Want to solve a pressing issue and create a sustainable path to the future? The Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability hosts workshops, symposia and panels to convene inter- to transdisciplinary teams which includes University scholars and partners external to the University. Contact Sudeep Chandra to learn more and apply.
Contact Sudeep Chandra
Faculty and researchers form the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability engage in long-term projects and initiatives across the world. Their work with regional experts has helped inform local policies that help protect imortant ecosystems and promote sustainbility measures for communities worldwide.
Since its inception, the Global Water Center has done work in dozens of locations, from Mongolia, to Antarctica, to Chile, and its faculty have done research on every continent. Zeb Hogan, GWC conservation biologist and host of the National Geographic show "Monster Fish," recently led a fish release of over 1,500 fish into a fish reserve in the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia.
Faculty from the Tahoe Institute have been working in Mongolia for over 10 years to help inform sustainable river use and ecosystem management globally. Their research has helped cultivate sustainable communities and connect students to global research intiatives.
Tahoe Institute faculty and resarchers are excited to be a part of the University's historic partnership with the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe. As part of this agreement, Institute researchers are part of a team helping monitor long-term changes to Summit Lake through the Summit Lake Watershed Environmental Observation Network (SWEON), and are working with a multi-organizational team of experts from the Summit Lake Pauite Tribe and state and federal agencies to understand local and global changes to the environment.
The Journal of Lost Species (JLS) is a peer-reviewed record of the ongoing extinction event. Our goals are to advance scientific understanding of extinction, support the development of methods for biodiversity documentation, and facilitate the rediscovery of lost species.
Learn more about the JLS
The Castle Lake Environmental Research and Education Program (CLEREP) has been exploring the mysteries of mountain lakes since 1959, when Dr. Charles Goldman founded it at UC Davis. For over five decades — without a single interruption — it has built the longest-running mountain lake research record in the Americas. In 2007, Dr. Sudeep Chandra at the University of Nevada, Reno took the helm, keeping the program's research and education mission alive by blending shorter focused studies with the big-picture insights that only a 50+ year dataset can offer. These insights include:
Learn more about the Castle Lake Environmental Research and Education Program.
Tahoe Institute faculty have set up one of the world's longest and most intensive observational studies of insects, of more than 160 different kinds of butterflies across 10 sites in Northern California. Data from this long-term monitoring is available to the public on the Western Butterfly Monitoring website.
Lake Atitlán, considered one of the world's most beautiful lakes, has seen its ecology severely disrupted by pollution: most dramatically in 2008, when a major algal bloom alarmed local residents and highlighted how little scientific research had been done to understand the lake's changes. In response, an international team of researchers, including faculty from the Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability, partnered with Guatemalan scientists in 2009 to begin investigating the causes of the lake's decline. The resulting project aims to protect Lake Atitlán by building long-term monitoring systems, modernizing research infrastructure, and training the next generation of Guatemalan scientists to study the lake and inform the policies needed to restore it.
Watch a video about the efforts at Lake Atitlán.
Learn more about the United for Lake Atitlán, Guatemala Project.
The Summit Lake Watershed Environmental Observatory Network (SWEON) is a collaborative project between the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe and several research and government partners, including Institute faculty, designed to monitor, study, and restore the Summit Lake Reservation and its surrounding watershed. Using real-time data collection technology, the project works to protect critical habitats, including those of the culturally significant Lahontan cutthroat trout. Ultimately, SWEON aims to strengthen the Tribe's sovereignty and cultural heritage by building a healthier, more resilient ecosystem for future generations.
Discover the Summit Lake Watershed Environmental Observatory Network.