A pre-conference event is dedicated to young scholars. The YHDR meeting will take place on the 15th of October 2003 and end in time to attend the opening reception of the main conference. The agenda will include presentations by leading human dimensions researchers, and will provide opportunities for participants to share their research interests.

Those young researchers who are already making travel arrangements to Montreal should aim to arrive on the night of October 14th at the latest. Travel funding will be available for selected participants. If you are interested in participating or wonder if you qualify as a “young scholar,” please send an email to Jasper Grosskurth at ja.grosskurth@icis.unimaas.nl. He is a member of the International Scientific Planning Committee (ISPC) and responsible for activities related to young scholars. In your email, please include your name, age, highest academic degree, current position and the title of the abstract you submitted (if any). Also indicate, whether your participation depends on funding by the ISPC and its partners.

A Symposium in Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of the
Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE)
Location: Macdonald Campus of McGill University

Indigenous Peoples throughout the world are stewards and managers of vast resources of knowledge about global environmental change. Perspectives, inspiration and guidance on changing ecosystems, food and health are greatly needed as we all face an uncertain future, and aspire to live in confidence that environments can be protected for humankind. This international, interdisciplinary symposium for indigenous people and their academic partners aims to define new research directions. It will be held at McGill University as satellite to the 2003 Open Meeting of Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change in Montreal 16-18 October, 2003.

For more information on the CINE symposium, visit the website at http://www.cine.mcgill.ca/ or call +1.514.398.7544

Registration is required by September 1, 2003. To obtain the registration form, visit the website above or write to: CINE, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9

Registration: $40.00 (includes lunch)
Students: $20.00 (includes lunch)

Water, Climate and Energy
Location: Hotel Wyndham Montréal, 1255 rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal
Room: Argenteuil
Time: 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Registration (at the door): CAN$10

This half day session will give participants an opportunity to hear about current efforts and strategies for adapting to the impacts of climate change in the water sector, as well as in the energy sector. The current climate change scenarios will be presented, and the many interacting factors of the water cycle will be discussed. The impacts of climate change on the energy sector will be discussed, and the potential for further hydroelectric energy and sources of renewable energy will be raised. Some of the institutional and socio-economic constraints to climate change impacts adaptation will be highlighted.

The session will start off with a panel discussion. Members of the Panel will firstly give some background to the current state of knowledge, issues and finally, challenges being faced. A moderator will then facilitate questions and discussions between the participants and the panel. It is hoped that through this dialogue and interaction, participants will be better equipped to participate in the global debate on climate change with specific reference to the water and energy sectors, and to facilitate change within their communities.

Panel members will include experts in hydrology, hydropower, carbon fuels, energy, and climate change, stemming from government, academia and the private sector.

For more information, please contact Bano Mehdi at bano.mehd@mcgill.ca, or +1-514-398-7836.

Spatial Metadata and Clearinghouse Training

Sponsor: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University

Location: Department of Geography, Burnside Hall, McGill University
Time: 9:00am to 4:00 pm

CIESIN will be conducting training on the preparation of geospatial metadata to support research and applications on the human dimensions of global environmental change. The training will focus on the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM), as well as metadata management, international metadata standards, clearinghouse nodes, gateways, and metadata's role in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Support for this training is provided by the 2002 Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP).

There is no registration fee for the metadata training; however, seating is limited. If you would like to attend, please send a message with a) your contact information, b) your organizational affiliation, and c) a brief statement on why you are interested in the training
to metadata_training@ciesin.columbia.edu. Alternatively, you may send this information by fax to (845) 365-8922. We will notify trainees and alternates by September 16. Note that support for additional night’s lodging and per diem is available on the basis of need for up to four developing country participants.

Tentative Agenda:

Sunday, October 19 (Metadata Session, day 1)

Morning: Overview of metadata standards and Spatial Data Infrastructures
Afternoon: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM); tools for writing metadata; Hands-on exercise in writing metadata records

Monday, October 20 (Metadata Session, day 2)

Morning: Gateways, servers and standards; clearinghouse software
Afternoon: Metadata management; overview of Open GIS Consortium (OGC) and web mapping standards and approaches

Population, Consumption and Environment Dynamics: Theory and Method

Sponsor: Population-Environment Research Network, MacArthur Foundation

Location: Hotel Wyndham Montréal, 1255 rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal

Room: Mont Royal
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.

This session will address the conceptual linkage between population, consumption and environment, propose theoretical frameworks and consider the methodological challenges facing researchers. The goal will be to layout a research agenda for fully understanding population, consumption and environment dynamics in the 21st century. The session will build on material presented during the Open Meeting, and selected researchers from the Open Meeting will be invited to make presentations or to serve as discussants. In addition, papers will be presented by senior researchers from the fields of population, economics, and environment/ecology. One product of the session will be a review paper on the topic prepared for comments during a Population-Environment Research Network cyberseminar series and subsequently for publication (for more information on PERN cyberseminars, please visit http://www.populationenvironmentresearch.org). The overall purpose of this workshop is to develop a conceptual format and a research agenda for this field.

As of 17 September 2003, the following researchers have agreed to serve as presenters and discussants:

- Sara Curran, Princeton University, United States (co-organizer; sociologist/demographer)

- Alex de Sherbinin, CIESIN, Columbia University, United States (co-organizer; geographer)

- Faye Duchin, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United States (economist; contributor to the NRC/NAS volume)

- Marina Fischer-Kowalski, University of Vienna, Austria (member of the Industrial Transformation group from IHDP; focus on material flows from South to North)

- Po Garden, Unit for Social and Environmental Research (USER), Chiang Mai University, Thailand (journalist; shrimp aquaculture)

- Daniel Hogan, University of Campinas, Brazil (demographer; population-environment researcher)

- Evans Kituyi, African Centre for Technology Studies, Kenya (environmental chemistry; environmental science, technology policy)

- Fritz Reussing & Herman Lotz-Campen, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany (Sustainability Geoscope)

- Vaclav Smil, University of Manitoba, Canada (geographer; nutrient cycles, agriculture, consumption)

- Hamdou-Rabby Wane, Independent Researcher, Senegal (environmental economist)

- Daniela Zlatunova, Sofia University, Bulgaria (geographer; pollution, conservation of water resources)

The workshop is free and open to all those attending the Open Meeting, but room capacity is limited to 40 so it is recommended to contact the organizers for pre-registration. For more information please contact pernadmin@populationenvironmentresearch.org.