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Thus , at the global scale , the International Council of Scientific Unions ( ICSU ) has endorsed the setting up of the International Geosphere Biosphere Project ( IGBP ) to ‘ describe and understand the interactive physical , chemical and biological processes that regulate the total Earth system , the unique environment it provides for life , the changes that are occurring in that system and the manner by which these changes are influenced by human actions ’ ( Report of ad hoc Planning Group for IGBP 1986 , quoted in IGBP 1988 ) .