Call for abstracts for International Conference on "Mountain Cities, Climate Change and Urban Sustainability" & 1st Chandigarh Climate Meet (CCM-1) (November 6-8, 2017) Call for Applications for Pre-Conference Workshop on “Towards Achieving Green Growth, Eco-Efficiency & SDGs for Urban Sustainability” (November 4- 5, 2017) INTRODUCTION CRRID, Chandigarh proposes to organize an International Conference on “Mountain Cities, Climate Change and Urban Sustainability” and 1st Chandigarh Climate Meet from November 6-8, 2017 and a two days Pre Conference Workshop on “Towards Achieving Green Growth, Eco-Efficiency & SDGs for Urban Sustainability” from November 4-5, 2017 in collaboration with the Asia Climate Change Education Center (ACCEC), Jeju, South Korea; the Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh and the Centre for Study of Administration of Relief (CSAR), New Delhi. The Working Group 05 of International Sociological Association (ISA) on Famine and Society; the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh; The Climate Reality Project India, New Delhi; the Centre for Urban Green Spaces (CUGS), New Delhi and the Association of Professional Social Workers and Development Practitioners (APSWDP), Chandigarh are also likely to support the organization of events in various capacities. CALL FOR ABSTRACTS & APPLICATIONS FOR THE PRE CONFERENCE WORKSHOP The call for abstracts for International Conference and applications for pre conference workshop are open. The conference and workshop aim to deliberate on interlinked issues of mountains and mountain cities, climate change, green growth, eco efficiency, SDGs and urban sustainability. In a changing climate, mountain cities and regions are becoming vulnerable. Mountains provide the world with resources such as water, timber, biodiversity and hydraulic energy and they are at risk (http://www.fao.org/news/video-clips/2012/mountainday2012/en/). They also play crucial role in maintaining hydrology, supplying drinking and irrigation water to the habitats in mountains as well as plains through network of rivers, produce hydro energy, control temperature, and support food production and bio diversity in large parts of the world. Mountains and mountain cities are facing various challenges due to rapid and unplanned urbanization, emergence of slums with multiple deprivations, growing number of tourists, depletion of green cover & bio-diversity, lack of adequate treatment of liquid and solid waste, pollution etc. The growing cities and high concentration of urban population seem to contribute to the climate change and fast depletion of natural resources. Mountains provide fresh water to over 50% of the population in the world which is under stress. Mountain habitats are under threat of natural disasters like earth quakes, floods, landslides, glacial lake bursts, cloud bursts, and forest fires. The huge mountain populations face social, economic and environmental issues due to construction of dams and resultant rehabilitation. The risks and vulnerabilities are growing in cities in mountain regions. The occurrence of floods is on rise. Water and air pollution are risking health of the people. The urban sustainability seems to be at stake due to un-sustainability of mountain cities and habitats. Achieving many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be particularly challenging for mountain states and cities due to their difficult hilly terrains and weak institutional base along with multiple social and economic vulnerabilities. There is a need to protect mountains and safeguard the interests of mountain people who have unique cultural diversity, indigenous beliefs, climate friendly living environment and traditional wisdom for conservation of ecology and biodiversity and agriculture practices. The conference is likely to come up with concrete ideas for better urban future in mountain regions amid the climate change. Since role of mountains are crucial for addressing many social, economic, environmental concerns cities are facing in hilly areas and even nearby plains, the conference will deliberate and discuss the issues, alternatives, innovations and modalities for sustaining the same. The sessions/ papers on different contexts of the theme/s are being invited. Collective actions, environmental and social movements in this regard will also be discussed. Poverty is a multi dimensional problem and it is more crucial in mountain regions. Poverty is closely linked with marginalization. The issues emerging in poverty alleviation require extensive discussion and dissemination of good practices for replication. Participation is another important aspect of urban management and governance in mountain cities and therefore sessions are welcome to discuss emerging patterns of participation in various social, political and economic contexts in mountain regions/ areas. The sessions on various aspects of mountain cities and regions, water and forest management, adaptation, resilience, marginalization, poverty, hunger, food, decentralization in local as well as global contexts are welcome and how the same can help in resolving various types of conflicts in the urban societies in mountain regions. The conference will also discuss the emerging issues and options capturing the full import of the acronym FAMINE (Food insecurity as a consequence of severely diminished purchasing power of vulnerable groups in society, Alienation on account of discrimination based on Caste, Color or Creed; Marginalization on account of severely diminishing real incomes; Inequality based on dysfunctional