March 3, 2008
A delegation of nine Chinese academics from the Northwest University for Nationalities in Lanzhou, People's Republic of China, visited CIESIN on Friday, February 29. The group, headed by Zhao De'an, vice president of the university, included faculty from computer and information sciences, chemical engineering, biotechnology, geology, Islamic culture, fine arts, and gesarology (the study of the oral epic of the first Tibetan king, Gesar.) In his overview of the university activities, Prof. Zhao highlighted research on landslides and earthquakes, air pollution due to dust and industrial contaminants, respiratory diseases, hazard and risk modeling, and innovative information technology. The group discussed potential areas of collaboration with researchers from CIESIN, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). Later in the day on the Morningside campus, Prof. Lan Quejia, a well-known Tibetan scholar and member of the Northwest faculty, presented a seminar on the King Gesar epic.
As a minority institution of higher learning (one of six in China) Northwest University was established in 1950 as part of a nationwide move to encourage minority participation in the university system. Recently, the university established the West China Institute of Environment and Health to serve as a focal point for research and education on environment and health issues in western China.

March 17, 2008

CIESIN has released an updated version of The Human Footprint, a data set that aims to measure the extent of human influence on the Earth's surface. First produced in 2002 by CIESIN with the Wildlife Conservation Society, this new version of The Human Footprint uses updated data on human population density, land transformation, human access, electrical power infrastructure, and settlements. Urban boundaries are drawn from CIESIN's urban population data (Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP), which is more recent (circa 2000) and is also a better representation of urban boundaries than what was used in the first version. The population density data (Global Population of the World (GPWv3), produced by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN, also have a number of improvements over the data used in the earlier version. The roads data are more complete, particularly concerning roads in Africa and Latin America; a greater number of navigable rivers is included; and more extensive land cover data are used.
Data available for download include the Human Influence Index, Human Footprint, and the Last of the Wild data sets.

See: Last of the Wild/Human Footprint

March 18, 2008

CIESIN senior staff associate Alex de Sherbinin participated in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Expert Group Meeting on socioeconomic information under the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change (NWP), held March 10-12 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He gave presentations on global and regional scale socioeconomic data and information and on information accessibility and availability, highlighting the various sustainability measures available through the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN. 

See: UNFCCC Workshop Web site
        Meeting Report

March 20, 2008

Marc Levy, CIESIN deputy director, is part of a 15-member consortium that was recently awarded a grant from the United Kingdom-based Leverhulme Trust to create an international network on Transnational Climate Change Governance. The network will spend the next two and a-half years identifying patterns of transnational governance arrangements for climate change, developing a methodology for evaluating their significance, and conducting empirical research to explain variation in functions and effectiveness. The network will promote the creation of a research community built around a common database of transnational governance arrangements; technologies for sharing ideas, papers and information; and a series of workshops and conferences. The work will be integrated into ongoing debates on post-2012 climate change policy. The lead investigator for the consortium is Harriet Bulkeley, lecturer in the Durham University (UK) Department of Geography.

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) has the following opportunities in the Climate Change and Disasters Group: (1) Research Officer - Children in a Changing Climate (deadline 3 April 2008), (2) Research Officer - Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction (deadline 4 April 2008). The Group currently focuses on five thematic areas: International climate policy, pro-poor climate and disaster governance, climate change and social exclusion, organizational change and climate change knowledge services. The Group is engaged in a range of activities including policy-related research, advisory work, capacity-building, networking and developing innovative and accessible knowledge services. All positions require flexibility, willingness to travel and ability to manage a complex portfolio of projects with sometimes-conflicting priorities and deadlines. The post is based in Brighton, Sussex, UK. Only official applications forms will be accepted. For further information and to download an application form visit http://www.ids.ac.uk/go/about-ids/working-at-ids/current-vacancies.

UNU-IAS offers PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships to provide young scholars and policy-makers, especially from the developing world, with a multi-disciplinarily context within which to pursue advanced research and training that is of professional interest to the successful applicant and of direct relevance to the research agenda of their selected UNU-IAS or UNU programme. The fellows are resident at UNU-IAS in Yokohama or UNU in Tokyo, Japan for the full term of the fellowship. This gives the PhD and Postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to gain from the broader research programme of lectures, seminars, workshops and conferences arranged by the UNU-IAS and UNU. Applications are invited for the following three fellowship types (each fellowship has different eligibility criteria, conditions and funding details):

1. UNU-IAS PhD Fellowship (10 months, starting in October).
2. UNU-IAS Postdoctoral Fellowship (10 months, starting in October).
3. JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellowship (12-24 months, starting in November).

An essential part of the application for both the PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships is a research proposal outlining the intended work at UNU-IAS and UNU. Applicants are evaluated on the basis of the research objectives of the applicant and the quality of the research proposal; the relevance of the research proposal to the ongoing or planned research activities of the applicant's selected Research Programme at UNU-IAS or UNU; and the applicant's academic merit and the potential for successful research while at UNU-IAS or UNU. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the relevant Research Programme representatives while preparing their application to discuss research options and programme fit. Besides the completed application form, the research proposal, and key supporting documents, applicants also need to ensure two signed letters of reference are sent to the Fellowship Committee before the application deadline. Review of applications by the Fellowship Committee will begin immediately. Questions regarding the different fellowships should be directed to: UNU-IAS Fellowship Committee at fellowships@ias.unu.edu. For more information visit http://www.ias.unu.edu/sub_page.aspx?catID=6&ddlID=127.

