Geography and Sustainability | BNU Summer School 2022

Geography and Sustainability

In order to promote the integrated research of geography and serve the regional and global sustainable development, Beijing Normal University will provide a summer course on geography and sustainability. The course will bring together researchers around the world and present the latest research progress on geography and sustainability and the geographical case studies on transforming our world for sustainable development. We warmly welcome students in geography and related fields worldwide to join us!

The speakers will mainly introduce the basic theory, research methods and regional practice of geography and sustainability, focusing on four main aspects of the international frontier researches (Land Use Change and Land Degradation, Ecosystem Pattern-Process-Service, Coupled Human-Earth System and Sustainable Development). The speakers will guide students to learn about the importance of geography for sustainable development and the development and innovation of geography, and provide supports for regional, national and global sustainable development.

1. About the Course

Geography and Sustainability

Beijing Time:

27-30 June, 2022

18-29 July, 2022

Working language: English

ZOOM

2. Registration Link

●General courses: Geography and Sustainability

https://elsevier.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7MS54BXwSLm1F1_v37gG0g

●Special sessions: Land degradation and pathways for sustainability

https://elsevier.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MJ6fSAemSJSoo-Xg0xBDfQ

3. Brief Introduction of Speakers

Prof. Bojie Fu is Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, International honorary member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for Developing World (TWAS), Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society Edinburgh UK, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, geographer, director of Academic Committee in the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences and honor dean of Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University. He is also Director of Division of Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Vice-Chair of the International Geographical Union, and Chief Supervisor of the Geographical Society of China, and Deputy Director of the National Expert Advisory Committee on Ecological Protection and Construction. He has published over 500 papers, among which over 300 were published in domestic and international prestigious scientific journals covering Science, Nature, as well as 10 books. He has won the China National Natural Sciences Award (2nd Class), the National Sciences and Technology Advanced Award (2nd Class), award for Distinguished Scientific Achievement of the Chinese Academy, Ho Leung Ho Lee Science and Technology Progress Award, Award of Distinguished Service of International Association for Landscape Ecology, Alexander Von Humboldt Medal of European Geoscience Union, and the CCTV 2019 Scientific and Technological Innovation Award.

Prof. Michael Meadows is Senior Research Scholar in the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science at the University of Cape Town, where he was Head of Department from 2001-2017, and is a Professor in the School of Geography and Ocean Sciences, Nanjing University, China. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Sussex and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK. Meadows has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed research articles and edited several special editions of international journals. Major works include the co-edited Southern African Geomorphology (Sun, 2012) and Geomorphology and Society (Springer, 2016). His research interests lie in the field of physical geography and more specifically concern Quaternary environmental change and the geomorphological and biogeographical impacts of natural and anthropogenic changes. He has a particular passion for fieldwork and discovering new and interesting places. Meadows was Secretary-General and Treasurer of the International Geographical Union (IGU) from 2010-18 and was elected as IGU President for the period 2020 to 2024. He is a Fellow of the Society of South African Geographers (2000), of the Royal Geographical Society (2016), of the Royal Society of South Africa (2016), of the African Academy of Sciences (2019) and of Academia Europaea (the European Academy).

Prof. David Eldridge is a Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wale. His research aims to understand more about the impacts of human-induced land uses in drylands, and the links between land-use change and environmental change. David holds an adjunct position at UNSW under a MOU between UNSW and the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, where he is a Senior Principal Research Scientist. Over the past 15 years he has worked on high-profile research projects on the impacts of livestock grazing in NSW conservation reserves, the effects of feral horses on ecosystem processes, and the impacts of woody plant encroachment on the ecology of semiarid woodlands. He has published widely on the ecology and management of drylands, has worked on international aid projects in Algeria and China, has active research programs in Iran, China and Spain, and is an Editor of the Journal of Arid Environments and Restoration Ecology.

