IC-CSD 2022

World Health Organization recently released a Policy Brief on Climate Change and Mental in June 2022.

Key points highlighted:

 • Climate change is increasingly having stronger and longer-lasting impacts on people, which can, directly and indirectly, affect their mental health and psychosocial well-being.
 • Several environmental, social and economic determinants of mental health are negatively affected by climate change.
 • Certain groups are disproportionately at risk from climate change-related hazards, including people with pre-existing mental health conditions.
This Session will bring together Practitioners and Academics working on Climate Change, Mental Health, and Well Being to address the following objectives:
Identified gaps in research around these three linked agendas - climate change, mental health, and well being
Identify networks and foster collaboration and 
Discuss tools around community-based mental health programs relevant to Bangladesh
 

 The expected outcome of the session includes:

 Knowledge product on the impact of climate change on mental health for climate-vulnerable communities in Bangladesh and how we can address these issues.
 

The Migration-Poverty Nexus: Informal Economy, Mobility of Labor and Overall Well-being of Migrants in the Megalopolises

The relationship between poverty and development is a vital policy discourse, especially in South Asia. This session aims to explore the relationship between increasing rural-urban mobility of labor and accelerated expansion of informal sector activities in urban cities of growing economies and how that is associated with poverty and the development of the country. The migrant workers’ livelihoods and well-being in the megapolises are crucial to sustainable urban development. The issue of poverty occupies a dominant place in the development discourse of many developing countries such as Bangladesh. With the advent and acceleration of the market economy and trade liberalization, the private sector along with the informal economy is rapidly expanding. The informal sector employs a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers and it has been increasing over the years and contributing to rapid unplanned urbanization. A similar pattern is observed in most South Asian Countries. Rural-urban migration is considered to be an important and viable livelihood option or coping strategy for different kinds of income shocks for poor people. Although the migrants are absorbed in the informal economy in the megapolises, the mobility from rural areas to urban cities implies significant changes in their socio-economic conditions, occupational choices, skill sets, and overall well-being.  Given that rural-urban mobility of labor is an integral part of the development process in growing economies, it is imperative that we have a clear understanding of the causes and consequences of rapid urban growth so that effective policies can be devised to make it efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. This session will focus on SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), and SDG 11 (Sustainable cities and communities).  

Objectives of the Session

The general objective of this session is to understand the relationship between increasing rural-urban mobility of labor and accelerated expansion of informal sector activities and how that impacts poverty and development in Bangladesh and similar economies with a particular focus on people’s livelihoods in metropolitan cities. More specifically, the session will aim to answer the following research issues:
•    How does the informal sector in the megacities shape and initiate rural-urban mobility of labor? 
•    How do workers enter the informal sector labor market? What is the role of social networks and intermediaries in getting informal jobs?
•    What are the living conditions of the workers migrating and working in the informal sector?
•    What are the working conditions of the workers migrating and working in the informal sector?
•    Under what conditions do migrants and their families appear to improve their socio-economic status by maximizing income? 
•    What is the role of existing labor regulation and social protection policies and programs in protecting the labor rights of rural-urban migrants? How can these be made more effective to promote the inclusivity of rural-urban migrants in development policies and labor regulation?

Session Chair and Discussant: to be announced

Participants

Invited to the session are academics from different universities and disciplines, diverse government ministries and agencies, NGOs as well as interested private sector actors.
Please submit your abstract by 20th September 2022. If you have any questions, feel free to contact: [email protected]
1.    Dr. Nasreen Chowdhory, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi
2.    Dr. Biswajit Mohanty, Desbandhu College, University of Delhi
3.    Dr. Meherun Ahmed, Dean School of Business and Entrepreneurship, IUB
4.    Dr. Shahana Chowdhury, ULAB-CSD

The session will be in hybrid mode. The two participants from the University of Delhi will join online (via Zoom).

Panel discussion on Climate Change Displacement in the context of South Asia

Key Theme: Understanding internal and cross border Climate-induced displacement in the context of South Asia

South Asia region is particularly prone to natural disasters – both in terms of the absolute number of disasters and of populations affected. According to the 2020 estimation from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) records, South Asia recorded 9.5 million new displacements associated with disasters in 2019. An average of 6.5 million people were displaced in South Asia by climate-related disasters in the last decade making it one of the most affected regions in the world.

South Asia is greatly exposed to climate impacts, and several countries in the region are home to highly vulnerable population groups including the desperately poor and the marginalized. Unprecedented extreme weather events are exposing millions of people to catastrophic loss and damage including loss of life, land, homes, and income.

Session Objectives:

1.      Understanding the State of knowledge on displacement in South Asia, 

2.      Understanding what national governments are doing to address internal displacement.

3.       Identifying the gaps in the state of knowledge and how can CSOs and academia contribute further to the development of scholarship on internal displacement. 

