Korea University Hosts KU-IIASA Symposium 2024
The OJEong Resilience Institute (OJERI) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) jointly hosted the KU-IIASA Symposium 2024 on Monday, April 15, at IIASA’s headquarters in Laxenburg, Austria.
The symposium was titled, “Towards integrated approaches for modeling ecosystem material cycles and climate crisis-related disturbances,” a theme that aligns with OJERI’s research direction. Recognized as an Autonomous Core Research Institute by the National Research Foundation of Korea, OJERI has been conducting basic science research on ecosystem material cycles in response to climate and environmental crises.
During the first session presentations and discussions revolved around ecosystem material cycles, focusing on forest and agricultural ecosystems. Researchers from OJERI presented the Ko-G-Dynamics model, a unique approach developed in South Korea, along with integrated modeling methodologies that are being developed in collaboration with IIASA. Researchers from IIASA introduced internationally used models, including G4M for forestry, EPIC for agriculture, and FLAM for forest fires.
The second session offered insights into future research cooperation between OJERI and IIASA, aimed at tackling environmental and climate crises. OJERI presented an overview of ecosystem material cycles and integrated modeling approaches for ecosystems, and IIASA introduced several new analytical systems designed to address the crises. Discussions particularly focused on the management of ecosystem disturbances, such as forest fires, integrated climate change assessment models, and the exploration of carbon capture and bioenergy. Moreover, the session unveiled new collaborative research topics, including environmental and climate initiatives focused on the mid-latitude region, as well as research on the Third Pole, which involves extensive studies of Asia’s highlands. Additionally, a series of presentations were delivered by young scientists, primarily students from the Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering in general graduate programs.
Professor Cho Ki-jong from the Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering proposed various research directions, emphasizing the significance of conducting an integrated analysis of the adaptation and evolution processes of organisms within ecosystem material cycles. Additionally, serving as a panelist, Dr. Song Young-il from the Korea Environment Institute underscored the critical need for collaboration between the two institutions towards achieving integrated modeling and developing future adaptation strategies to tackle the environmental and climate crises faced by South Korea’s essential ecosystems, such as forests and agriculture.
Beginning with this event, OJERI and IIASA will sign an MOU to bolster their comprehensive research collaboration. OJERI Director Lee Woo-kyun stated, “As we’ve explored in this symposium, the disruption to ecosystem material cycles by environmental and climate crises represents a serious challenge. It’s imperative that we formulate a collaborative international response to these issues.” He further noted, “Through our partnership with IIASA, we aim to explore avenues for advancing academic research and delivering practical societal benefits through scientific study.”