Deadline: 25 April 2008 (17h00 Tokyo time).

The Feinstein International Center, within the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, at Tufts University, is looking for a new faculty member who will develop a coherent long-term action research program exploring the two-way relationship between emerging risks and vulnerabilities related to climate and environmental change, and the political economy of conflict and violence among communities affected by such change. The focus of the research should be primarily but not exclusively, African. All inquiries and applications should be directed with a cover letter to: Ann O'Brien, Administrative Manager, Feinstein International Center, Suite 4800, 200 Boston Ave, Medford, MA 02155, ann.obrien @tufts.edu. The projected starting date is 1 July 2008. Review of applications will begin in mid-March and will continue until the position is filled.

Program in Partnerships for International Research and Education: Collaborative Research and Training in Social Context, Population Processes, and Environmental Change, multiple locations.

The Program in Partnerships for International Research and Education: Collaborative Research and Training in Social Context, Population Processes, and Environmental Change invites applications for one 2008 Early-Career Summer Fellowship sponsored by the National Science Foundation. This new research program is an interdisciplinary and collaborative comparison of two long-standing projects in population and environment, one in Chitwan, rural Nepal and the other in Wolong, rural China. The Fellow will be engaged in independent research and will develop a specific research plan in their subject of interest, working with faculty from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Arizona State University, San Diego State University, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The position is for three calendar months and can start as early as 1 May 2008 and end no later than 31 August 2008. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in demography, sociology, anthropology, economics, ecology, geography or a related discipline by the starting date. Junior faculty are also encouraged to apply. A background in population and environment research is desirable but not required. To apply, send letter of application, curriculum vitae, 1-2 page statement of research interests and examples of written work in PDF format via e-mail to Jana Bruce (jlbruce @umich.edu). Also, include the names and contact information for three references. Deadline: screening of applications will begin 1 March 2008 and will continue until the position is filled.

University of Colorado's - Population Center, 16-18 July 2008, Boulder, Colorado, USA

The course will provide an overview of the sub-discipline and several in-depth examples of central areas of research. Top scholars in the field will review both conceptual and methodological aspects of their research. In addition, students will receive an introduction to spatial data and analyses with a focus on the link between demographic and environmental processes. For more information visit http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/cupc/short_courses/env_demography/. Deadline for applications: 6 April 2008.

The first meeting of the Establishment Committee (EC) of the Asian Population Association (APA) was held at the Department of Demography of the University of Tehran (UT) during 1-4 December 2007. The EC meeting produced a draft Constitution and made decisions on the APA membership drive as well as the Nomination Committee for the upcoming election of the Council of the association. The next meeting of the EC will be held at the College of Population Studies at the Chulalongkorn University during 28-30 May 2008. We are delighted that the idea of an Asia wide population association has materialized. People who consider themselves specialists on population issues in Asia may consider applying for membership. It is hoped that upwards of 500 members will be registered by May 2008. The review of applications for membership will be undertaken by the EC and the Secretariat during 27-29 May. Foundation members will not be charged any fee for the first year of membership (2008). All members registered by 31 July 2008 will be deemed to be Foundation Members, eligible to stand and vote in the elections for the Foundation Council. Online registration is available at http://www.apa.cps.chula.ac.th/index.php.

A larger global population means a larger demand for everything - especially energy. And although Earth's resources have apparently stretched further than Paul Ehrlich infamously predicted four decades ago in his book The Population Bomb, the mounting climate problem suggests that the consequences of overconsumption of coal and other fossil fuels that produce heat-trapping greenhouse gases may still be inevitable. Joseph Chamie, former director of the U.N. Population Division and now director of research at the Center for Migration Studies; Martin Desvaux, a retired physicist and trustee of the Optimum Population Trust (OPT); John Guillebaud, former OPT co-chairman and emeritus professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health at University College London; Betsy Hartmann, director of the Population and Development Program and associate professor of Development Studies at Hampshire College; and Frederick A. B. Meyerson, an ecologist at the University of Rhode Island and board member of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, discuss how population growth relates to spiraling energy needs and whether addressing it can help provide a solution to the climate problem. For more information visit http://www.thebulletin.org/roundtable/population-climate-change/.

IDRC's Urban Poverty and Environment (UPE) Program calls for researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers working on housing, urban poverty and environment issues to participate in an upcoming IDRC-sponsored expert meeting to be held in Kampala, Uganda, on December 2-4, 2008. The goal of the workshop is to bring together a range of stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners and policy-makers, to explore the potential of improving housing to alleviate poverty and environmental degradation in urban areas of developing regions. UPE seeks papers that integrate housing with its priority themes (urban agriculture; urban water and sanitation; waste management; and vulnerability to natural disasters; with land tenure as a crosscutting issue), identifying new directions for future research in housing, urban poverty and environment in developing areas. Papers may include case studies, and should take a transdisciplinary approach. The final selection of papers will reflect a wide range of approaches to the issue. For more information visit http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-119638-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html.

Deadline: 4 April 2008.

EuroNGOs and the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development are accepting abstracts for a strategic workshop on the linkages between population, sexual and reproductive health and rights, environmental degradation, and climate change on May 15-16, 2008, in Istanbul, Turkey. For more information, contact mirja.leibnitz @eurongos.org or visit http://www.eurongos.org.

Deadline: 31 March, 2008.