Conference on Demographic Responses to Changes in the Natural Environment

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Within the current context of global climate change, the study of how environmental changes are shaping individual decisions related to human migration, mortality, and fertility is among the most pressing issues confronting population research and policy. The proposal requests support for a conference on `Demographic Responses to Changes in the Natural Environment' to be held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The conference will bring together scholars at varying career stages conducting research at the intersection of environmental studies and demographic analysis to promote the exchange of relevant conceptual frameworks, analytical strategies, data sources, environmental domain expertise, and regional expertise. Research panels will be organized around themes associated with environmental change (e.g., drought, sea level rise, and catastrophic events) and will bring focused attention to comparisons across developing and developed contexts. A unique feature of the proposed conference is that it will lead to at least two products: a journal special issue and a public-facing research brief series to broadly disseminate cutting-edge research at the population-environment nexus to stakeholders including policymakers, program and community leaders, and the general public. A second unique aspect of the conference is a focus on mentoring and training emerging scholars in the field through training activities on translational research, a flash session, and a structured mentoring session. The conference series is timely since it will take advantage of the critical mass of researchers at various career stages who are actively investigating environmental demography, and the concurrent availability of environmental data to population scientists and the increasing interest in the human implications of the environment amidst growing evidence of climate change and increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Accordingly, the conference series will advance conceptual and empirical approaches to investigating the influence of the natural environment on population processes and wellbeing in developed and developing contexts.