First Circular: South Asia Media Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation, 18-20 May 2011

Date: 31 March 2011

Subject: South Asia Media Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation

Dear Journalist,

The Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (Adaptation Knowledge Platform)/Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)/Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN), are organising a three-day media workshop in Dhulikhel, near Kathmandu, Nepal, from 18 to 20 May 2011.

The theme of the workshop will be climate change effects and adaptation practices in the areas of water and agriculture. Experts in various aspects of the topic will brief journalists, who will also have the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions and witness the effects of climate change and adaptation practices during a one-day field trip that will be part of the workshop.

The workshop is open to journalists from any media in eight South Asian countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Those interested in participating should apply through the form available at http://www.icimod.org/?q=3119. Complete application requires CV and two clippings/links to relevant published news or other works (printed, audio-visual, online etc). The deadline for receiving applications is 8 April 2011. Only successful candidates will be contacted, and their expenses to attend the workshop will be borne by the organisers.

For further information, please contact youthmedia@icimod.org. 

Sincerely,

Young-woo Park, Ph.D

Regional Director and Representative for Asia

and the Pacific

United Nations Environment Programme

Regional Office for Asia & the Pacific

Andreas Schild, Ph.D

Director General

International Centre for Integrated Mountain

Development

------------------------

About the Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network

The Regional Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform for Asia (Adaptation Knowledge Platform) and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) are fostering generation and sharing of information, best practices and knowledge on climate change adaptation, and facilitating integration of knowledge into decision making processes. Adaptation Knowledge Platform and APAN aim to build climate resilience of vulnerable human systems, ecosystems and economies and working as a catalyst towards building bridges between knowledge providers and users on climate change adaptation. It includes research institutes and centre of excellences both in governments and non-governments sectors, development partners and agencies, practitioners and communities, all need adaptation knowledge.

Partners: AIT-UNEP RRCAP, SEI, UNEP, IGES, Ministry of Environment-Japan, ADB and SIDA.

Email: info@climateadapt.asia

Website: http://www.asiapacificadapt.net

------------------------

About the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and the Asia Pacific Mountain Network

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalisation and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living downstream – now, and for the future.

The Asia Pacific Mountain Network, APMN, is a knowledge sharing platform connecting mountain regions and communities through dialogue and networking. APMN captures, enriches, and disseminates information on mountain development issues in and for the Asia-Pacific region. APMN also works as communication arm of ICIMOD dedicated to Link Mountain communities in the Himalayas with those in others part of Asia Pacific and beyond.

Email: tmahat@icimod.org

Website: www.icimod.org

www.icimod.org/apmn/

Tek Jung Mahat
APMN Node Manager, Knowledge Management
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel +977-1-5003222 Ext 104 Fax +977-1-5003277 Web www.icimod.org

Visit the APMN website at: www.icimod.org/apmn

Please join the network from: http://mtnforum.org/mem/join.cfm

Application open: Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES) course in Kostunici, Serbia, 8 – 25 July 2011

Application open: Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES) course in Serbia

Kostunici, Serbia, 8 – 25 July 2011

  

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

ACTIS, in collaboration with the Alliance for Global Sustainability (a university partnership between the ETH Zürich, MIT Boston, University of Tokyo and Chalmers University), the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW) and the Environmental Engineering group Novi Sad/Serbia, is pleased to announce the opening of the applications for the 2011 Youth Encounter on Sustainability (YES) course in Serbia.

The YES course aims to sensitize participants to the complex issues of sustainable development in a global context, through course work, field trips, workshops, group work, and discussions in a practical, international learning experience, combined with social and cultural activities. The course brings together an inspiring group  of upper level students and young professionals from different disciplines, cultures and nationalities to learn together in a unique environment. The program builds on 10 years of experience successfully running YES in 10 different countries. ACTIS is an ETH spin-off organization created specifically to expand the YES program and related activities.

Please find information on SERBIA and the YES program 2011 attached. DEADLINE: 20th April 2011. For more information on all YES activities consult:

www.actis-education.ch

  Sincerely,

Dr.Roger Baud

Director

ACTIS – Activating Talent in Sustainability

Tel.: +41 44 280 33 06

Fax: +41 44 281 22 44

mobile: +41 79 502 21 24

email: roger.baud@actis-education.ch

Downloads:

YES Serbia_pdf.pdf

YES Serbia application.docx

YES Brochure 2011_pdf.pdf

YES course program 2011_v2.pdf

University of Twente Scholarship

University of Twente Scholarship

The University of Twente has several scholarships for students completing UT postgraduate programmes. These scholarships vary from government grants to funding by organizations or private people. In addition, faculties and the University of Twente Scholarship Foundation offer a limited number of scholarships for excellent students.