Information will be added later.

How can global and local science and knowledge work together for capacity development at all levels so can inform practice, policy, and theoretical outcomes  

Overview:

In recent years, many global/worldwide/ multicountry, multidisciplinary/ interdisciplinary research are being conducted giving an amazing opportunity for involved scientists to collaborate, learn, and create knowledge beyond their geographical and disciplinary boundaries. While such an expanding research ecosystem generates fantastic knowledge products openly accessible, but often in English, not a language or a format where local stakeholders can always access the knowledge.

This HDWG session will bring together knowledge producers/managers (essentially scientists working at the global level) and Bangladeshi stakeholders, such as NGOs, local government institutions, community leaders, and local scientists to answer the following questions:

Q1) How does the global research/knowledge system look like?
Q2) How it might be relevant to the local stakeholders (in this case from Bangladesh)?
Q3) In terms of knowledge, what do the local stakeholders need to perform their responsibilities (e.g., project design/implementation, measuring impact, decision making, advocacy, risk management, etc.)?
Q4) What are the barriers to getting that much-needed knowledge?
Q5) How can the everyday work of the stakeholders be better supported by global science?
 

This session will be a dialogue between the research managers and local stakeholders to co-develop and shape a focus on how to best support local science and stakeholders to be better seen, and better integrated, i.e. to make that much-needed step into being an integral part of those (national/regional/international) research projects of direct relevance to their everyday life and livelihood.

Outputs:

This session's entire process and outcomes will be written up as one of the V2V  Working paper series on capacity building and bridging local-global science

Vulnerability to Viability in Small Scale Fisheries
Knowledge Exchange on Viability of Small-Scale Fisheries
______

Small Scale Fisheries for the most part involve smaller size, conventional fishing vessels outfitted with low-tech gear that require labor-intensive fishing techniques. The main characters in this fishery usually involve fishermen, who work on boats alone or in small teams to catch targeted species. Because of their high dependency on natural resources, small-scale fishing communities are especially vulnerable to climate change as well as other socio-economic and institutional factors. 

However, vulnerability is context-specific, meaning that it might imply various things to different people. Fishermen encounter a variety of environmental, social, and administrative difficulties that have an impact on their productivity and capacity to sustain their livelihood. This is why different viability options based on different contexts of vulnerabilities and challenges need to be explored and shared in order to ensure sustainability in the lives and livelihoods of small-scale fisheries.

The purpose of the session is to share the viabilities against the vulnerabilities of the small-scale fishers. The general goal of this session is to share “the success stories on viability options for different vulnerabilities of small-scale fisheries.” 

Objectives of the session
1.    Sharing the efficient adaptation of Knowledge sources, and collaboration as the support for the viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries in the South Asian Context.
2.    Present results, ongoing work, and future plans on the theme of “vulnerability to the viability of small-scale fishers”.
3.    Create a well-thought-out exchange program that is primarily focused on fishermen in order to reproduce and spread good practices throughout the area.
4.    Publication of the knowledge output of this session as a blog/article in a peer-reviewed journal.

Participants
Invited to the session are individual researchers/experts/officials from India and Bangladesh, who are part of the V2V Project, academics from different universities and disciplines, diverse government ministries and agencies, NGOs as well as interested private sector actors. These include:

India Team:
1.    Dr. Prateep Kumar Nayak (Associate Professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada)
2.    Anuradha Choudry (Coordinator, Indian Knowledge Systems Division AICTE-Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur)
3.    Jenia Mukherjee (Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur)
4.    Raktima Ghosh (Ph.D. Student, The Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness IIT Kharagpur)
5.    Poulomi Ghosh (Research Fellow, The Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, IIT Kharagpur)

Bangladesh Team:

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB):
1.    Dr. Samiya Ahmed Selim (Professor, Director of Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
2.    Dr. Haseeb Md. Irfanullah (Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
3.    Sabiha Ahmed Diba (Research Associate, Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)

Center For Natural Resource Studies (CNRS)
1.    Dr. M. Mokhlesur Rahman (Executive Director, CNRS)

Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)
1.    Dr. Mohammad Mahmudul Islam (Associate Professor, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)
2.    Mr. Mohammad Mosarof Hossain (Associate Professor, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)

Nature Conservation Management (NACOM)
1.    S.M. Munjurul Hannan Khan, Ph.D. (Executive Director, Nature Conservation Management - NACOM)
2.    Mr. Rashiduzzaman Ahmed (Nature Conservation Management - NACOM)

Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD)
1.    Md. Shamsuddoha (Chief Executive, CPRD)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact: [email protected] 

Transboundary Challenges and Opportunities in Sundarbans Delta
(A Round Table Discussion)

Along the Bay of Bengal coastline, which crosses the border between Bangladesh and India, is the largest mangrove forest in the world. This region is best known worldwide as the habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger.  Around 13 million people live in the region, 8.5 million of them around the forests in Bangladesh, and 4.5 million live inside Indian forests. The Sundarbans are being significantly impacted by both anthropogenic and natural events, and this impacts the social-ecological systems in both countries to varying degrees.

