What's New
What’s New? is a current digest of the Population-Environment Research Network (PERN), containing pertinent and up to date information to facilitate research and advance knowledge of population environment relationships. Previous "What’s New" newsletters (pdf) can be found via the "Past Newsletters" menu at the bottom of this page. Also try the top menu links to search/browse Events Calendar, Jobs/Funding, and eLibrary listings by year.
Special Announcements
• PERN’s cyberseminar on Culture, Beliefs and the Environment will be taking place from 15-26 May. More information is on the cyberseminar page.
• PERN welcomes new six new SC members Dr. Andres Ignacio (Director for Planning and Geomatics, Environmental Science for Social Change, Philippines), Dr. Elma Montaña (Director of Science Programs / InterAmerican Institute for Global Change Research, Uruguay/Argentina), Dr. Raya Muttarak (Research Scholar, World Population, IIASA, Austria), Dr. David Rain (Director of Undergraduate Studies, EVST, Dept. of Geography, George Washington University, USA), Dr. Brooke Wilmsen (Research Fellow, Institute for Human Security, La Trobe University, Australia), and Dr. David Wrathall (Assistant Professor, Oregon State University, USA). We also welcome incoming chairperson Landy Sanchez (Associate Prof, El Colegio de México, Mexico).
• PERN would also like to sincerely thank recent SC members who have completed their terms for their contributions to the network: Dr. Rimjhim Aggarwal (Arizona State University, USA), Dr. Jason Bremner (Population, Health and Environment, Population Reference Bureau, USA), Dr. Stephanie Dos Santos (Laboratory for Population, Environment, and Development, Institute for Development Research, France), and Dr. David Lopez-Carr (University of California at Santa Barbara, USA). A special word of thanks to Dr. Yan Tan (University of Adelaide, Australia), who ably guided the SC as its chairperson for the past two years.
• PERN will be present at the forthcoming Association of American Geographers meeting 5-8 April in Boston, Massachusetts. PERN co-coordinator A. de Sherbinin will be presenting during Session 2 of a two part session on Disruption or Displacement? Exploring the Complex Interactions between the Environment and Migration, as well as a panel session on Environmental Migration in an Era of Global Environmental Change, along with former SC chair Lori Hunter and current SC member, David Wrathall.
• PERN will be also present at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America 27-29 April in Chicago, Illinois. SC Chairperson Landy Sanchez is co-authoring a paper in Session 708-1, UN Sustainable Development Goals: Frontiers in Measurement and Impact; SC member Richard Bilsborrow will present at Session 805-1, Linking Spatial and Population Data II: Climate Change and Health, chaired by SC member Leiwen Jiang, who is also co-authoring a paper in Session 601-1, Innovative approaches to urbanization and growth research. SC Raya Muttarak will be presenting at Session 805-2, Linking Spatial and Population Data III: Climate Change and Population Change.
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Conferences/Workshops/Public Discussions
Call for papers: Workshop on the One-Belt-One-Road strategy and its implications for international migration and socio-ecological changes (Shanghai University)
The implementation of the One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) strategy initiated by the Chinese government in 2013 and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015 to back the initiative have attracted enormous attention from academic scholars and the public arena. The OBOR strategy is indeed likely to generate an important impact in the regions along the land based Silk Road Economic Belt on the Eurasian continent and the ocean-going Maritime Silk Road linking Asia, Europe and Africa. The OBOR initiative will enhance international and internal migration, contribute to changes in population growth and population compositions (by age, education, rural/urban residence, religion, nationality), as well as in the spatial distribution. It will in turn lead to changes in labor productivity, consumption patterns and lifestyles, and consequently generate opportunities and challenges to economic growth, social integration, resource use and environmental protection.
The Asian Population Association scientific group (APA SG) on “OBOR Strategy: Implications on Population Dynamics and Socio-ecological Impacts” in collaboration with Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI) at Shanghai University and the Asian Meta Centre for Population and Sustainable Development Analysis, will hold the first workshop. The workshop will focus on the countries and regions along the OBOR and the themes include, but are not limited to the following:
• Estimation and projection of international migration along OBOR at regional, national, and subnational levels
• Investigating and modeling the socio-demographic profiles of international migrants
• Effects of international migration on population dynamics and spatial distribution in the origin and destination
• Economic, social, demographic, and environmental drivers of international migration
• Social and economic integration of international migrants and the impacts of increased migration on countries of origin and destination
• Effects of international migration on national and regional economic growth, technological development, and environmental/climate change
Please send your extended abstract (2-4 pages containing research questions/hypotheses, data sources, methods, and key findings) or full paper (5,000 to 6,000 words) to Yu Zhang zhang.yu.sh @qq.com. Please also include a short biography of a maximum of 100 words. The deadline for submission is 15 May 2017. For more information, see http://adri.shu.edu.cn/Default.aspx?tabid=35376&ctl=Detail&mid=67693&Id=206057&SkinSrc=%5BL%5DSkins/adrie/ADRIe2.
International Population Geography Conference (University of Washington)
The International Conference on Population Geographies is a biennial gathering of population geographers, spatial demographers and others interested in presenting papers and sharing ideas on spatial population issues. Please explore the programs of previous IPCG conferences to get a sense of the subject matter of presentations and sessions at these events. Register now to secure your place at the conference. Abstract submission for participation in a session requires payment of a registration fee. Partial support for this conference is provided by UW’s Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology. For more information, see https://depts.washington.edu/icpg2017/index.html.