social systems and travails of the workers in Informal Sector, Negative impact on vulnerable groups of natural calamities & man-made disasters such as civil wars and economic shocks caused by market volatility; & Exclusion from mainstream society based on social and economic ostracization resulting in social conflict, unrest and violence) in the context of the mountain cities, climate change and urban sustainability. The abstracts are invited in a wide range of areas, including the following: o Mountain Cities - Special Challenges for mountain cities - Planning, governance and urban management - Improvement of transportation system - Strategy on prevention of disasters - Improvement of educational, cultural and social welfare facility - Improvement of housing quality, basic services and livelihood - Green growth of cities- smart innovations and inclusive initiatives - Addressing urban concerns to promote Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) - Meeting demands of energy, water and food - Smart urban development amid globalization, liberalization and privatization o Climate Change - The role of environmental NGOs in response to climate change - The role of citizens in response to climate change - The role of enterprises in response to climate change - How to improve energy efficiency against climate change - Nature-based approach to climate change - Critical review of Paris climate change agreement -Global initiatives-local impact - Managing river basins and related issues - Global water governance - Climate change, water, energy and food: Interlinkages and issues - Hydro based development in Himalayan and other mountain regions - Carbon management and green technological interventions - Natural disaster management o Urban Sustainability -Achieving SDGs-status, issues and challenges - Role of cities in sustainable urban development - How to overcome over-urbanization, growth of slums & poverty - Eco mobility and environmental refugees - Challenge of affordable housing - Urban transportation and environmental pollution - Improving Eco-efficiency and Green Growth - Issues and alternatives in water, sanitation, SWM - Building a sound-material-cycle society through 3 Rs - Environmentally sustainable transport - Culture, traditional wisdom and identity o Other Important Issues for the sessions -Collective action and social movements -Participatory planning -Rights based development -Natural resource management-water and forests -Participation, organizational democracy and self management -Climate change, natural disasters and food insecurity -Social accountability -Marginalization & deprivation -Poverty, inequality & exclusion -Community governance -Women empowerment The focus of the conference is to understand and examine the distinctive trajectories of the spiraling urbanization process in mountain cities and regions in the world and how climate change is likely to affect urban sustainability. In this context what alternatives are emerging to cope with the emerging challenges of climate change in mountain cities and regions to achieve sustainable development goals. It aims to provoke questions in different contexts vis a vis many of the above aspects is concerned and explore various alternatives to manage the growth and development in juxtaposition with increasing pressure of climate change, inequalities, poverty and social exclusions. IMPORTANT DEADLINES AND OTHER DETAILS The final date for submitting abstracts for the conference and pre conference workshop proposal (up to 500 words in MS Word format) is September 10, 2017. Please specify in subject line if your proposal is for the conference or for the workshop. The abstracts/proposals will be reviewed by the organizing/ academic committee. The acceptance of all the papers will be conveyed before September 15, 2017 but efforts will be made to convey acceptance of the papers within a week of submissions to enable the participants to make their travel, visa and other related arrangements. The full papers (between 3500-6000 words in MS Word format) will have to be submitted on acceptance of abstract before October 10, 2017. The abstracts may be submitted to the Conference Coordinator Manoj Kumar Teotia at the email address: mkteotia@gmail.com/ chandigarhclimatemeet2017@gmail.com with a copy to Conference Co-Coordinator Sunil Bansal at sunban59@gmail.com. The last date for registration for the conference and workshops is October 20, 2017. On the spot registrations (10% extra) will only be available in case the delegates send formal requests. For details please visit the conference website and http://chandigarh-climate-meet2017.site123.me/ and CRRID website (http://www.crrid.res.in/ in Upcoming Events) to see the updated details of the conference and pre conference workshop. The selected papers will be published in edited book form with ISBN number. Some of the selected papers may also be published in CRRID’s quarterly Journal Man & Development in a special issue. The abstracts of the papers should include the following information: 1. The title of the Paper 2. The name, affiliation, mailing address and e-mail address(es) of the proposer(s) 3. A description of the topic of the Paper (not exceeding 500 words) REGISTRATION FEE AND TRAVEL GRANTS After the acceptance of abstracts authors and session chairs will have to register for the Conference. There will be a registration fee for taking care of food, accommodation and local travel. Some selected paper givers will be provided full or partial travel grant. The committee will allocate the grants based on the