Challenges and Possibilities for Environmental Sustainability with a focus on Pakistan
September 26, 2018
27-28 February 2019
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Lahore School of Economics
Call for Papers
The social metabolism reproducing society in the modern era is upsetting Earth’s natural equilibrium, which until recently, had maintained relative stability for millions of years. Marking this shift in the planet’s biogeochemical processes due to human activities, scientists recently declared the emergence of a new geological epoch, the ‘Anthropocene’. This new global shift is characterized by severe (1) socio-environmental crises, including climate change, degradation of air, water, soils and habitats, rapid extraction of finite freshwater and mineral reserves, deforestation and desertification, and growing quantities of wastes that cannot easily be absorbed into the environment. Such processes are being experienced unevenly across space on a scale never before witnessed in human history, producing impacts that are becoming increasingly critical for our own species as well as others (2).
Aiming to understand the environmental, social and economic dimensions of these crises, particularly in the context of Pakistan, as well as to engage critically with the contemporary debates regarding possible ways to safeguard and/or restore ecologically sustainable systems to the extent possible, this conference will serve as a site for grappling with the multiple and complex sources of these crises, the ecological and social impacts experienced, and the technological, economic and policy interventions being attempted at local, national, and international scales.
Given the multifaceted nature of the ecological challenges, addressing these problems necessitates an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, we invite submissions by researchers from various academic fields, affected community members and civil society activists, as well as local policy-makers and planners to share their knowledge and experience in order to enrich the discussion on understanding and confronting these challenges.
We welcome abstracts on scientific processes, as well as local or regional case studies regarding environmental change, ecological and social impacts, and possible ways forward. While contributions with an emphasis on Pakistan’s context are encouraged, we also welcome papers that engage with such processes at alternative scales. The conference will be organised along the following areas, with suggested sub-themes, delineated below:
1) Ecological Crises: Drivers of Change and Modeling the Future
- Arithmetic of ecological change and economic growth
- Sources of degradation and depletion
- Governance, law and policy
- Projecting water/GHG/nutrient budgets
- Local cases of ecological impacts
- Environmental conflict, environmental justice and public health
- Uneven development and theorising metabolic rifts
- Monitoring and understanding changes in atmospheric, hydrologic, soil, and oceanic processes
- Technological innovations and environmental applications
- Policy-making and scales of implementation for adaptation, resilience and mitigation strategies
- Funding mechanisms, including carbon taxation, divestment/investment, finance and subsidies
- Public pressure and social movements
Contributions on related themes will also be considered.
Interested participants are requested submit abstracts of 200-300 words of their paper to the Department of Environmental Science and Policy by 29th October. Authors will be notified of acceptance of proposal by 30th November and will be expected to submit a working paper to the organisers by 1st February, which will be distributed at the conference and considered for inclusion in an edited volume.
Conference: 27-28 February 2019
Register to attend to conference [DEADLINE: 18th February 2019]
Submit an abstract to be considered as a presenter [DEADLINE: 29th October 2018]
Watch this page for the conference program!
http://www.lahorejournalofpolicystudies.org/announce.html
All inquiries may be directed to:
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
Lahore School of Economics, Lahore, Pakistan
+92(0)4236560954 environmentlse@gmail.com
1. Dawson, Ashley (2016). Extinction: A Radical History. OR Books. p. 19. ISBN 978-1944869014.
2. Ripple, William. ‘World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice’ BioScience, bix 125, 2017.
Labels: Environmental Science and Policy, Lahore School, Research, The Lahore Journal of Policy Studies
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9/26/2018 04:27:00 PM,
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