International Symposium on the Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems: Implications for Natural Resource Management in Asia

Human and natural environmental systems are closely linked to each other via the impacts of human actions on the environment, with the resulting changes in the environment having impacts (often not anticipated and unintended) that feedback to the social system. These feedbacks can amplify or dampen the initial impacts of the human activity and influence the sustainability of the socio-environmental system. Therefore, traditional research that solely focuses on either social system impacts on the environment or environmental system changes on human systems cannot provide a holistic understanding of the dynamics of integrated socio-environmental systems (DISES). A new paradigm of research that deals with the social and environmental systems as an integrated holistic system has emerged in recent decades. The new DISES program at the US National Science Foundation supports such research endeavors as a testimony to the importance of such innovative research.

Over 4.6 billion people or 60% of the human population live in Asia. There are more poor people in Asia than other continents, exerting the greatest influence on UN global sustainable development goals. Poor people are generally more dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods than others, such as on forests for food, fiber, and fuel; on water for irrigation and household consumption, and fish for food and income; and on minerals for income. Therefore, how to better manage these natural resources is of paramount importance both to improve the livelihoods of the poor and to promote environmental resilience, which are among essential goals in sustainable development. The aim of this symposium is to share cutting-edge thinking about and empirical evidence from ongoing research and to collectively reflect on needs for future research on DISES, including (1) policy, governance, tenure, institutional settings, and their impacts on sustainable natural resource management, (2) mechanisms by which natural resource management influences poor people’s livelihoods, (3) feedbacks to the social system from the environmental system as a result of changes in ecosystem goods and services from natural resource management, and (4) changes in ecosystem goods and services as a result of natural resource management.  Studies which focus on more than one of these dimensions are particularly welcome.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, the symposium will be held in a hybrid mode, i.e., with both in-person and remote participants. For in-person participants at UNC, face masks and social distance will be required, per current UNC policies, regardless of vaccination status.

Co-Chairs:

Dr. Conghe Song
Department of Geography
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Email: csong@email.unc.edu

Dr. Ji-Yeon Jo
Carolina Asia Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Email: joj@email.unc.edu

Science Committee:

Dr. Conghe Song, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Dr. Lawrence Band, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Dr. Erin Sills, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Dr. Rajan Parajuli, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
Dr. Richard Bilsborrow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
Dr. Elizabeth Shapiro-Gaza, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Dr. Ge Sun, USDA Forest Service, Raleigh, NC, USA
Dr. Naya Paudel, ForestAction, Kathmandu, Nepal
Prof. Binod Heyojoo, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal
Dr. Bir Chhetri, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal

Executive Secretary:

Dr. Kevin Fogg
Carolina Asia Center
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Email: kfogg@email.unc.edu

REGISTER BY CLICKING THIS LINK