need, qualification, quality of papers and the nationality of the candidates (based on the World Bank development indicators). The grants will be paid only to those selected authors who submit their original and unpublished research papers within stipulated time. The application for grant should be made with the full paper and with a half page statement of motivation/ interest. In addition some of the invited speakers will be paid economy airfare and board and lodging facilities at the guest house of CRRID, Panjab University or the Hotel. REGISTRATION FEE FOR CONFERENCE# (fee for workshop extra): Sl Category of Participants / delegates No 1. Delegates (Teachers, Researchers, Practitioners, NGOs, Govt. Officials, Policy Makers etc) 2. Students (on the production of Identity card) 3. Industry (extra charges for exhibition of products/ technology) Category A* Countries 300 USD/ Rs 20000 Category B* Countries 200 USD/ Rs 13000 Category C* Countries 100 USD/ Rs 6500 150 USD/ Rs 9500 400 USD/ Rs 25700 100 USD/ Rs 6500 300 USD/ Rs 20000 50 USD/ Rs 3200 200 USD/ Rs 13000 # Please also add category wise fee to the tune of US$ 200 (A); US$ 150 (B) & US$ 75 (C) for Sl. No. 1; US$ 100 (A); US$ 75 (B) and 50 (C) for Sl. No. 2; US$ 300 (A); US$ 200 (B) & US$ 100 (C) for Sl. No. 3 in case you also want to attend the Pre-conference workshop. # Registration fee includes access to all sessions, welcome reception, souvenir, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, tea/coffee breaks during the conference/workshop. * Categories of countries based on World Bank classification: Category A: High income. Category B: Upper middle income. Category C: Low and lower middle income (Source: http://www.isa-sociology.org/en/aboutisa/membership/table-of-economies-by-category/). Bank details for payments: The payment of registration fee can be made online in case of foreign delegates by using SWIFT Code and through Local Cheque /Pay Order/ Demand Draft favoring CRRID, Chandigarh 160019, India or online in case of Indian delegates (Name of the Bank: State Bank of India; Branch Code: 50202; Account Number: 55049348238; IFSC Code: SBIN0050202; SWIFT Code: SBININBBP14). INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION The registered delegates will be supplied with the conference program and other literature in a kit on their arrival at the conference site. In addition, we plan to arrange information desks, manned by students and staff. CRRID plans to utilize its student volunteers, researchers and volunteers from other institutions for local arrangements. The registration fees should be deposited before October 20, 2017. On the spot registrations (10% extra fee) may be allowed with a prior request by the delegates. SESSIONS AND LANGUAGE The official language of the conference sessions/ papers will be English. The three day conference will consist of one plenary on the conference theme on the opening day, two other plenary sessions on the following two days, and approximately 27 technical sessions. The welcome and valedictory sessions will be in the Main Conference Hall of CRRID. The audio visual and LCD screens will be provided in all the halls. The technical and skilled assistance will be also be provided by the volunteers. THE HOST INSTITUTION Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), an autonomous research institute, is among the 27 research institutes in the country supported by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi. It enjoys the distinction of being the only one of its kind in the northwestern states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the UT of Chandigarh. CRRID was accorded the "national status" in 1984 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, in recognition of its contribution to the cause of social science research in the broader national perspective. CRRID has a Population Research Centre, Urban Governance and Development Unit, HUDCO Chair, RBI Chair and SBI Chair. The HUDCO Chair is part of Urban Governance and Development Unit at CRRID and it is engaged in research and training on various important urban issues. CRRID's primary focus has been on carrying out socially relevant research on rural and industrial development in the wider social, economic and political context. CRRID is located in centre of the city and is at a distance of about 13 kms from the Chandigarh Airport, 4 kms from the Interstate Bus Terminal and 9 kms from Railway Station. It is well networked with innumerable universities and educational institutions. The institute is old, renowned and prestigious and has a vibrant intellectual, cultural and social ethos. Please visit website of CRRID for more information: http://www.crrid.res.in/ COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS Asia Climate Change Education Center (ACCEC), Jeju, South Korea: ACCEC was established by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea in 2009 to respond to climate change needs of governmental organizations and other stakeholders to contribute to the solutions of the problem of climate change through education. ACCEC runs courses of education on climate change and its related issues-General and Professional Courses. ACCEC runs a creative and responsible climate change education with a goal to be accredited by United Nations as a world-class professional climate change educational institute. Please visit website of ACCEC, Jeju, South Korea for more information: http://www.jeju-accec.com/pagese. php?p=1_1_1_1 Department of Environment Studies, Punjab University (PU), Chandigarh: It is one of the important