Organizers:
SARCS Secretariat
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU)
Sponsor:
National Science Council, Taiwan
Introduction:
Climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health. The world’s climate is showing signs of a shift, becoming warmer, with more precipitation and weather extremes. Potential effects of this climate change are likely to include more variable weather, stronger and longer heat waves, more frequent heavy precipitation events, more frequent and severe droughts, extreme weather events such as flooding and tropical cyclones, rises in sea level, and increased air pollution. Other effects may result from ecosystem shifting and disruption.
According to the Fourth Assessment Report (2007) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the effects include:
1. The global average surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.65°C over the last 50 years.
2. Eleven of the last twelve years (1995-2006) rank among the 12 warmest years since records began in the 1850s.
3. The rates of warming, and of sea level rise, have accelerated in recent decades.
4. Many areas, particularly mid- to high-latitude countries, have experienced increases in precipitation, and there has been a general increase in the frequency of extreme rainfall.
5. In some regions, such as parts of Asia and Africa, the frequency and intensity of droughts have increased in recent decades.
6. The frequency of the most intense tropical cyclone has increased in some areas, such as the North Atlantic, since the 1970s.
To a large extent, public health depends on safe drinking water, sufficient food, secure shelter, and good social conditions. A changing climate is likely to affect all of these conditions. Measurement of health effects from climate change can only be very approximate. As part of Taiwan’s contribution to the SARCS capacity building program, this workshop is focused on climate change and health. The main objective is to promote climate change and health-related research programs in SARCS member countries, and to provide advanced training on understanding the health impacts of climate change and adapting to the health impacts of climate change, as well as to develop a climate change and health research collaboration team within SARCS. The workshop is funded by the National Science Council of Taiwan and organized jointly by the SARCS Secretariat, and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU).
Objectives of the Workshop:
1. Review and share knowledge about climate change impacts on health and on actions taken/ planned to mitigate them.
2. Present methodologies and tools for assessing the vulnerability of the health sector and for determining possible options for mitigation and adaptation.
3. Develop a framework for national action to promote mitigation and adaptation mechanisms to address key health and environmental issues resulting from climate variability and change.
4. Promote climate change and health regional research programs in SARCS member countries in terms of public health.
The workshop will gather scientists from Southeast Asia and world leading experts on climate change and health research. Future Southeast Asia climate change and health research topics will be discussed during the workshop.
Facilities and Program:
The workshop will be last for ten days. The first phase of four days will be conducted at the Zenda Suites, Tainan. Workshop topics for the first phase will focus on climate change and health, temperature extremes, extreme weather events, air-pollution-related health effects, water-borne diseases, vector-borne diseases, rodent-borne diseases, food and water shortage, climate change and mental health. Then there is a one-day field study along the way from Tainan to Taipei, where the Academia Sinica is located. The second phase of the program will include two days of training to be conducted at NCKU on topics related to application of climate change modeling, GIS and spatial analysis of climate issues, and sustainable development. The preparation of final presentation and group competition will be held at the last day.
Participants:
The workshop is open mainly for senior technicians and junior faculty from SARCS member countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Cambodia, Taiwan, and Vietnam), but people from South Asia may also apply. In general, two to three participants will be invited from each SARCS member country based on their past academic experience and background. We will provide air travel expense and accommodation for workshop participants. English will be used as the official workshop language and a Ph.D. degree in related field is preferred, but not required. Interested persons should send in their resume, including academic background, research interest and recent publications to workshop organizer by August 30, 2009. Final decision for workshop acceptance will be sent to all applicants by September 25, 2009.
Application:
Application package, to be submitted electronically only, should include: (a) a letter of intent; (b) curriculum vitae; (c) the application form, downloadable from the website (http://conf.ncku.edu.tw/sarcs2009) or SARCS. It is preferred that the application package be prepared as pdf files and attached to an email sent to Ms. Emily Tsai at the following email address: z9806082@email.ncku.edu.tw
For more information about the workshop, please refer to the following link: http://conf.ncku.edu.tw/sarcs2009
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