Young asian ecologists to lead the next century of ecology

The Ecological Society of America (ESA), the world’s largest ecological society, has celebrated its centennial anniversary, exhibiting the field’s past achievements and major milestones, and presenting future directions and challenges. As U.S. President Barack Obama said in his video speech to the Ecological Society of America, ‘‘I want you to know that I’m grateful that ESA has been by our side, helping us bring science to the table to address climate change, preserve our oceans, and combat droughts and wildfires. Your mission and message couldn’t be more urgent. I know that you will be at the forefront of this national mission for your next hundred years. ’’ Ecology is not a purely theoretical discipline but also an applied field; its development has been growing in tandem with economic growth in the world and varying from region to region. Europe, western Europe in particular, and the USA have been the hub for ecology research. With changes in the global economic landscape and galloping world population, a big question arises: Where is the next center for ecology research? Asia, home to half of the world’s human population, has the fastest growing economies and urban development, along with highly diverse ecosystems. The more robust the economic development in Asia, the more opportunities for ecologists to address ecological issues there. Many ecologists and scientists across the world have shown broad interests in ecological and environmental issues in Asia. Asia has massively increased its investment in ecological science and technology in recent years, yet it still lags behind the U.S.A. and Europe in terms of high-quality scientific research programs, technology innovations, as well as well-established scientists and research teams. The dramatic proliferation of scientific research papers is not necessarily a sign of the quality of the research. There is still a long way to go before young Asian ecologists become major players in the ecological arena. We believe that there are four key areas that can improve the quality of Asian’s ecological research and encourage young Asian ecologists to lead the next century of ecology. (1) Developing global vision and leadership to address global issues. Global ecology issues, such as climate change, Earth system modeling, carbon capture and storage, biodiversity, and ecosystem sustainability, require a global approach. These challenges are interdependent and interrelated and harbor complex dynamics that are often overlooked by policies and programs put in place to address them. Ecology plays a crucial role in identifying and analyzing the issues and in providing scientifically sound nature-based solutions. The ecological perspective must be considered in parallel with the social, economic, and political perspectives in order to obtain optimal and sustainable solutions. Asian young ecologists must be mobilized to play a more prominent role in international collaborative ecological research programs and projects in order to address these pressing global challenges. (2) Enhancing capacity for ecosystem observation and monitoring. There is a limitation to the ecological field survey capacity in some Asian countries. Earth observation, ground-based monitoring, and simulation capacities are critical for long-term, systematic, and large scale ecology research. Appropriate observation, monitoring, and simulation instruments should be invested in to enhance the capacity to track or observe in real time the spatialtemporal and dynamic changes taking place in ecosystems and the services they provide. The Asian Ecology Section (AES), one of 31 sections of the ESA, which has facilitated communications and collaborations among ecologists within the ESA and throughout the world since its inception in 1994, can help in promoting capacity building for ecological research and education in Asia, as well as promoting communication and collaboration among ecologists who are interested in the advancement of ecology in Asia. (3) Developing interdisciplinary international collaborative ecological research programs. International collaboration is on the rise for a variety of reasons, including, most importantly, a desire to work with the best people (who are located at increasingly divergent sites) and the growing need to collaborate on global issues, as well as advances in communication technologies and more affordable travel. Many important and complex ecological problems cannot be solved by one country alone. International collaborative ecological research programs are required to place young Asian ecologists at the forefront of cutting-edge ecology science and to provide them with the opportunities to develop leadership capabilities, explore new research initiatives, lead international projects, and