Workshops, Seminars and Conference Sessions

Link to training videos: https://vimeopro.com/vcubeusa1/iussp-2019

There is an increasing availability of georeferenced data but using such data requires finding ways to make different datasets compatible with one another, particularly because information may be generated by different agencies, at different scales and with different quality. Data integration has the capacity to improve demographers’ ability to better account for complex interactions, while considering processes occurring at different scales. The combination of sources traditionally used by demographers (censuses, surveys, administrative records) with non-traditional spatial data, such as remote sensing, is a promising path to respond to emerging methodological challenges.

The goals of this online training are to:

• review the fundamentals of spatial data integration, with an emphasis on remote sensing;

• present an overview of relevant datasets and services (platforms and tools);

• develop basic skills for linking demographic and environmental data; and

• expand the use of specialized sources

This training has two components. The first part is composed of four video recordings:

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

Enlace a los videos: https://vimeopro.com/vcubeusa1/iussp-2019

Hay una disponibilidad cada vez mayor de datos georreferenciados, pero el uso de dichos datos requiere encontrar formas de compatibilizar los diferentes conjuntos de datos entre sí, dado que la información puede ser generada por diferentes agencias, a diferentes escalas y con diferente calidad. La integración de datos tiene la capacidad de mejorar la habilidad de los demógrafos para explicar mejor las interacciones complejas, al tiempo que considera los procesos que ocurren a diferentes escalas. La combinación de fuentes utilizadas tradicionalmente por los demógrafos (censos, encuestas, registros administrativos) con datos espaciales no tradicionales, como la teledetección, es un camino prometedor para responder a los desafíos metodológicos emergentes.

Los objetivos de esta capacitación en línea son:

•  revisar los fundamentos de la integración de datos espaciales, con énfasis en la teledetección;

•  presentar una visión general de los conjuntos de datos y servicios relevantes (plataformas y herramientas);

•  desarrollar habilidades básicas para vincular datos demográficos y ambientales; y

•  ampliar el uso de fuentes especializadas.

Este entrenamiento tiene dos componentes. La primera parte incluye cuatro grabaciones de video:

1. Capacitacion en Linea Introduccion a la Integración Espacial de Datos Para La Investigación Demográfica;

2. Fundamentos de la Integración Espacial de Datos Para La Investigación Demográfica;

3. Breve Revisión de Datos de Sensores Remotos De(mas) Alta Resolución y Sistemas de Distribucion en Linea;

4. Introducción General a los Tutoriales.

La segunda parte incluye dos tutoriales, que son ejercicios prácticos auto-administrados:

1. Un ejemplo de integración de datos;

2. Exploración de datos ambientales utilizando plataformas en línea.

Date

Title

Location

Workshop on Data and Methods for Modelling Migration Associated with Climate Change

This two-day workshop was organized with support from the Alliance Program of Columbia University and three French Universities: Sciences Po, Ecole Polytechnique, and Pantheon-Sorbonne. The workshop focused on modelling the potential migration associated with climate change at a variety of scales and using different data and methods.  When discussing so-called “climate refugees”, the most frequently asked question by decision-makers and the media relates to the numbers of people who are likely to migrate owing to climate change impacts. Thus far the academic community has largely been silent, and estimates have been developed by a number of non-governmental organizations and interest groups, most of which are back-of-the-envelope estimates. Unfortunately, despite their shaky foundations, these numbers are often widely cited. While the difficulties of developing useful future estimates are non-trivial, there are some promising emerging approaches for the research and modelling community to pursue. There are also lessons to be learned from the quantitative climate modelling and climate-conflict communities. Therefore, goal of this workshop was to bring together the community interested in data and modelling related to population migration associated with climate variability and change. This will allow for a thorough comparison of methodologies and the delineation of a clear research agenda that would lead to more robust predictions and scenarios of people displaced by climate change impacts.

The paper presentations:

1. Alex de Sherbinin): Introduction (PDF 3.1MB)
2. Guy Abel: Bi-lateral country flows data set  (PDF 3.6MB)
3. Alessandro Sorichetta: IPUMS and cell phone data (PDF 7MB)
4. David Wrathall: Cell phone and other big data (PDF 2MB)
5. Susana Adamo: Survey and other data sources on subnational stocks and flows (PDF 179KB)
6. Richard Seager: Climate models (PDF 2.5MB)
7. Michael Oppenheimer: Coastal impacts and sea level rise (PDF 1.2MB)
8. Yoshihide Wada: Hydrological models (PDF 5.2MB)
9. Jacob Schewe: Impact models (PDF 8MB)
10. Alex de Sherbinin: Climate vulnerability hotspots mapping (PDF 3.2MB)
11. Dom Kniveton: Agent Based Modeling for Burkina Faso (PDF 1MB)
12. Nuno Nunes: Agent Based Modeling for Nigeria (PDF 1.4MB)
13. Leonardo Milano: Disaster displacement modeling (PDF 3MB)
14. Leiwen Jiang: Bi-lateral migration flows data for the SSPs (PDF 1.3MB)
15. Bryan Jones: Migration modeling using global population projections (PPT 7MB)
16. Alex de Sherbinin: Summary of Day 1 (PDF 71KB)

Date

Title

Location

This panel focuses on migration and population displacements associated with environmental change. The literature on so-called “environmental refugees” has exploded in the past two decades, but the actual evidence for environmentally induced population displacements is relatively slim. These papers will examine the evidence for past migration from environmental changes (such as land degradation), natural hazards (such as droughts and flooding), and large scale infrastructure projects with environmental consequences. The papers then go on to ask the question: Can we say with any certainty what future migration patterns will be given projected changes in climate and patterns of development and the likelihood that major infrastructure projects will be part of the mix of adaptation responses?