Prof. Paulo Alexandre da Silva Pereira is the Geographer, professor at Mykolas Romeris University and invited full professor at Beijing Normal University. He is a recognized researcher in Land Degradation, Ecosystem Services and Nature-Based Solutions. He published 168 articles (142 ISI listed), 50 book chapters and 275 communications in conferences. Paulo received several international prizes (e.g., “Doctor Europeaus”, “European Geosciences Union Soil System Sciences Division Outstanding Young Scientist Award”). In 2020 was identified as one of the world most cited researchers (Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher”. In 2021 was elected as a full member of the world most prestigious scientific research honor society Sigma Xi. He serves or served as editor in several journals of global prestige. e.g., Science of the Total Environment; Geography and Sustainability; Geoderma; Environmental Research; Current Opinion on Environmental Science and Health, Catena, Journal of Environmental Management). Presently he is working with researchers from the entire world in topics focused on environmental management (e.g., China, Brazil, Australia, the USA, Portugal, Spain, Croatia and Italy). He is one of the Fire Effects on Soil Properties International Network (FESP-IN) coordinators and a member of the Geography for Future Earth Coupled Human-Earth Systems for Sustainability (IGU-GFE).

Prof. Adam Wei is the professor of University of British Columbia, Canada and the research chair of watershed hydrology and management. His research interest lies in forest hydrology, forest ecology, watershed management, climate change, etc. He has published about 200 papers. He is also the associate editor of Ecohydrology, the chair of Sino-Ecologists Association Overseas (2012-2014), and the Task Force Coordinator of Forest and Water Interactions of IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organization).

Dr. Paolo Tarolli is associate professor at the University of Padova, Italy. His research areas are Earth surface processes analysis, Land Degradation, Soil erosion, Natural Hazards and GIS, etc. He is Deputy President of Natural Hazards division-European Geosciences Union (EGU), Deputy President of section VII (Information and Communication Technologies)-Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering and the member of Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering, Asian Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), British Society for Geomorphology (BSG) and American Geophysical Union (AGU). Dr. Paolo Tarolli is also the executive editor of NHESS, the associated editor of Land Degradation & Development and the associated editor of remote sensing.

Dr. Carla Ferreira works at Stockholm University, Sweden. She holds a European doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Engineering. She is also the language editor of Geography and Sustainability. She has been involved in several national and international research projects, working on land degradation, hydrology, water quality and sediment transport, mainly associated with land-use changes driven by urbanization, agriculture management practices and wildfires. She has been actively involved in the editorial board of scientific journals and in the organization of international scientific events.

Dr. Yan Li is an Associate Professor of Faculty of Geography at Beijing Normal University. He is also the secretary-general of International Geographical Union Commission on Geography for Future Earth: Coupled Human-Earth Systems for Sustainability, editorial board member of Geography and Sustainability and member of Youth Work Committee of the Geographical Society of China. He did his Postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Maryland at College Park. His research interest lies in vegetation and climate interactions, climate change and agriculture. He has published 14 papers in high-profile journals including Science, Nature Communications, Global Change Biology. He also served as reviewers of Nature Climate Change, Nature Communications, PNAS, Global Change Biology, Journal of Geophysical Research, Earth System Dynamics.

Dr. Sha Zhou is an Associate Professor of Faculty of Geography at Beijing Normal University. She did her Postdoctoral research at Columbia University in the City of New York, USA. She obtained her PhD from Tsinghua University. Her research interest lies in Water and carbon cycles, land-atmosphere interactions and climate change. She has published more than 40 papers in high-profile journals including Nature Climate Change, Science Advances, PNAS, and so on. She also served as reviewers of Nature Communications, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Reviews Earth & Environment.

4. Agenda

5. Background

The world is changing at an accelerating pace because of the increased human pressure on the earth’s resources and the consequent climate crises. The 2021 UN report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) noted that the world had deviated its track to achieve the 17 SDGs in 2030, and the COVID-19 pandemic further magnified the challenge. The significant challenges of sustainable development highlight an urgent need to understand the mechanisms linking the human and nature systems systematically.

Geography is a transdisciplinary discipline studying the coupled human and nature systems and their interactions. The integrative characteristics of geography and its sub-disciplines cover both human and nature dimensions and provide important theories, methodologies, models, data that can better fit sustainability science’s research needs and address real-world sustainability issues.

6. Contact Us

Wenwu Zhao (Faculty of Geographical Science at Beijing Normal University)

Email: geosus@bnu.edu.cn