All scholarships require that all UT application procedures are fully completed before applying for the scholarship. Because of strict deadlines, apply for admission at least two months before the scholarship deadline. Applying for a scholarship is possible as soon as you have received a letter confirming admission. Please note some scholarships are for students of specific nationalities or studying certain educational programmes.

Field of study

· Applied Mathematics · Applied Physics · Biomedical Engineering · Business Administration · Business Information Technology · Chemical Engineering · Civil Engineering and Management · Communication Studies · Computer Science · Construction Management and Engineering · Educational Science and Technology · Electrical Engineering · Embedded Systems · European Studies · Health Sciences · Human Media Interaction · Industrial Design Engineering

· Industrial Engineering and Management · Environmental and Energy Management · Mechanical Engineering, · Mechatronics, · Nanotechnology, · Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society, · Public Administration, · Science Education and Communication, · Sustainable Energy Technology, · Systems and Control · Telematics

LEVEL OF STUDY

Master

 

SHORT DESCRIPTION

The UT Scholarship is awarded by the Foundation University of Twente Scholarship Programme of the University of Twente. The UT Scholarship is meant for international students who show excellence, both academically as well as socially. The UT Scholarship is awarded for one year of study and is extended for a second year if study results are sufficient. Please note that you can only be nominated for the UT Scholarship after you have been (provisionally) accepted by the educational programme of your choice.

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION

·	The online application form for admission to the university has been completed and all certified documents have been received.

·	You have been (provisionally) accepted to a master programme at the University of Twente.

·	You are excellent, both academically as well as socially.

·	Sufficient mastery of the English language:

o	academic IELTS, overall band score of at least 6.5 / TOEFL, internet based (TOEFL-iBT) of at least 90

o	academic IELTS, speaking score of at least 6.0 /  TOEFL, internet based (TOEFL-iBT) speaking score of at least 20

·	Your faculty has nominated you for the UT Scholarship.

·	You are a national of a non EU/EEA country.

·	You show potential to become a future leader (of industry).

·	You are strongly committed to society.

·	The UT Scholarship is not meant for candidates who already have their Master degree

 

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION

You cannot apply for the UT Scholarship yourself. You can only be nominated by the faculty of the university for a UT Scholarship between October 2010 and May 2011.

 

SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT

The amount of the scholarship will be determined by the faculty with a maximum of €20,000. Please be aware that only a limited number of scholarships are available. Only the most excellent students will be nominated.

 

APPLICATION INFORMATION

After being admitted to the University, the faculty may decide to nominate you for the scholarship. In that case the faculty will contact you to confirm your interest in the scholarship. 

 More at: http://www.utwente.nl/internationalstudents/scholarshipsandgrants

Training courses on forest governance and landscape approaches

Dear colleagues,

We are most happy to announce two of our upcoming forest-related training courses. The first is on “Governance for forests, nature and people”, and has a focus on multi-stakeholder governance design in forested landscapes. Besides providing insight in today’s challenges of globalisation, increased resource extraction, and climate change, ample attention will be paid to new opportunities in the field of forest-oriented policy design, collaborative learning and action and landscape level. Latest news on REDD and REDD+ will form an important part of the agenda. This course is a co-production of CIFOR and Wageningen University, and will take place in Bogor, Indonesia, from October 24th until November 4th.

The second course is on “Landscape functions and people”. In this course, the complexity of inter-related ecological, economic and social processes at landscape level processes will be analysed from a system perspective. Deeper understanding of these processes will help planners to facilitate planning processes at landscape level, from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Ample attention will be paid to the principles and guidelines of an Adaptive Landscape Approach, as how they have been discussed during the previous online learning event.

This course is a co-production of RECOFTC and Wageningen University, and will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 21st until December 2nd.

Target groups for both courses are staff members of government departments, non-government and civil society organisations, business associations, development agencies, universities and colleges for higher education, and for other professionals working in the domain of forests, landscapes, natural resources management, and other related fields.

For more information about both courses and online application we refer to our website:

http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/agenda/Governance_for_forest_nature_and_people.htm

and http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/agenda/Landscape_functions_and_people.htm

For both courses Netherlands government (NFP) fellowships are available. Please note that the application procedure has been changed. NFP candidates must apply online (or in hard copy, if you face problems with online application) to Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation for admission to the training. Acceptable candidates will receive a letter informing them if they have been admitted. In order to receive an NFP fellowship you have to apply through the Scholarship online (Sol).

Applications should be submitted to Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation before 1 May 2011 (which is barely five weeks from now...).

If you have any further questions, please ask them to Suzanne

(Suzanne.vanderwielen@wur.nl) or Cora (cora.vanoosten@wur.nl).

World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference, 24-28 October 2011, Denver, USA

World Climate Research Programme Open Science Conference

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) will host a major Open Science Conference (OSC) in October 2011 in Denver with the title "Climate Research in Service to Society"

(http://www.wcrp-climate.org/conference2011/)

The conference aims to attract the world’s experts to provide a unique synthesis of current research findings on climate variability and change, to identify the most urgent scientific issues and research challenges, and to ascertain how the WCRP can best facilitate research and develop partnerships critical for progress in the future.

