Message from the ProSPER.Net Secretariat

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Greetings from the ProSPER.Net Secretariat! This month as always there are a number of open calls that might be of interest. In addition, we are happy to share project outcomes from the ProSPER.Net Joint Project, 'Safe Havens - Relocating SIDS Communities Threatened By Climate Change', including an online toolkit of resources related to human mobility and climate change and a literature review. 

If you have any news, open calls, upcoming events, or publications you wish to share in a future bulletin, please complete this form and email your submission to the ProSPER.Net Secretariat at ProSPERNet@unu.edu (submissions close on the 15th of each month).

Sincerely,
ProSPER.Net Secretariat

Open Calls

Call for Papers: 2nd International Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development

The '2nd International Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development' will be held from 24-25 June, 2021 at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand (in-person and virtual). Organised by the Asian Institute of Technology, the event will bring together discussion on various dimensions of higher education systems in the Asia-Pacific region with a focus on Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development. The International Symposium will focus on various dimensions of existing and future risk scenarios and concerted efforts of the scientific communities to find new adaptation methods. 

Delivered in hybrid mode, the program will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, technical sessions, poster presentations, and academic exhibitions. The Symposium is one of the initiatives of the ProSPER.Net project 'Disaster Education for Integrating SFDRR and SDG in Asia' led by the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand along with partner universities in the Asia-Pacific Region. 

The symposium will also provide an opportunity to develop a Higher Educational Institution Platform on DRR to address the cross-cutting issues on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development and also understanding regional challenges that result from complex problems generated by natural hazards and human-induced threats. 

Abstracts are currently being accepted until 31 March, 2021. Further information is available in the conference brochure or the event website.

Survey: Research on the Extinction of Diospyros Mespiliformis Trees (Itacen Kanya) in Northern Nigeria

According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the loss of biodiversity in Northern Nigeria is escalating alarmingly due to the adverse effect of desertification and human activities, posing a threat to food security and water resources. RCE Kano and the Centre for Renewable Energy and Action on Climate Change (CREACC-NG) are conducting research on the ‘Extinction of Diospyros Mespiliformis Trees (Itacen Kanya) in Northern Nigeria: Its Impact on Food Security and Improving Nutrition’.  

The questionnaire can be downloaded here, and should be sent to usmanmareri@gmail.com or abjahmad@gmail.com by 30 May, 2021.

Get Involved: Anatomy of Action

The Anatomy of Action activates people to contribute to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), providing core actions people can take in the domains of Food, Mobility, Leisure (consumer goods and tourism) and Housing. Coordinated by UNEP, a social media challenge is currently taking place from 19 March – 2 April, 2021. Find out more and how to get involved here.

Publications

ProSPER.Net Joint Project: Safe Havens - Relocating SIDS Communities Threatened By Climate Change

The project 'Safe Havens: Relocating SIDS Communities Threatened by Climate Change' sought to investigate factors affecting the success of planned relocations of communities deemed vulnerable to climate change impacts in Fiji. Led by Kyoto University (with project members Hosei University and the University of the South Pacific), the project has produced an online toolkit of resources related to human mobility and climate change, as well as a literature review on climate change-forced community relocation in the Asia-Pacific region. The toolkit aims to provide educational content for university courses in this area and has been designed for use by university lecturers. The materials include (but are not limited to) video clips, slides, reports, and activity ideas designed to help in the organisation of courses, workshops, or discussions around the topics of human mobility and climate change.

This is a publication of UNU-IAS ProSPER.Net Secretariat. The bulletin is a great way to share your activities, events and news as a ProSPER.Net member with the rest of the network. Feel free to send us any information you may deem relevant for the rest of the community by completing this form and emailing it to prospernet@unu.edu. We look forward to your inputs! Visit ProSPER.Net regularly for up-to-date news and event information.