The paper presentations:

1. Dr. Susana Beatriz Adamo: “Environmentally Induced Population Displacements”
2. Dr. Marcia Castro, Mr. Alex de Sherbinin, and Dr. Shalini Vajjhala: “Population Displacements Associated with Environmentally Significant Infrastructure Projects”
3. Dr. Alisson Barbieri, et al: “Impacts of Climate Change on Population Migration and Vulnerability: Analysis of Scenarios for Brazil’s Northeast”
4. Dr. Stephen Perz, et al.: “Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects in the Southwestern Amazon: Demographic Processes and Rural and Urban Resilience and Vulnerability
5. Dr. Takeshi Sakurai and Dr. Kimseyinga Savadogo : “Migration Impact on Soil Fertility Management: The Case of Rural Burkina Faso”

Date

Title

Location

This workshop is focused on urban population, development and environment (PDE) dynamics in developing countries. The selected papers represent policy-relevant papers that accurately present some aspect of the current PDE dynamics in a given urban agglomeration (i.e., case studies on specific cities based on original research), the findings of which can be applied to solving problems associated with rapid urbanization in contexts of high poverty and growing strains on the environment and natural resources, as well as to promote policies to achieve Millennium Development Goal 7 and its associated targets.

The workshop is sponsored by PERN and the following organizations:

• African Population & Health Research Centre (APHRC)
• Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of Columbia University
• Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED)
• Programme for International Research on the Interactions between Population, Development and Environment (PRIPODE)

All of the papers presented at the workshop can be found on the CICRED Web site. A subset of these papers were selected for inclusion in the proceedings, published by CICRED and available for download below. The full publication citation is:

de Sherbiniin, A., A. Rahman, A. Barbieri, J.C. Fotso, and Y. Zhu (eds.). 2009. Urban Population-Environment Dynamics in the Developing World: Case Studies and Lessons Learned. Paris: Committee for International Cooperation in National Research in Demography (CICRED) (316 pages).

Please click on the paper titles below to download the papers in PDF format.

Background

The world is rapidly urbanizing. The UN Population Division estimates that by 2007 half the world’s population will be urban. As indicated by Redman and Jones (2004):

“[C]ities occupy 4% or less of the world’s terrestrial surface, yet they are home to almost half the global population, consume close to three-quarters of the world’s natural resources, and generate three-quarters of its pollution and wastes. Moreover, the UN estimates that virtually all net global population and economic growth over the next 30 years will occur in cities, leading to a doubling of current populations. This growth will require unprecedented investment in new infrastructure and create undreamed of challenges for political and social institutions.” (page 1)

Urbanization is particularly rapid in the developing world, where major economic restructuring in countries like China, and the lack of rural employment opportunities in many African and Asian countries, is provoking an exodus from rural areas to towns and cities. Although much of the focus has been on the growth, infrastructural and environmental problems of megacities (those over 10 million in population), the reality is that much urbanization is projected to take place in the small to medium sized cities (e.g., former provincial towns), and not just large or “primate” cities. This poses numerous challenges the environment and health ranging from conversion of cropland, forest and wetlands to urban “built up” areas (and the consequent loss of ecosystem services); adequate provision of improved water and sanitation, particularly in informal settlements; waste removal; and air pollutant emissions from industry and transportation.

The overall purpose of the meeting is to better understand urban population-development-environment linkages with the aim of informing policy and programmes to improve the situation of the urban poor as well as to protect the environment.  This meeting will bring together scientists who have conducted research in individual cities (or perhaps comparative work on a number of cities) exploring these linkages. It will seek to extract from the studies recommendations for improved urban governance. Papers will be solutions-oriented, seeking to identify the leverage points and approaches necessary to meet the housing and service needs of growing populations while seeking greater urban environmental sustainability. Target audiences for the results will be urban managers (mayors, planners, city officials, and agency staff) and other researchers addressing these linkages.

References

Redman, Charles and Nancy S. Jones. 2005. “The Environmental, Social and Health Dimensions of Urban Expansion.” Population and Environment 26(6): 505-520. (See also the PERN Cyberseminar background paper upon which this paper was based.)

Sanchez-Rodriguez, Roberto, Karen C. Seto, David Simon, William Solecki, Frauke Kraas, Gregor Laumann. 2005. Science Plan: Urbanization and Global Environmental Change. Bonn, Germany: IHDP.

Tannerfeldt, Göran and Per Ljung. 2006. More Urban, Less Poor. London: Earthscan.

Date

Title

Location

This invited session at the IUSSP International Population Conference examined a number of different aspects of population-enviornment linkages.

Chair: Landis MacKellar, IIASA
Discussant: Alex de Sherbinin, PERN Coordinator and CIESIN, Columbia University

Date

Title

Location

This workshop was organized by PERN with funding from MacArthur Foundation's Population, Consumption and Environment (PCE) initiative. The purpose of this workshop was to explore a research agenda and methodological approaches for studying the linkages between population, consumption and environment in both developed and developing countries. It built upon earlier research agendas set by the National Research Council's Environmentally Significant Consumption: Research Directions (Stern et al. 1997), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) sustainable consumption initiative (OECD 2002). The agenda was as follows; papers that are linked are available for download. Click here for a workshop summary.

References

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2002. Towards Sustainable Household Consumption? Trends and Policies in OECD Countries. Paris: OECD.

Stern, P.C., T. Dietz, V.W. Ruttan, R.H. Socolow, and J.L. Sweeney (eds.). 1997. Environmentally Significant Consumption: Research Directions. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. (Available online)