The São Paulo School of Advanced Science on Scenarios and Modelling on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to Support Human Well-Being (SPSAS Scenarios) is sponsored by the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP), and will be held from 01 to 14 July 2019 at the Hotel Fonte Colina Verde in São Pedro/SP, Brazil. It is organized by the Institute of Biology/State University of Campinas (IB/UNICAMP), the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES) and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI). Other collaborators are the Center for Environmental Studies and Research (NEPAM/UNICAMP), the Bioscience Institute/ University of São Paulo (IB/USP), the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) and the BIOTA-FAPESP Program.
The objective of the SPSAS Scenarios is to provide graduate students with advanced knowledge and practice in the area of scenarios and modeling in biodiversity and ecosystem services, and its relation to human wellbeing, including issues related to public policy. At the same time, it will be a contribution to build professional capacity to use the results of IPBES policy support tools and methodologies for scenario analysis and modeling of biodiversity and ecosystem services assessment.
Approximately 100 applicants, 50 from Brazil and 50 from other countries will be selected to participate in the Advanced School. Participants will be selected based on the merit of their application information, the relevance of the academic work and studies to the themes of the school. Field of study, gender and geographic representation and balance will also be considered. Applicants should receive notification from the organizing committee from 30 March 2019 onwards.
The SPSAS Scenarios will be conducted in ENGLISH. Applicants must be proficient or have a sound understanding of the English language in order to understand, communicate, and participate actively in the School activities.
Program
The School is divided into 4 modules:
1. Ecosystem Services and Natures’ Contribution to People where the evolution of the concepts, and the current debate, will be presented and discusses;
2. Challenges in the Development of Scenarios and Models focusing on direct and indirect drivers in biodiversity and ecosystem services, the conceptual bases of scenarios and models. In this module students will develop real world exercises, working in groups to solve challenges posed by world class experts.
3. IPBES Assessment on Scenarios and Modeling where the main authors of this outstanding assessment will present and discuss their findings.
4. Scenarios and Modeling – Brazil’s case study to achieve Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in which some of the experts involved in establishing the Brazilian proposal to the Paris Climate Agreement will present and discuss how those goals where established, and the rest of the lecturers will help to discuss the impact achieving these goals may have in biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing.
Application
Application deadline: 28 February 2019
Who can apply?
Preference will be given for graduate students, currently registered in Doctoral/PhD, but exceptionally young researchers that got his/her PhD from 2017 onwards can be accepted. We encourage applications from students from different academic disciplines (natural, social and human sciences, engineering, and communication) provided their academic work and study is related to the themes of the school and related topics.
All material should be submitted in ENGLISH. Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
Applicants must clearly state the reasons for their personal and academic interest in the school and why they should be selected as a participant.