departments. Panjab University is very prestigious university of India and it has long history. It is ranked number one amongst Universities in India and Ranked 363 in the Thomson Reuters-powered 'Best Global Universities Rankings 2016' by US News and Global Report. PU has 78 teaching and research departments and 15 Centers/Chairs for teaching and research at the main campus located at Chandigarh. The Department of Environment Studies of PU runs M.Sc. and PhD programme. The department has achieved good visibility in India and abroad. The Department has its own library with latest books and reading material, laboratory facilities with many analytical equipments for teaching, demonstration and research. The facility of Visual aids like LCD projector, Slide and Over-head projectors are available for imparting instructions to the students. The department also has equipments like HPLC, UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, BOD Incubator, Air Quality Monitor, Thermo-hygrometer, Dust track, and Gas Analyzer. Please visit website of Department for more information: http://devs.puchd.ac.in/ index.php Centre for Study of Administration of Relief (CSAR), New Delhi: The centre for the Study of Administration of Relief (CSAR) is a civil society organization which specializes in studying different types of flash-points in society stemming from Food insecurity in its extreme forms; alienation from the mainstream of society due to joblessness; homelessness or refugee status; marginalization resulting from market shock and spiraling indebtedness; inequality arising out of poverty, low level of education and inadequate political voice; natural calamities and man-made disasters leading to death serious injury of earning members, loss of productive assets and allied negative consequences; as well as exclusion emerging from ostracization based on caste, race, religion, color or gender. Please visit website of CSAR for more information: http://csarworld.org/ Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh: Chandigarh is a new city and it was planned by the French Architect Le Corbusier in early Fifties. It is called the “The City Beautiful”. Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) came into being under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Ordinance, 1994, promulgated by the President of the India with effect from 24th day of May 1994. MCC is responsible for upkeep and maintenance of its lush green infrastructure and services. The architecture and planned character of Chandigarh are unique. The city also takes pride in best quality of life, human development, per capita income, greenery and e-governance etc. Please visit website of MCC for more information: http://mcchandigarh.gov.in/ THE ACADEMIC AND OTHER SUPPORT Working Group 05 of International Sociological Association (ISA) on Famine and Society: The Thematic Group of ISA on “Famine & Society” was founded in 1985 and Prof. T.K. Oommen was its founder-President. In 1998, “Famine & Society” became a Working Group (WG05). Besides organising a large number of Inter-Congress Conferences, Famine & Society has organised multiple sessions and its members have presented various papers at World Congress assemblies organised by the ISA in Delhi (1986), Madrid (1990), Bielefeld (1994), Montreal (1998), Brisbane (2002), Durban (2006) Gothenburg (2010), Yokohama (2014) and ISA Forums in Buenos Aires (2012) and Vienna (2014). The Working Group 05 of ISA will be organizing 13 sessions in forthcoming World Congress of Sociology to be held in Toronto (2018). Please visit the website for more information: http://www.isa-sociology.org/en/researchnetworks/working-groups/wg05-famine-and-society/ Center for Urban Green Spaces (CUGS), New Delhi: The Center for Urban Green Spaces (CUGS) at the Aravali Foundation for Education (AFE) is a leading think tank in New Delhi which focuses on many urban dimensions including urban green spaces, mountain cities and urban futures. CUGS has organized very prestigious events on Urban Futures. Please visit the website for more information: http://www.cugs.in/ The Climate Reality Project India, New Delhi: In 2006 The Climate Reality Project Chairman and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, sparked an international conversation on climate change. The Climate Reality Project has more than 11,000 trained climate leaders worldwide, branches in 10 countries and presence in more than 135 countries. Its independent chapter The Climate Reality Project India was established in 2008. Its mission is to catalyse a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every level of society, help the government reach its INDC and promote clean energy. Indian branch looks after about 500 trained Climate Leaders and more than 800 Volunteers spread all over the country. Please visit the websites for more information: www.climatereality.org.in and http://www.climaterealityproject.org Association of Professional Social Workers and Development Practitioners (APSWDP), Chandigarh: APSWDP is a registered not for profit professional association of professional social workers and development practitioners working in various social welfare domain across the country. The association focuses on creating a country wide and global network of dedicated social work professionals and development practitioners from remote geographical rural areas, to discuss, debate and develop key framework on evidence & practice based interventions, methods. APSWDP will also offer a platform to youth leaders, scholars/researchers with striving passion to