique among CEES agencies. In FY 1995 NOAA will play a lead role in a major CEES educational program centered around a national videoconference "town hall" meeting featuring the President and Vice- President as well as conduct outreach efforts to targeted groups, such as community leaders and informal educators; and expand an extramural grants program to fund innovative and cost effective education programs. All of the programs discussed use peer review of proposals solicited through a yearly announcement. Committees of external experts for NOAA's Climate and Global Change Program and for the Human Dimensions Program provide guidance and oversight. STAKEHOLDERS: NOAA's research on characterizing scientific uncertainties (natural science and economic) is absolutely critical to conducting and evaluating results from large integrated assessment modeling. Specific stakeholders include the broad-based policy community, decision-makers at a range of levels, educators, environmentalists, and scientists. The research has direct links to other working groups including observations (TOGA) and assessment (IRICP) for improved understanding of social value of ENSO predictions for economic activities). The Program complements the work of the IGBP through the Land-Oceans Intereactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) program, the international Human Dimensions of Global Change Program (HDP), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the Organization of Economic and Community Development (OECD), and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). The Education program is the cornerstone of the major 11-federal agency CEES education initiative in FY 1995. SHORT-TERM POLICY PAYOFFS: The Program directly supports the IPCC Working Groups II and III providing estimates and methods for assessing coastal consequences of climate change, enhanced understanding of vulnerability to global climate change, and methods used to analyze decision- making under uncertainty. Long-term payoffs include i) identification and characterization of scientific variables central to policy assessments; ii) comparison of trade-offs across various environmental goals; iii) enhanced understanding of adaptation processes both past and present; and iv) more effective provision of global environmental information to consumers (trainers, policy-makers, community groups). PROGRAM CONTACT:Claudia Nierenberg, Office of Global Programs, Suite 1225, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 427-2089 x46.