The organizing committee has defined the details of the programme and we have issued a call for abstracts and registration. As part of the communications strategy for the OSC we would like to advertise the call as widely as possible.

Some key dates:

*31st March*
Last day to submit request for travel support
Last day to submit abstract for those requesting travel support
Last day to submit abstract for those needing US Visas

*30th April*
Last day to submit abstracts (everyone!)

*30th June*
Early registration deadline

Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics on ‘Extremes: Natural Disasters in Changing Climate’

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: University of Catania - EAERE - FEEM

Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics on ‘Extremes: Natural Disasters in Changing Climate’

Belpasso (Italy), September 4th - 10th, 2011
http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2011/

Deadline for applications: May 15th, 2011

The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Catania, the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE) and the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), with the sponsorship of the Municipality of Belpasso, are pleased to announce the Belpasso International Summer School on Environmental and Resource Economics for postgraduate students.

The 2011 Summer School will take place from the 4th to the 10th of September at Belpasso, a city in the Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy. The theme of this Summer School is Extremes: Natural Disasters in Changing Climate.

Over the past few decades, the world witnessed a striking increase in the economic losses caused by natural disasters, driven by population and economic growth. Human-induced climate change has the potential to alter the prevalence and severity of extremes events such as heat waves, cold waves, storms, floods and droughts. Detecting, let alone predicting, these change is a difficult task that will not be accomplished until the impacts of climate change become more pronounced. Yet better understanding of the vulnerabilities to extreme events under current and future climates may help to avoid further aggravating of the adverse impacts on human health, society and the environment. Bringing the natural hazard risk prevention and climate adaptation efforts together is a first step down to road to make this happen.

FACULTY and LECTURE TOPICS

·         Giovanni SIGNORELLO, University of Catania, Italy
Jaroslav MYSIAK, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Italy
(School Coordinators)

·         Andrew PARNELL, School of Mathematical Sciences, University College Dublin, Ireland
Extreme Environmental Events – an Introduction

·         Reinhard MECHLER, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria
Macroeconomic Effects of Extreme Events

·         Ana IGLESIAS and Alberto GARRIDO, Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Economic costs of Droughts and Floods

·         Robert MENDELSOHN, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, USA
Climate Change and Global Damages from Tropical Cyclones

·         Michael HANEMANN, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Climate Change and Agricultural Systems

·         Jaroslav MYSIAK, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change, Italy
Economic and Social Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Disasters

ADMISSION AND SCHOLARSHIPS

The Summer School is targeted to postgraduate students. Admission is conditional on the presentation by each student of his/her doctoral work; therefore PhD students who want to apply normally need to be advanced in their PhD to have produced at least one substantive chapter, but not to have completely finished their thesis.

Application is restricted to 2011 EAERE members, both European and non European citizens. Given the highly interactive activities planned at the Summer School, the number of participants is limited to 20.

There is no participation fee. All applicants can apply for a scholarship.

For further information on application and funding please access the Summer School Website at http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2011/ or contact the Summer School Secretariat.

Belpasso International Summer School Secretariat
c/o prof. Giovanni Signorello
DiGESA - Envalab
via Santa Sofia 98
95123 Catania
Italy
Tel. +39 095 7580320
Fax +39 095 7580345
g.signorello@unict.it
http://www.feem-project.net/belpasso_2011/

4th International Conference on Environmental and Computer Science (ICECS 2011)

2011 4th International Conference on Environmental and Computer Science (ICECS 2011)16 to 18 September 2011, Singapore

ICECS 2011 will be published in the conference proceedings, and as usual, all papers will be indexed by Thomson ISI Proceedings. About 20 papers selected from the registered ones will be published in IJESD, ISSN:2010-0264.

The deadline for abstracts/proposals is 10 May 2011.

Enquiries: IACSITconferences@gmail.com
Web address: http://www.icecs.org/
Sponsored by: APCBEES

2011 International Conference on Biotechnology and Environment Management(ICBEM 2011) , Singapore

2011 International Conference on Biotechnology and Environment Management(ICBEM 2011) 16 to 18 September 2011, Singapore

The ICBEM 2011 papers will be published in proceedings, and all the papers will be indexed by Thomson ISI Proceedings.

About 10 papers selected from the registered ones will be published in IJESD, ISSN:2010-0264.

The deadline for abstracts/proposals is 1 May 2011.

Enquiries: icbem@cbees.org
Web address: http://www.icbem.org/
Sponsored by: APCBEES

Green Jobs and Green Careers Participatory workshop Training Programme in the UK - in Oxford and Glastonbury

Green Economics Institute

progressive economics

Work and the lost generation of young people: Green Economics Institute special activities for Young People

The Green Economics Institute is offering 2 important programmes for young people. Both are designed to provide participants with outstanding job and career opportunities and advantages in the work place!

