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Geospatial Technologies Assessing Socio-Economic Vulnerability due to Climate Change
(co-funded by Eurasia-Pacific Uninet, Austria, 2013-14)
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INTRODUCTION
The social development of various
societies is directly dependent on the nature of their economic activities which
are significantly influenced by the natural resource endowment. The progress of
agrarian economies is largely dependent on the prevailing climatic conditions which
keep on varying from year to year. Recent researches on the regional climatic
conditions have established that these are not simply the reflections of annual
or periodic variations but the overall climate is changing and this is
manifesting in various forms like increased incidences of high and low
temperatures, droughts, floods, glacial melts etc. The effects of such extreme
climatic events on the agricultural economies are already being recorded around
the world.
The total population of India, Nepal and
Bhutan is about 1.6 Billions and app. 70 percent of this is dependent on various
agrarian economic activities which are largely dependent on the seasonal
climatic conditions. It is not only the future development of these societies
that is being affected but also their seasonal or annual food availability is
reducing. It is evident that these societies are highly vulnerable to the
observed climatic changes although there are variations in their spatial
distribution. It is important to understand the spatial variations in the
observed climatic changes for assessing the level of socio-economic vulnerability
in those areas.
OBJECTIVE
- Develop institutional capacity by enhancing the understanding
the methods
of identifying crucial indicators of climate change in mountain environments and
assess their
impacts on the environment and sustainable socio-economic development.
ACTIVITIES
- Organise a short intensive Faculty-Development Workshop in Bhutan.
- Disseminate the results through a participant level Seminar in Bhutan.
The
reason for organising a short intensive multi-partner GIScience Faculty
Development Workshop and Dissemination Seminar is to share the ’know-how’
regarding the methods of identifying crucial indicators of environmental and
socio-economic changes in mountain environments, and to generate higher
multiplier effect within a short period (1 week) and initiate a network for
future cooperation.
PARTNERS
Organiser Institutions |
AUSTRIA:
- Austrian Academy of Sciences - GIScience, Vienna / Salzburg
- Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS, University of Salzburg, Salzburg
- Eurasia-Pacific Uninet, Vienna
BHUTAN:
- College of Natural Resources (CNR), Royal University of Bhutan, Lobesa
| Participant Institutions
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AUSTRIA: - Austrian Academy of Sciences - GIScience, Vienna / Salzburg
- Interfaculty Department of Geoinformatics - Z_GIS, University of Salzburg, Salzburg
BHUTAN:
- College of Natural Resources, Lobesa
- Department of Forests and Parks, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Thimphu
- Renewable Natural Resource Development Centre, Wangdue - Sherubtse College, Kanglung
- Ugyen Wangchuk Institute of Conservation and Environment, Bumthang
INDIA:
- University of Madras, Chennai
NEPAL:
- Institute of Forestry, Pokhara - Institute of Forestry, Hetauda - International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Khumaltar
- Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel
- Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
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OUTCOMES (see the blog here)
- the workshop was organised from 11 to 15-02-2014 at College of Natural Resources (CNR), Lobesa, Bhutan
- 22 teachers and professionals participates in the workshop (BHUTAN: 10; INDIA: 3; NEPAL: 9)
- all the participants completed individual practical projects and presented in the dissemination seminar.
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