ICIMOD at COP 17 in Durban (28 November - 9 December 2011), South Africa

1.   Meeting of Minds – International Conference on Sharing of Experiences in the Design and Implementation of Adaptation Strategies and Programmes in Asian Mountain Regions, (30 Nov – 6 Dec 2011)

The participants of this workshop are expected to actively engage in discussions during the meetings and to contribute by own interventions from their professional experience and institutional embeddedness. The group that has been selected is representing the five regions that are covered by the GIZ-sponsored mountain programme, i.e., Pamirs of Tajikistan, Hindu-Kush and Karakoram in Pakistan, West Kun Lun Shan and Tien Shan in Xinjiang, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal. The aim of the meeting is to share experiences from the regions and to develop policies and practices that could contribute in packages and schemes for the respective Asian mountain region.

The challenges and constraints affiliated to global and climate change severely impact Asian mountain regions and lead to a wide spectrum of adaptations. The aim of our meeting of minds is to learn from national experiences and to identify replicable role models. The sharing of knowledge is a necessary precondition for formulating areas, sectors and instances for regional cooperation. Due to the nature of the mountain programme special emphasis will be put on capacity development and knowledge management for the benefit of mountain communities.

Venue: Cathedral Peak Hotel in Drakensberg (http://www.cathedralpeak.co.za/) and Selborne Resort (close to Durban) (http://www.selborne.com/)

For further information: Dr. Madhav Karki and Dr. Bhaskar Karky

2.   Mountain Day (4 Dec 2011)

Mountain Day will assemble a high-level panel of global personalities, ministers, and scientists to advocate the value and critical role of mountains and share scientific evidence and examples of challenges and opportunities. The day-long programme will also include plenary presentations and discussions, working groups, and panel discussions. The organisers hope that Mountain Day will conclude with the adoption of the Durban Declaration on Mountains and Climate Change.

Mountain Day will call to the COP17 delegates and global development partners for more concerted and long-term actions at the national, regional, and global levels to save vital mountain ecosystems. It is hoped that the knowledge shared and the evidence presented will provide a powerful and convincing message to ensure that UNFCCC deliberations include provisions for protecting mountain systems’ integrity for the survival of current and future generations. The Mountain Day will also features Photo Exhibition and an Information on the Knowledge Market Place for selected partners to exhibit their works.

Highlights of Mountain Day

·         Keynote Speech by Dr Rajendra K Pachauri, Chair, IPCC and Director General, TERI, India

·         Mountain Ministers’ Panel – Bhutan, Chile, Italy, Nepal, Slovenia, and Tajikistan

·         Working Sessions

·         Information Knowledge Market Place

·         Photo Exhibition: ‘Himalaya – Changing Landscapes’

·         Book launches

Venue: The Breakers Resort, 88 Lagoon Drive, Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu Natal, 4321, Durban, Time: 9:00- 18:00

Register online at: http://www.icimod.org/mountainday

For further information: Dr. Madhav Karki, Ms. Naina Shakya and Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org)

3.   Side Event on Adaptation in the Himalayan Region: Lessons from an integrated, policy-relevant research programme  (6 December)

The Himalaya Climate Change Adaptation Programme (HICAP) is the first south-south-north collaborative, policy relevant project focused on knowledge from and for local communities and for on the ground impact. HICAP is an example of integrated research across the sciences dedicated to identifying credible, legitimate, and salient adaptation challenges and opportunities in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya region. This side event presents the background of the collaboration, design principles, and main research areas. Through a combination of approaches, methods and scientific tools, HICAP is aimed at developing solutions by producing new climatological and hydrological scenarios, assessment of ecosystem services and food insecurity, a large amount of new household and community survey data about socio-ecological changes, macroeconomic and socio-economic modeling, methodological and theoretical innovation, and ethnographic, gendered knowledge. Women and gender aspects are a fundamental crosscutting issue.  HICAP is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The side event will be structured as a roundtable discussion

Participants:

·         Chair: Norwegian Journalist (TBC)

·         Representative from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, TBC

·         Mr Krishna Gyawali, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Government of Nepal

·         David Molden, Director General, International  Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

·         Pål Prestrud, Director, Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO)

·         Lawrence Hislop, HICAP Leader, UNEP-GRID Arendal

·         Eklabaya Sharma, Director Program Operations, ICIMOD

·         Representative from a partner institution from the region

·         Ritu Verma,   Division Head, Gender and Governance, ICIMOD

·         Asuncion Lera St.Clair, HICAP Leader, CICERO

Date/Venue: 6 December 2011, Time: 11:30 to 13:00, Venue: Room 5 

For further information: Dr. Eklabya Sharma

4.   Launch of 2 reports on Glacier Studies in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region

ICIMOD is leading glacier studies in the Himalayan region for over a decade and have brought out some of the most cited comprehensive publications, helping the researchers, planers, policy makers, development agencies and mountain communities to better understand the glacial environment and subsequent impacts downstream in the Himalayas. The two special reports aimed to be released at Durban are seen as state-of-art in glacier research in the region.

