The Population-Environment Research Network
PERN is an Internet-based network that is open and free to all who are interested in population-environment research. PERN's activities include the collection and annotation of relevant web-links, recent publications, and syllabi in an online database. It also provides information on meetings, grant and job opportunities and member research and hosts cyberseminars on relevant population-environment topics (see below).
PERN is managed by senior population-environment scientists, coordinators Susana Adamo and Alex de Sherbinin, whose work is guided by a Steering Committee of internationally recognized experts and liaisons from the sponsoring institutions.
PERN is also a partner of Future Earth, a global research platform to accelerate transformations to a sustainable world. PERN receives in-kind support from the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC), managed by Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University, which hosts the website.
New website: PERN’s website was recently redesigned. Its structure is relatively unchanged, but the use of Drupal software will facilitate website searches for content and the “What's New” section and email bulletins will consist of a collection of what was added to the website over the previous months.
For more information or to become a member of PERN: https://www.populationenvironmentresearch.org.
⇒ Cyberseminar on Water and Population DynamicsThe purpose of PERN cyberseminars is to provide a forum for scientists from the social and natural sciences to debate and discuss cutting edge population-environment research topics. They are conducted using a standard email discussion list. To find out how to participate in a PERN cyberseminar, please go to: https://www.populationenvironmentresearch.org/cyberseminars.
PERN’s next cyberseminar will take place in September 2015 and will focus on water supplies and population dynamics. Presently, a short outline of the cyberseminar is available on the website. Background papers and additional information will be added over the course of the summer.
Questions for discussion will include: • What are some of the intervening/mediating/contextual factors linking water supply/access and population dynamics, globally and locally? • Where are some current ‘hotspots’ of water scarcity, and what are the population dynamics in these hotspots? • What are some of the current ‘hotspots’ of flooding and drought, and what are the population dynamics in those hotspots? • Are supply systems for major cities and agricultural areas in most regions adequate to supply domestic, industrial, and agricultural (DIA) needs? • How can water supply and sanitation systems be bolstered, especially in informal settlements of developing country cities, and issues such as the gender dimension of water access be best addressed? • What strategies can be deployed for increasing wastewater treatment covering greater proportions of the world’s urban population? • How might population distribution change in the future as a result of declines or increases in water availability owing to climate change? • What could be the consequences of these changes? • What existing/emerging efforts to create governance institutions and strategies for a more sustainable future of water supply may deserve a discussion? This cyberseminar contributes to the UN International Decade for Action “Water for Life” (2005-2015) and to discussions around a plan of action for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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The IUSSP helped launch the Population Environment Research Network (PERN) in 2001. PERN has since then continued as one of its scientific panels and is now a network of 2,200 researchers and development practitioners from around the world. Its mission is to facilitate scientific analysis and dialogue about population environment relationships.