30 October 2013

WIC/IUSSP Call for Papers - Deadline 6 Nov 2013

Demographic Differential Vulnerability to Natural Disasters in the Context of Climate Change Adaptation, International Seminar in Kao Lak (Phang Nga), Thailand, 23-25 April 2014

The Seminar is organized jointly by the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change, the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok), and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA,VID/ÖAW,WU).

Deadline for submissions: 6 November 2013

The main purpose of this seminar is to bring the expertise of the international demographic community with respect to studying demographic and socio-economic differentials to the benefit of the international risk, vulnerability and climate change community. Recently, the climate science community has recognized the importance of including socio-economic scenarios in climate change models as a key element for an integrated perspective on mitigation, adaptation and residual climate impacts. This highlights how demography could contribute to the understanding of the relationships between population dynamics (not only by age and sex but also by educational attainment and place of residence) and climate change outcomes. The international policy community has recently pledged to spend $US 100 billion per year starting in 2020 for adaptation to climate change, but it is not yet clear for what activities this money will be spent. Given that the impacts of climate change are not distributed evenly across social groups, communities and countries, it is important to identify these demographic differentials for strategies to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity.

Accordingly, this seminar primarily aims to bring together demographers and other social scientists who are working on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change so we can take stock of what scientific progress has been made to date, share and consolidate our understanding of on-going research, strengthen and expand professional networks, and discuss priorities for future research and collaboration. This seminar is also the concluding meeting of an ERC (European Research Council) Advanced Investigator Grant awarded to Wolfgang Lutz 2008 on the topic “Forecasting societies’ adaptive capacity to climate change.”

The organizing committee calls for papers which add to our understanding of demographic differences in vulnerability and adaptive capacities to natural disasters and climate change both in terms of association and mechanisms through which demographic characteristics contribute to diverse pathways in resilience and adaptive capacities. We are looking for a mix of theoretical, methodological, empirical and policy-relevant papers which address the issues at various operational levels: global, regional, national, local, household and individual. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Exploration of the mechanisms and pathways through which demographic factors are related to vulnerability and adaptive capacity.

- The way demographic factors such as age, sex, education, place of residence and other relevant characteristics are associated with vulnerability and adaptive capacity which could be measured by preparedness, impacts, responses, coping strategies and recovery from climate extremes.

- Consideration that successful adaptive responses of certain exposure groups to climate stress may have adverse impacts in the long run or increase the vulnerability of other systems, sectors or population groups. Papers that consider differential impacts of various adaptation strategies and the issues of maladaptation are welcome.

Venue:
A beach hotel in Kao Lak (one hour from Phuket airport), the coastal area in Thailand which was hardest hit by the December 2004 Asian tsunami. Local expenses including hotel, food and local transportation will be covered by hosts. There is limited funding for travel support for selected participants.

Submissions:
The IUSSP Scientific Panel on Climate Change invites researchers in the field to submit a short (200-word) abstract AND upload an extended abstract (2-4 pages, including tables) or a full paper by 31 October 2013. Papers submitted should be unpublished and based on original research.

A selection of the best papers will be published as special thematic issue of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, a strictly refereed and highly ranked periodical published by the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, VID/ÖAW,WU) in Vienna.

Online Submissions: http://www.iussp.org/en/iussp-seminar-submissions

Deadline for submissions: 6 November 2013.
Applicants will be informed whether paper is accepted by: 31 December 2013.
Participants must submit their complete paper by: 1 April 2014.

The working language of the seminar will be English. Abstracts, extended abstracts and final papers should therefore be submitted and presented in English.

For further information, please contact Seminar Coordinator: Raya Muttarak

Scientific Committee members:
Susana Adamo, Thanyaporn Chankrajang, Adrian Hayes, Leiwen Jiang, Samir KC, Wolfgang Lutz, Vipan Prachuabmoh.


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Last edited: 30 October 2013

CONTACT DETAILS

Raya Muttarak

Principal Research Scholar Migration and Sustainable Development Research Group - Population and Just Societies Program

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313