The majority of the issues in the Sundarbans are shared by Bangladesh and India, and the locals have attempted to adapt in a number of ways. Focusing on shared issues and solutions encourages collaboration on many levels, from governments working together to coordinate fishing ban seasons to farmers learning about salt-resistant paddy types used across the border.

Joint disclosure on the problems that Bangladesh and India share in the mangrove ecosystem that spans their border improves understanding and could lead to great collaboration. Our common goal from this round table discussion is to highlight the common issues and to link and create synergies between Bangladesh and India regarding solutions to the transboundary issues in Sundarbans delta.  

The objective of the Session:
1.    Discussion on past experiences of attempts to transboundary cooperation/ collaboration around the Sundarbans and why those were not sustainable or failed.
2.    Discussion on the area of governance and cooperation between the countries to come up with new solutions  
3.   Publication of the knowledge output resulting from the session's in-depth discussion in a peer-reviewed journal as an op-ed or informative article to facilitate future research.

Participants
Invited to the session are individual researchers/experts/officials from India and Bangladesh, who are part of the V2V Project academics from different universities and disciplines, diverse government ministries and agencies, NGOs as well as interested private sector actors. These include:

India Team:

1.  Dr. Prateep Kumar Nayak (Associate professor, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada)
2.   Anuradha Choudry (Coordinator, Indian Knowledge Systems DivisionAICTE-Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur)
3.    Jenia Mukherjee (Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Kharagpur)
4.    Raktima Ghosh (Ph.D. Student, The Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness IIT Kharagpur)
5.    Poulomi Ghosh (Research Fellow, The Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, IIT Kharagpur)

Bangladesh Team:

University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB):
1.    Dr. Samiya Ahmed Selim (Professor, Director of Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
2.    Dr. Haseeb Md. Irfanullah (Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)
3.    Sabiha Ahmed Diba (Research Associate, Center for Sustainable Development (CSD), University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB)

Center For Natural Resource Studies (CNRS)
1.    Dr. M. Mokhlesur Rahman, Executive Director, CNRS)

Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)
1.    Dr. Mohammad Mahmudul Islam (Associate Professor, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)
2.    Mr. Mohammad Mosarof Hossain (Associate Professor, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU)

Nature Conservation Management (NACOM)
1.    S.M. Munjurul Hannan Khan, Ph.D. (Executive Director, Nature Conservation Management - NACOM)
2.    Mr. Rashiduzzaman Ahmed (Nature Conservation Management - NACOM)

Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD)
1.    Md. Shamsuddoha (Chief Executive, CPRD)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact: [email protected] 

The United Nations ‘Decade of Ocean Science and Sustainable Development (2021- 2030) aims for sustainable ocean management including the restoration of ocean health and ocean-related human well-being, and it offers a global platform for ocean stakeholders. Ocean-based economy or Blue Economy is considered key for delivering sustainable ocean development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bangladesh policy objectives embrace the blue economy, and Blue Economy Investment is proceeding. To ensure sustainable Blue Economy progress in Bangladesh, visions and strategies need to be reviewed. 5th CSD Conference on Sustainable Development 2022 – Unpacking Sustainability, Resilience, and Equity in Dhaka offer a session on Blue Economy progress in Bangladesh on 15th October 2022. The session brings key stakeholders together to brainstorm and generate a visualization of implicit knowledge of complex formal and informal networks, power relations, and actors’ goals in the Blue Economy of Bangladesh. Participants in the session (BE stakeholders) will jointly produce a “map” of the structure and characteristics of Blue Economy governance in Bangladesh. Both the session process and its outputs are likely to be both thought-provoking and policy-relevant and may well succeed in pointing out suitable governance measures to support sustainable, effective and equitable Blue Economy futures. 

Call for IMECaN workshop: Fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into interdisciplinary marine research.

IMECaN is organizing the workshop Fostering Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into interdisciplinary marine research during the 5th CSD Annual Conference on Sustainable Development: Unpacking Sustainability, Resilience, and Equity, Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 13-16 October 2022. As ECRs are increasingly expected to work across various disciplines, and to have skills in several domains, to navigate ocean sustainability challenges. ECRs are well placed to innovate and champion new approaches to addressing critical research priorities. This workshop will focus on the following issues: (1) Do Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues affect ECR participation in interdisciplinarity? (2) How interdisciplinary marine research is conceptualized, organized, and implemented across regions and cultures? (3) How can DEI issues be better considered in research practices? This workshop will provide input for IMECaN’s strategic planning for 2022/2023.