Ecosystem Services Approaches for Rural Wellbeing - Western Himalayas - Certificate Online Training Programme on Integrating Ecosystem Services and Rural Livelihoods

Ecosystem Services Approaches for Rural Wellbeing - Western Himalayas - Certificate Online Training Programme on Integrating Ecosystem Services and Rural Livelihoods

09.12.2020, Wednesday to 21.12.2020, Monday

The proposed workshop on Ecosystem Services is the second of two proposed workshops on Ecosystem Services in the Himalayan region. The workshops aim at building the capacity of participants in integrating considerations of ecosystem services for human wellbeing in the context of a changing climate. The first workshop was conducted in September 2018 and focused on the Eastern Himalayan region, and the second workshop will focus on the Western Himalayan region.

This training programme is a part of a training and capacity building project ‘Adapting to and mitigating ecological and socio-economic impacts of climate change: Training and capacity building’ funded by the SPLICE Division, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India.

Eligibility:

Post-graduates and graduates, research scholars and early-career researchers involved with NGOs, academics institutes or governmental agencies from the Western Himalayan region. We encourage those with a background in the natural sciences and social sciences to apply. E-certificates will be provided to registered participants on completion of the course. Only applicants from the western Himalayan region (Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand) will be selected (age limit: 35 years).

There are no registration fees.

Goals:

  • Equipping participants with a conceptual understanding of the ecosystem services framework, along with ecosystem approaches to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity and its links to human needs and wellbeing, in the context of climate change.  
  • Exposure to certain natural and social science methods and tools to assess ecosystem services and their social benefits, and contribute to research.
  • Providing a knowledge base, and their applications which may go a long way in assisting decision making for climate adaptability in the Himalayan region.
  • The goals of this workshop are aligned to India’s National Biodiversity Targets 1, 2 and 8, where target 1 aims at raising awareness of the values of biodiversity and the steps the trainees can take to conserve and use it sustainably, target 2 aims at integrating values of biodiversity in National and State planning processes, development programmes and poverty alleviation strategies, and target 8 aims at enumerating and identifying measures to safeguard ecosystem services relating to water, human health, livelihoods and wellbeing, especially the needs of women and local communities, particularly the poor and vulnerable sections. These correspond to Aichi Biodiversity Targets 1, 2 and 14.

Duration and Structure:

The workshop will take place from 9th to 21st December 2020 and is planned as a series of lectures, complemented by skill-building sessions, and special talks and discussions on issues topical to the Western Himalayas. The workshop will be conducted through Zoom; the lectures will take place every morning from 10-11 am (11:15 am -12:15 pm on day 1) and the skill-building sessions, special talks and discussions will take place from 11:15 am - 12:15 pm (2-3 pm on day 1).

Lectures: The programme will have faculty and experts from ATREE and other leading universities in the Western Himalayan region delivering a series of lectures on ecosystem services. The lectures will be based on the following themes indicative of the lectures that will be offered:

1. The types of ecosystem services - supporting, regulation, provisioning and cultural

2. Climate science, environmental change and the western Himalayas and its impact on ecosystem services

3. Ecosystem disservices

4. Rural wellbeing and the relationships with ecosystem services

5. Resilience of communities in the Himalayan region to stochastic events such as Covid 19

Skill-building Sessions: These sessions will emphasize important research tools and methods that researchers most commonly employ. These sessions will be in line with the topics covered in the lectures and aim to make the best use of resources available online. There will also be sessions to introduce participants to two very widely used tools in ecological research – statistical analysis (with the help of R) and spatial analysis (with the help of QGIS).

Special Talks and Discussions: The programme will include sessions specifically for discussions on topical issues relevant to the western Himalayan region and will build on with the concepts introduced in the lectures. Experts working on ecosystem services and related topics will lead the talks, provide case studies, and will facilitate the participant-driven discussions.

Mini Projects: The programme also focuses on designing thematic project proposals (in groups of 5-6) with an emphasis on ecosystem services. Each group will present their final projects on the final day (21st December 2020).

Apply Here! DEADLINE: 27th November 2020

For any more information, please contact Rubin Sagar (rubin.sagar@atree.org).

ATREE will bear the costs of the training programme.