For further information: Mr. Basanta Shrestha, Mr. Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya and Mr. Deo Raj Gurung

5.   Launch of special report on Climate Change in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region

The IPCC 4AR was characterized by an absence of data on the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) System and the region remained largely underreported. In the meantime, a lot of research has been initiated and it is likely that the next report will give another picture. However the new IPCC 5AR will only be available in 2013. The aim of this report would be to bridge the knowledge gap for the HKH region and disseminate science–based information in a readable and easily understandable way which will be useful to the UNFCCC meetings. Such report will also be important to support the discussion on the Rio+ 20 conference and Multi–lateral Environment Agreements as the reports will capture the leading knowledge from the region and on the region with a specific focus on the mountain situation.

For further information: Dr. Bhaskar Karky

6.   Information Booth

ICIMOD will also have an information booth at the COP 17 venue, from where the visitors can collect relevant publications, get information about relevant events and meet ICIMOD experts and associated partners.

Venue: International Convention Centre (ICC), & Durban Exhibition Centre (DEC)

For further information: Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org) and Dr. Bhaskar Karky

7.   Virtual platforms

A microsite is developed as http://www.icimod.org/cop17, where we aim to put further details as developed and agreed with the partners. We are also working with our global partners – members of the Mountain Partnership Consortium (MPC) to ensure there is coordination at higher level to advocate mountain issues. MPC/Mountain Forum has also developed a separate microsite with global scope.

You can access it as http://cambioclimatico.mtnforum.org/.

For further information: Mr. Tek Jung Mahat (tmahat@icimod.org)

UNEP Tunza Call for Good Practice Case Studies! - Children and Youth

Dear Youth Representatives,

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with other international organisations involved in the Health & Environment policy process is looking for Good Practice Concepts on youth and children?s involvement.

For detailed information on the call please see the documents attached to this mail (http://groups.google.com/group/environment-professionals/browse_thread/thread/ad096ccab22ede3e).

In order to participate, please fill out the enclosed concept format, describing what children & youth are already doing in your country on environmental and health improvement, and send it to karin.vohla@wecf.eu before 30 of November 2011.

Among all concept entries, the 8 best will be selected and will each receive 500, 00 USD to prepare and present their case on good practices on 2 ? 10 pages, before 20 of December 2011.

Please also feel free to forward this call to other young people and youth representatives who you think might want to participate and contribute their concepts.


With my best regards
Karin

--


Best regards

Karin Vohla

WECF Germany e.V.
Sankt-Jakobs-Platz 10
80331 München
+49 89 23 23 938-17

www.wecf.eu

ICIMOD on Rio+20

ICIMOD on Rio+20
ICIMOD sees Rio+20 as a very important moment to redefine Mountain Agenda considering progresses made and challenges evolved over last two decades. As one of the founding members of the Mountain Partnership Consortium, ICIMOD is working closely with all key institutions around the global promoting Mountain Agenda to make sure issues and positions of mountainous countries and regions are clear and are noticed by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) preparatory committee as well as concerned Major Groups. ICIMOD is working closely with Major Groups on ‘Children and Youth’, ‘NGOs’, ‘Local Authorities’, ‘Scientific and Technological Community’, ‘Women’, whilst maintaining regular interactions with others. As part of this preparation ICIMOD has organised number of discussions at Hindu Kush-Himalayan and Asia Pacific regional level aiming at different groups including youth and media. The list of events are provided at http://www.icimod.org/?q=4773.

We have found these activities very useful in understanding where do we stand, how can we make a difference and promote sustainable mountain development agenda, and in developing Rio+20 position papers on HKH and South East Asia-Pacific regions. Please find on the right the links (at http://www.icimod.org/?q=4773) to download ICIMOD reports submitted to the RIO+20 Secretariat.

