ESPA 2014 Annual Science Meeting

26 Nov 2014
Start Date/Time: 09:00, 26 November, 2014
End Date/Time: 17:00, 27 November, 2014
Venue: Vivanta by Taj Surajkund, NCR, New Delhi, India

ESPA’s Annual Science Meeting in 2014 was held in South Asia, in New Delhi, India on the 26th-27th November.  This was the first major event that ESPA has held outside the UK and the choice of South Asia was in recognition of the region’s importance as both a hub of ESPA research and also a region where very large numbers of poor can benefit from the application of ESPA research.  The event also marked a change from previous years with the opportunity for potential users of ESPA research to outline their challenges for ESPA, through a series of keynote addresses, linked to the four themes of the meeting.  The ESPA researchers and users of the research were joined at the event by the new cohort of ESPA Fellows at the start of their programme of research and capacity development.

The meeting had a series of thematic sessions, linked to the key areas of demand for ESPA research in South Asia, supporting food security, water security and adapting to climate change. There was also discussion about the ways that ESPA research can affect change focusing on markets and policy incentives (including payments for ecosystem services), and ways and examples linking science with policy and practice.

The meeting agenda is available here and the event report is here.

Presentations - Wednesday, 26th November 2014

  • Adapting South Asian agriculture to climate change and declining resources - Pramod Aggarwal Video
  • A basic needs approach to understanding the complex and changing link between ecosystem services and wellbeing - Bernard Owuor Odit Video
  • Research impact pathways for ecosystem services and Poverty Alleviation: What can we learn from South Asia? - Hemant Ojha Video
  • Global Food Security - How do ecosystem services improve the lives of the poor? - Paul van Gardingen
  • Coupling terrestrial and marine biophysical processes with livelihood dynamics for analysis of Poverty Alleviation in Bangladesh - results from a hybrid model - Attila Lazar
  • Ecosystem Services as a determinant of poverty in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta of Bangladesh - Dilruba Begum
  • New technologies for participatory ecosystem services monitoring and citizen science - Wouter Buytaert Video
  • Environmental connectivities and small-town urbanisation in the Himalaya - Eszter Kovacs
  • Multi-scale governance approaches for the management of ecosystem services for poverty alleviation in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta - Andrew Allan

Presentations - Thursday, 27th November 2014

  • Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation: the challenges of institutional change - Steve Bass Video
  • Mainstreaming of citizens knowledge in climate adaptive governance through virtual observatory: a case study of Upper Kaligandaki Basin, Mustang, Nepal - Deepak Paudel Video
  • Provisioning safe water and sanitation for Dhaka's poor: How state promotes practical collective action but fails strategically to engage the rich - Manoj Roy Video
  • Assessing changes in ecosystem services and wellbeing in Mozambican Woodlands - Natasha Ribeiro Video
  • Urban food security and the peri-urban interface in India - opportunities and challenges for integrating ecosystem services and poverty alleviation approaches into planning for sustainable cities - Fiona Marshall Video
  • Integrating science, policy and stakeholders: the ESPA Deltas approach to scenario development - Emily Barbour Video
  • Changing socio-economics and climate conditions and environmental flows in Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna rivers: implications for policy, people and livelihoods in Bangladesh - Rajiv Sinha Video
  • Who bears the cost of forest conservation under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme? - Mahesh Poudyal Video
  • Understanding the relationships between ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability in the Ethiopian highlands - Tilashwork Chanie Video
  • Ecosystems, climate change and resilience in Nepal's rural-urban continuum - Ajaya Dixit Video