Transitioning to Sustainability Through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels

The National Research Council's Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability hosted "Transitioning to Sustainability through Research and Development on Ecosystem Services and Biofuels: The National Academies' First Federal Sustainability Research and Development Forum" on October 17- 18, 2007. The forum discussed sustainability research and development activities related to ecosystem services and biofuels. The objective of the forum was to identify research gaps and opportunities for collaboration among federal agencies to meet the challenges to sustainability posed by the need to maintain critical ecosystem services, to support the development of alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, and to manage oceans and coastal areas. The forum focused primarily on federal activities, but included the participation of representatives from the private sector, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. This book is a summary the discussions from the forum.