47th biannual research and training workshop

About the workshop

As a part of its research capacity and academic leadership development activities, SANDEE is holding its 47th biannual research and training workshop in Negombo, Sri Lanka.

SANDEE grantees and faculty advisors will attend the workshop and review the progress of the research under past SANDEE grants and develop an action plan for each project for the next six months. Shortlisted researchers, whose proposals have gone through peer review in the past several months, will present and defend their proposals for the SANDEE Research grants competition. Participation in this workshop is by invitation only.

One of the key highlights of the workshop is the SANDEE-ICIMOD Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture (Hybrid and open to public). The speakers are – Mark Smith, Director General, Institute of Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka and Subhrendu Pattanayak, Oak Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, Duke University, USA.

The SANDEE Steering Committee Meeting will also be held on 9 July 2024. The SANDEE Steering Committee meets twice a year to discuss the past activities, and to plan for future activities and collaborations.

Expected outcomes

Personalised mentoring is the key component of the workshop, where researchers will have the opportunity to interact with mentors and peers to improve the quality of their research as well as the new proposals and develop their research skills and capacity.

Background

The South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), a research capacity and academic leadership development programme at ICIMOD, supports research in South Asia and Hindu Kush Himalaya region on the interconnection between environmental and development issues.

SANDEE-ICIMOD Karl-Göran Mäler Memorial Lecture (Summer 2024)

9 July 2024 | 09:00–11:00 (Sri Lanka Standard Time)
Hybrid (Negombo, Sri Lanka, and Zoom)

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Advancing water systems science for food security in a climate crisis

Mark Smith
Director General
IWMI, Sri Lanka

Mark Smith is the Director General of IWMI. He was formerly IWMI’s Deputy Director General, Research for Development and brings more than 25 years of research and programme management experience in water resources, agriculture, climate and sustainability. He was the Director of the Global Water Program at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) from 2008–2018, where he led innovative, multi-regional programmes in Asia, Africa and Latin America addressing river basin management, transboundary cooperation and water governance, climate change adaptation, and Nature-based Solutions.
Smith has a PhD in ecology and resource management from the University of Edinburgh and a Master’s in climatology from the University of Guelph.

Abstract: A food-secure future is possible only in a water-secure world. As climate change intensifies, its impacts are disrupting water availability, exacerbating risks and posing serious threats to food security. This presentation will explore the concept of water security, its significance in the context of agricultural and food systems, and the profound impacts of climate change on these dynamics. To address these challenges, integrated systems solutions are essential. This presentation will emphasise the need to consider water systems holistically to build resilient food security and examine how effective management across various sectors can strengthen water and food security in an increasingly unpredictable world.

Are conservation and energy SDG complements? Panel data evidence from the Himalayas

Subhrendu Pattanayak
Oak Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy, Duke University, USA

Subhrendu K. Pattanayak is the Oak Professor of Environmental and Energy Policy at Duke University. He studies the causes and consequences of human behaviours related to the natural environment to help design and evaluate policy interventions in low-income tropical countries. His research is in three domains at the intersection of environment, development, health and energy: household energy, environmental health and forest ecosystem services. He has focused on design of institutions and policies that are motivated by inequities and a range of efficiency concerns (e.g., externalities, imperfect information).

Professor Pattanayak is also a Faculty Fellow of SANDEE and a Research Advisor to the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD Iniative). In his latest project that is derived from these appointments, Professor Pattanayak makes the case for inclusive environmental economics, and how to evaluate it. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from Duke University, and MS from Purdue University.

Abstract: Supplying clean energy in rural areas is subject to scale economies: total demand is simply not high enough among communities with low spending power. Might conservation initiatives such as ecotourism provide demand stimulus in these remote rural areas? Nepal’s location in the Himalayas provides a good setting to examine these questions because Nepal’s commitment to conservation (e.g., twenty percent of its land area is part of the protected areas system), draws many thousands of tourists, especially eco-tourists who trek to remote areas around 8000-metre peaks. This tourism can create economic opportunities but also create a demand for clean energy in these pristine remote locations. To examine the relationship between tourism and off grid energy access, we compile and use a panel data set of the adoption of clean energy technologies and ecotourism in roughly 4000 village development committees of Nepal over one and half decades (2001–2015). We find that tourism increases the installation of micro-hydro capacity, a finding that is robust to a variety of checks. Critically, we find that communities see higher employment and wage income in the tourism industry, suggesting a mechanism for complementarity of conservation and energy goals. Finally, we consider how ecotourism impacts environmental outcomes (e.g., proxied by firewood use, forest degradation and biodiversity habitat). In sum, achieving Nepal’s target of 2 million tourists a year is likely to also promote energy access and therefore reduce poverty in the Hindukush Himalayas. The likely environmental impacts are largely unknown – to date at least. As such, we are able to comment on the potential synergies across at least two or more SDGs.

Moderator

Sowmya Balasubramanya

Senior Economist, The World Bank

Soumya Balasubramanya is a Senior Economist at the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global practice, and very recently joined SANDEE advisory committee. She was previously with the CGIAR between 2011–2022. She conducts original field-based research on poverty, development and equity challenges in Asia and Africa, at the nexus of water, agriculture, environment, energy, and health, using large sample survey methods. She collaborates with universities, governments, and the private sector in low-, middle- and high-income countries to influence research, dialogue, funding, policy, and practice on inclusive development. She is also an Associate Editor for the journals Agricultural Economics, and Water Resources and Economics. She also coordinates the Committee for Women in Agricultural Economics of the International Association of Agricultural Economics. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as BBC, Forbes, NPR, The Economist and The Guardian. Soumya received a PhD in Environment and Development Economics from Duke University in 2011.

PLENARY TALK

Disaster education and emergency capacity building for the resilient and safe campus

Abstract: This talk will cover disaster education and emergency capacity building led by Sichuan University. After the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, the university implemented a resilient and safe campus environment ensuring the welfare and safety of the students, faculty, and staff. Since disasters can occur without warning, it is necessary to ensure everyone on campus is equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to respond effectively. Recognising the high cost-effectiveness ratio of disaster education, the university organises regular and innovative classes covering various aspects of disaster risk reduction and emergency management. Through comprehensive education and capacity building, it is discovered that these efforts are crucial components of university’s commitment to safety and resilience.