All these submissions are accessible on the Rio+20 site at:
http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/

For more information, contact:

Dr Madhav Karki, Deputy Director General, ICIMOD (Team Leader)
Email: mkarki@icimod.org

Dr Golam Rasul, Division Head, Economic Analysis/Policy Development Specialist (Green Economy and SMD Coordinator)
Email: grasul@icimod.org

Mr Tek Jung Mahat, APMN Node Manager (‘Youth and Media engagement on Rio+20’ Coordinator and Overall Co-leader)
Email: tmahat@icimod.org

Call for applications - United Nations University Summer Academy 2012

Call for applications - Summer Academy 2012

UNU-EHS and the Munich Re Foundation invite qualified PhD students to apply for the 2012 Summer Academy “From Social Vulnerability to Resilience: Measuring Progress toward Disaster Risk Reduction”.

Applicants should have an interdisciplinary focus and work on research or dissertations related to measuring social vulnerability and resilience in the context of disaster risk management.

The seventh Summer Academy will take place 1-7 July 2012 in Munich, Germany.

Please submit your application via summeracademy@ehs.unu.edu no later than 31 January 2012

SA 2012 Announcement

SA 2012 Application form

Doctoral Course - Being Human in Times of Climate Change: Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Doctoral Course

Being Human in Times of Climate Change:

Stretching the Disciplinary Boundaries

Lund University, Sweden

January 23-27, 2012

Short description of the course:

The humanities and social sciences have often been perceived of as being outside of the otherwise motley gang of disciplines and fields crowding the neighbourhood of the climate change problem complex. But there is, in fact, a growing interest for climate change in these academic fields.

This course aims to provide an overview of current research on climate change in the humanities and social sciences. Perspectives from across a number of disciplines will be explored as the issue is addressed through a number of themes and angles. 

Work which is relevant for the issue of climate change is being produced within the different subjects of the humanities and social sciences. Throughout the course we will engage with theoretical and methodological tools developed and employed within a number of disciplines to further understanding of the human dimensions of global warming. The course will provide both an acquaintance with recent developments in the respective fields and opportunities for comparative analysis and discussions of the promises and pitfalls of interdisciplinarity, understood in the widest sense of the term.

We will see that the work from the humanities and social sciences is highly relevant to the understanding of the natural and social dimensions of climate change. Researchers in the humanities and social sciences may differ widely in their approaches; therefore, one of the aims of this course is to advance interdisciplinary communication between these disciplines. This may in turn serve to enhance the positions of such research concerning climate change, making it evident that theorising about the human being and her relations with others and the environment constitutes an essential dimension for exploring and understanding the climate change problematique. One aim of the course is thus to broaden the scope further; deepen the well of potential influx that sustainability science can draw on by presenting examples of accomplished research that has already been produced or is under production as well as fields that show promise. This course should be able to provide some of the useful tools for addressing the dimensions of human agency, human values, issues of interpretation and reception of overwhelming problems, motivational and emotional facts in relation, in short what it is to be a human being in times of climate change.

The course welcomes doctoral students who would like to like to explore the issue of climate change from different perspectives and is intended for doctoral students in all disciplines. We put great emphasis on creating an interdisciplinary group that may benefit from each other’s knowledge and perspectives.

Form:

One week intensive course of 5 credits, open to doctoral students from all disciplines.

Examination:

Active participation (for a schedule, see below)

Reading of assigned literature (to be announced)

A short position paper on interdisciplinarity (more information on this will be distributed to participants before the course starts)

Application:

Send an email to anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se, including your name and institutional affiliation, a short description of your research interest and a motivation for your wish to participate.

The deadline for applications is December 1.

Practicalities:

There is no participation fee. The participants need to arrange their own accommodation.

For more information, please email anna.kaijser@lucid.lu.se or lena.christensen@lucsus.lu.se

Tentative Schedule

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Presentation of course and participants	Kjersti Fløttum, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Bergen Trine Dahl, Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication, University of Bergen	Karin Bradley, School of Architecture and the Built Environment, Stockholm Royal Institute of Technology	Adeline Johns-Putra, Department of English, University of Exeter Adam Trexler, Department of English, University of Exeter	Discussion of student papers on interdisciplinarity
L	U	N	C	H
Kristin Asdal,   Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (TIK), Oslo University	Frida Hastrup, Department of Anthropology, Copenhagen University	Maria Hellström Reimer, Art Culture and Communication, Malmö University	Alexa Weik von Mossner, Department of Languages and Literatures, University of Fribourg

This schedule may be subject to changes, and more activities may be added (for instance during evenings)