participate in bringing reformation through correctional measures in existing policies. Please visit the website for more information: http://www.apswdp.org/index.html CONFERENCE PATRONS/ STEERING COMMITTEE  Dr Rashpal Malhotra, Executive Vice Chairman, CRRID, Chandigarh (Chair)  Professor Arun Kumar Grover, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh  Mrs Asha Kumari Jaswal, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh  Dr Sucha Singh Gill, Senior Professor, CRRID, Chandigarh  Professor Sukhpal Singh, Director General, CRRID, Chandigarh  Dr Madhuri Rishi, Chairperson, Environmental Studies, Panjab University ORGANISING COMMITTEE  Mr Manoj Kumar Teotia, AP, HUDCO Chair, CRRID, Chandigarh and Secretary, Working Group 05 of ISA on Famine and Society (Conference Coordinator)  Mr Sunil Bansal, Associate Professor and HUDCO Chair Coordinator, CRRID, Chandigarh (Conference Co-Coordinator).  Dr Dai-Yeun Jeong, Director, Asia Climate Change Education Center, Jeju, South Korea  Dr Harjit Singh Anand, Centre for Study of Administration of Relief (CSAR), New Delhi and President, Working Group 05 of ISA on Famine and Society  Dr Rajeev Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh  Dr G R Chaudhary, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, PU, Chandigarh  Mr Manoj Dabas, Director, Center for Urban Green Spaces (CUGS), New Delhi  Mr Vivek Trivedi, Founder Secretary General, Association of Professional Social Workers and Development Practitioners (APSWDP), Chandigarh THE PROPOSED VENUE CRRID, Chandigarh enjoys a well developed academic and physical infrastructure in terms of a spacious and pleasant built environment, Wi-Fi enabled state of the art cyber and computational facilities, a well equipped central library, archives, numerous faculties constituted by research departments. It has been host to innumerable seminars, international conferences and international events and the conference participants will be welcome to utilize its resources. LOGISTIC RATIONALE Chandigarh city is situated near the picturesque foothills of Shivalik range of Himalaya and is a planned city of the country. It is very well connected to the national capital Delhi. The city has invited commendable scholarship from researchers, policymakers, civil society activists, architects, and planners from all across the globe. As a city, we plan to organise a special panel on Chandigarh and a session in the pre-conference workshop to create and accelerate an interest in urban studies amongst researchers. The city has adequate stay facilities of various categories and variety of food. The tricities of Chandigarh-Panchkula and Mohali (SAS Nagar) provide ample opportunities for stay, food and cultural activities. Connectivity: Chandigarh is well connected by rail & road (about 4-5 hours journey from Delhi), and air (about half an hour from Delhi). The Chandigarh International Airport has flights from Dubai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur, Pune, Srinagar, Jammu etc. All major domestic airlines are connected to Chandigarh which in turn is connected to other international airports in Delhi (about half an hour journey) and Mumbai (about two and half hour journey). Transport: Chandigarh provides a wide range of means and modes of public and private transport ranging from local buses, radio taxis, cabs and auto rickshaws at affordable prices. It has a wide intra and inter-city transport network that makes it conveniently accessible. Accommodation: There are multiple options available for accommodation around the proposed venue, CRRID. These range from deluxe five and four star luxury hotels, middle range hotels and guest houses, economical tourist lodges to bed and breakfast. For those looking for cheaper accommodation, there are University Guest Houses, UT Guest House, Himachal Bhawan, Panchayat Bhawan, Youth Hostel etc. In addition limited rooms are also available at affordable rates at CRRID guest house. FOOD The Organising Committee would arrange for a working lunch, two tea/coffee breaks with snacks and dinner for all the participants, on all the three days of the conference and two days of the pre conference workshop. Hygienic Indian and Continental food would be catered by the approved caterers of CRRID as per its rules. It saves the participants a lot of time and hassle to look for food and beverages, outside. In addition, welcome and valedictory dinners will be hosted by the organizers. BOOK EXHIBITION CRRID will write to the reputed academic publishers of books such as Oxford University Press-India, Cambridge University Press-India, Sage India, Rutledge India, Orient Blackswan, Penguin India who publish books on cities, climate change and urban sustainability to put stalls of their books that may be of interest to participants. The publishers would be requested to put up an exhibition of books and journals. FIELD VISITS AND EXCURSIONS Organisers plan to facilitate some field trips to the new and planned city of Chandigarh for the interested participants. They can take a heritage walk/tour of their choice or Capitol Complex (Assembly Hall, Punjab and Haryana High Court etc). They may also take the travel and sightseeing tours in “Hope and Top” buses of Chandigarh Administration. Those participants who are interested in trips outside Chandigarh to places such as Mcleodganj, Dharamshala, Shimla, Kasauli, Delhi, Amritsar, Manali etc. may plan their trips through travel agents organised by the committee. Places of attractions in Chandigarh: https://www.tripadvisor.in/Attractions-g297596-ActivitiesChandigarh.html