"Planet Earth is facing unprecedented environmental challenges due to human expansion – GCEE hopes to contribute some science-based solutions to mitigate those effects for a sustainable development. - Professor Vincent Savolainen"

Many challenges facing human society depend on the interaction between ecological systems, the environment and human wellbeing. Yet our current understanding of these complex systems is mostly insufficient for science-based intervention.

Based at Silwood Park, but with members from across Imperial College, the UK and the world, this initiative brings together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers to tackle some of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world.

The initiative aims to serve as an international hub to initiate and bring together leaders in fields such as the natural and social sciences, engineering and economics with policy makers and other stakeholders, to work on integrated research programmes that have real-time impacts on conservation and the environment.

Our mission

The Grand Challenges in Ecosystems and the Environment Initiative is a global hub for addressing key environmental challenges for humanity, carrying out internationally excellent science with a focus on finding solutions to these challenges in a collaborative manner, and acting as an interface between science, practitioners and policy makers.