Call for Papers: Workshop on Climate, Migration & Health, with a focus on refugee movements
The University of Colorado Population Center (CUPC), CU’s Institute of Behavioral Science, and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), are hosting the 3rd annual workshop on Climate, Migration and Health. This year's sub‐theme is focused on refugee movements. The two‐day workshop, held in Boulder, Colorado, will bring together approximately 10 researchers and policy communicators to discuss, and move forward, research on this important intersection. Key is that researchers need only possess expertise in at least one aspect of the workshop. The organizers aim to introduce scholars of migration‐climate, to scholars of climate‐health, and refugee scholars to each other. Applicants must have a current research project related to the workshop theme. ParWe will spend much of the workshop brainstorming about knowledge gaps and beginning papers/proposals designed to fill those gaps. Researchers from social and natural sciences are encouraged to apply. Funds are available for partial reimbursement for domestic (US) travel and lodging. Applicants must be post‐PhD and organizers aim for an interdisciplinary mix of junior and senior scholars. To be considered for this workshop, please send a CV and a complete paper, working draft, or an extended abstract (including data description, methods, and preliminary results) by 17 March 2017. Decisions will be made by 24 March. The conference organizers are Lori Hunter and Fernando Riosmena from the Institute of Behavioral Science, CU Population Center, CU Boulder. Please address questions to Lori.Hunter @colorado.edu. Please submit papers to Cheryl.Graham @colorado.edu.
Funding/Study/Work Opportunities
Call for applications: Research course: Adding the Geographic Context to Demographic Analysis (Lund University)
The Centre for Economic Demography at Lund University will hold the research course “Adding the Geographic Context to Demographic Analysis” on September 11-15, 2017. The course will cover methods and theories in historical demography and GIS and will be fully hands on.
Application is competitive and the deadline for submission is 15 April 2017.
For more information please consult: http://www.ed.lu.se/media/ed/documents/Adding%20the%20Geographic%20Context%20to%20Demographic%20Analysis.pdf.
PhD Summer School 'Research on Sustainable Development’ (University of Basel)
The University of Basel invites PhDstudents to the 4th international and interdisciplinary PhD Summer School 'Research on Sustainable Development'. The school will take place from 10 – 14 July 2017 at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
This year's Summer School examines the interlinkages between sustainability and risk issues throughout all disciplines. In an inspiring interdisciplinary setting we will discuss and analyse approaches that conceptually and empirically link questions of sustainability and risks. The School will be highly interactive.
Outstanding experts from social and natural sciences as well as economics will enrich the discussions and comment on the participants' presentations:
Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany
Prof. Dr. Alexander Zehnder, visiting professor, Nanyang Technological University NTU, Singapore
Prof. Dr. Stefan Baumgärtner, University of Freiburg, Germany
The School is open to advanced PhD students who research in the field of sustainability and risks and who are passionate about furthering the interdisciplinary discourse on sustainability.
The closing date for applications is 30 April 2017. The number of participants is limited. There will be no attendance fee. For further information, see https://msd.unibas.ch/en/home/studies/phdschool.html.
São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Climate Change: Scientific basis, adaptation, vulnerability and mitigation
The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Climate Change: Scientific basis, adaptation, vulnerability and mitigation will take place at the University de São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, Brazil. The School is organized by the INterdisciplinary CLimate INvestigation cEnter (INCLINE) and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), and sponsored by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Pró Reitoria de Pesquisa/University of São Paulo (PRP/USP), IAI and Santander.
The IAI is an intergovernmental organization established by 19 countries of the Americas that pursues the principles of scientific excellence, multinational collaboration in global change research, and the full and open exchange of scientific information.
The goal of the school is to provide graduate students with advanced knowledge on climate change science and related topics: Observations and future projections; impacts; vulnerability; adaptation and mitigation; and the Paris Agreement: How to reach the 1.5°C target, including aspects of public policy. Participants will discuss with renowned scientists important themes of the three IPCC Assessment Report 5 Working Groups, in a multidisciplinary and multicultural context. The program will include theoretical classes, work in groups, a poster session, science-policy discussions, and visits to key institutions in the State of São Paulo conducting climate change research with policy applications.
This School is for graduate students and early career scientists. Priority will be given to candidates currently enrolled in graduate programs (Masters/MSc and Doctoral/PhD courses). About 100 students, 50 from Brazil and 50 from other countries, will be selected to participate in the School. A limited number of travel grants is available.
Application Deadline: 31 March 2017. Application Form: http://www.iag.usp.br/inscricoes/spsascc
For more information, see http://www.iai.int/?p=18544.
Call for applications: Summer School “Demography, Human Capital and Economic Growth” (Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI), Shanghai University)
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in collaboration with Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI) and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, VID/ÖAW, WU) is hosting the first Asian summer school on how demographic trends and improving educational attainment impact on economic growth around the Asia region. This will also include discussions about the so-called first and second Demographic Dividends and on the role of human capital as a determinant of economic development. Leading international scholars from the US, Europe and Asia will give lectures providing overviews of the state of knowledge in these fields.
Participants in the summer school will typically be pre-docs or recent PhDs. Applications will be considered from around the world. The number of participants is limited to 20. Acceptance is highly competitive. A number of participants will receive bursaries for travel and living expenses in Shanghai (upon request). There is no tuition charge.
Application deadline: 24 March 2017. Contact: Samir KC kc @iiasa.ac.at or Yu Zhang zhang.yu.sh @qq.com.