New perspective on the climate crisis: an ERC Consolidator grant

People, animals and climate change – these are the themes connected by the INVANISH project, which has been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Researchers will examine how relationships between humans and animals are changing in everyday life. Their work will focus on four regions of the world where animal movements caused by climate change are particularly visible and where people have had to respond in significant ways.

Because of climate change, half of all animal species monitored by scientists are seeking places with more suitable conditions for survival. Traditional species (“vanishers”) leave their habitats, while new ones (“intruders”) move in, radically transforming the situation – both from the perspective of biodiversity and of the people and the other animal species living in these regions.

INVANISH offers a new perspective on the climate crisis: instead of dramatic images of disasters, it highlights the impacts in everyday life – seen directly in how relationships between people and animals are changing before our eyes. With 2024 being the hottest year on record, it is clear that the future shape of landscapes and biodiversity remains an open question.

The project has received a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant and is being brought to the Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences by Deborah Nadal.

“The shift between ‘vanishers’ and ‘intruders’ in a single location can sometimes lead to harmonious ecosystems, but we know that off-balance situations are more common. They are already occurring and are expected to increase, leading to biodiversity loss and negative consequences for humans in terms of livelihood, food security, health, cultural identity, and so on,” says Deborah Nadal, an anthropologist specialising in diseases transmitted between humans and animals.

Alaska, the Alps, Italy and India

A research team composed of anthropologists and ecologists will focus on four locations where climate change is dramatically reshaping the relationships between humans and wildlife, and where the movement of “vanishers” and “intruders” species is clearly visible.

On Alaska’s western coast, experts will study red foxes and walruses; in the Alps, bark beetles and mountain goats; in rural southern Italy, porcupines and the bird species known as the rock partridge; and in the Sundarbans mangroves of India, they will examine Bengal tigers and wild giant honeybees.

“We want to understand how people adapt their daily lives to the arrival of new animals or the disappearance of traditional ones. How hunting, herding, forestry or human and animal safety in the landscape are changing. And whether it is even possible to find a balance between human needs and those of other species as the climate continues to change rapidly,” Nadal explains.

Help of citizen scientists

Along with scientists, the contribution of local people will be appreciated and incorporated.

“Citizen scientists like mushers, honey collectors, hunters and more will be invited to collect and then analyse data with the anthropologists and the ecologists, for example videos from camera trapping, photos they take during hunting, diaries their keep of changes they see in the environment and animals etc.,” says Deborah Nadal.

The project is aligned with the One Health concept, which emphasises that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems is interconnected and must be addressed in a coordinated, multidisciplinary way.

Prestigious ERC Grants and a “Small” Institute

INVANISH will launch in autumn 2026 and run for five years. For the Institute of Ethnology of the CAS, this is already the fourth ERC grant – a remarkable achievement for an institute of its size.

European Research Council (ERC) grants are the most prestigious European funding scheme for the most promising scientific projects. The Consolidator Grant is specifically aimed at researchers who earned their PhD 7–12 years ago and who lead a (typically small) research team or programme that needs to be expanded or strengthened.

Last year, a record-breaking ten ERC Consolidator Grants went to the Czech Republic, four of which were awarded to the Czech Academy of Sciences. This year the Czech Republic succeeded twice, with awards going to the Institute of Ethnology of the CAS and Palacký University in Olomouc – again in the field of humanities and social sciences.

Deborah Nadal is a cultural and medical anthropologist specialising in relationships between humans and animals. Her work focuses on zoonotic diseases – those transmitted from animals to humans – and topics related to the One Health approach.

Contacts:

Deborah Nadal, Institute of Ethnology of the CAS: nadal.deborah@gmail.com

Luděk Brož, Institute of Ethnology of the CAS: broz@eu.cas.cz

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