Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

IoES research, teaching, and outreach help solve environmental issues and create a more sustainable world.

The Trail Less Traveled

From climate emergency to endangered species, it’s one thing to call out urgent environmental problems. It’s another to take steps toward solving them.

Students and faculty at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES) envision a global future where air and water are clean, food is healthful and abundant, nature is protected, and society thrives. Reaching across disciplines and divisions, IoES researchers accelerate discovery while training future leaders in environmental science.

“UCLA and Los Angeles have the vibrancy, energy, and optimism to ignite a sustainable future for our species, a species that is now primarily city-dwelling but still dependent on nature and inspired by wild things,” says IoES director Peter Kareiva. “But biology and ecology are not enough. We need environmentalism that attacks problems with engineering, technology, economics, politics, history, psychology, and the humanities and the arts.”

Accordingly, IoES work covers vast geographic and topical fields. Close to home, a team is observing plant and animal recovery in the Santa Monica Mountains after the 2018 Woolsey fire; undergraduates partnered with a grassroots coalition to study urban oil drilling’s community consequences; and many IoES projects support UCLA’s Sustainable LA Grand Challenge.

Farther afield, faculty and students are working with regional broadcaster KCET to develop new models for environmental journalism. Abroad, the Congo Basin Institute supports rainforest conservation in central Africa, while Blue Prosperity addresses the effects of climate change and overfishing on small island economies.

Each project provides unique opportunities for students from all backgrounds to gain hands-on experience while earning undergraduate, professional, or doctoral degrees. Graduates go on to write laws, green companies, and produce research, all contributing to environmental solutions.

IoES trailblazers are putting academics into action on the front lines of environmental progress. Your gift will help them find a future that can sustain us all.

Students at White Mountain Research Center participate in a field class.
Prof. Kevin Njabo and Dir. Tom Smith study climate change impacts in Central Africa.
Postdoctoral researcher Garry Bucciarelli studies amphibian toxins in California streams.
Professor Hilary Godwin speaks with a community elder in Cameroon.
Ph.D. candidate Jordan Rosencranz conducts research with the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Bird Genoscope Project uses genetics to map flyways of birds like the yellow warbler.
Prof. Alex Hall discusses impacts of climate change on water resources in the L.A. region.
The first interactive map of energy use across L.A. County is helping inform policy decisions.
A smart phone app helps those affected by air pollution.