1.  Youth in Action 1 week  Green Jobs and Green Careers Participatory workshop Training  Programme  in the UK - in Oxford and Glastonbury. April 10th - 17th 2011

APPLY NOW:

Together with the British Council and the European Commission, we are creating a visionary group of young people to the UK in April 2011 to receive training on Green Jobs, and Sustainable Careers. We are offering this to 36 young people in total, who apply here now, greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com and they will be made up of 6 young people from each country, 3 men and 3 women, between the ages 18-25 from England, Malta, Ireland, Italy, FYRO Macedonia, Albania and possibly Egypt, who will come together to share dreams of the future, foster cross-cultural networks, and learn from top experts in the field of the future of green jobs, green issues, sustainability and equality. This programme emphasises inclusion of all people everywhere, and is gender balanced and designed to include and to mix people at all levels of education and power in society, including minorities and the disadvantaged. We are looking for young people with Vision and a very positive attitude to make change in the world. We also want practical people. Green Economics is the economics of doing and the economics of sharing! Apply now for this unique programme greeneconomicsevents@yahoo.co.uk

2. Two programs for young people:

-Internship-work experience - unpaid work experience with The Green Economics Institute Trust; Students in this program will be asked to help on administrative and organizational work and activities, help organizing and running the conferences, training courses, and other events;

-Internship-studentship course with The Green Economics Institute Trust. Students will gain experience of academia, policy making, NGOs and business, speech writing, book creation, publishing, travel where possible, working with other cultures in about 48 countries, helping others, working for and with African voices, Asian voices, all parts of Europe. Students will have access to Bodlein library, invitations to prestigious events in international settings, will become automatically members of The Green Economics Institute (for 1 years) and will have admission to the 6th Annual Green Economics Conference at Oxford. Please, inquire about further details and information.

Provides participants with an intensive structured 3 month programme on The making of Green Economics and the Green Economy! We are at the forefront of the Green Economy and spreading it round the world. Participants share and contribute to this wave of change sweeping the world. Never was it more evident that we need a Green Economy to protect our future than this week - showing the ultimate power of nature to affect an economy and the urgent need to rethink energy and economic priorities to ensure future prosperity and safety!

Apply now for one of these exciting programmes for any 3 months in 2011 in the UK to Kristina Jociute our Manager -greeneconomicsevents@yahoo.co.uk

We look forward to meeting you on one of these programmes.

Please, inquire about further details by:

greeneconomicsinstitute@yahoo.com

greeneconomicsevents@yahoo.co.uk

9 doctoral scholarships supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

9 doctoral scholarships supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Salzburg as an established hotspot for GIScience research and a well-known trademark in research and education clusters University research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg Research and researchstudio iSPACE. The Centre for Geoinformatics Z_GIS is a flagship institution dedicated to research and postgraduate education. Since 1994, more than 750 students have graduated from the successful MSc program UNIGIS GIScience, the basis of a strong alumni culture. Contracts will be awarded for three years with an extension option. One semester shall be spent at one of 22 pre-selected partner Universities worldwide.

Details at http://www.uni-salzburg.at/giscience

Refresher Course: Participatory approaches for Integrated Crop Management in Tropical Horticultural Crops

Refresher Course: Participatory approaches for Integrated Crop Management in Tropical Horticultural Crops

Location: Kerala, India

Dates: 24 October – 4 November 2011

Integrated Crop Management (ICM) is seen as a holistic approach for addressing aspects of soil, water, nutrients, pests/diseases and post-harvest management. Optimizing ICM and applying Good Agricultural Practices will improve competitiveness of small holder producers and enhance rural livelihoods.

This refresher course presents experiences on new developments, concepts and innovative approaches to promote sustainable development of horticultural supply chains. It will focus on the innovations that can support small holder producers to improve market access and competitiveness. Opportunities for public-private partnerships related to sustainable sourcing of horticultural produce will be discussed. Through relevant case studies the methodology to develop and implement improved practices will be illustrated.

The course includes an excursion programme to demonstrate innovative developments in the horticultural sector in India.   

For more information about the course programme and online application for this course we refer to our website:

 http://www.cdi.wur.nl/UK/newsagenda/agenda/Refresher_Course_Participatory_approaches_for_Integrated_Crop_Management_in_Tropical_Horticultural_C.htm

We apologise for any cross posting.

With kind regards,

Suzanne van der Wielen

Project Support Department

Centre for Development Innovation

Wageningen UR

P.O. Box 88

6700 AB Wageningen, The Netherlands

Email:     suzanne.vanderwielen@wur.nl

Website: www.cdi.wur.nl