UNDP Human Development Academic Fellowship for Asia Pacific (Scholarship)

Context and Objective
The human development approach puts people at the centre of development. It recognizes economic drivers for change but goes beyond them to raise issues of enlarging human capabilities and expanding people’s choices. The objective of the Academic Fellowship is to encourage young Ph.D. students from the Asia Pacifific region to analyse critical development issues from a human development perspective, contributing to development theory, applications and policies. Thus, the Fellows are expected to push the frontiers of research on human development while analyzing, through the human development lens, issues directly or indirectly related to human development. The research must focus on a well-defifined aspect of human development under the theme selected
Please see our brochure on “Human Development Fellows” for information on 2005-2008 recipients of Fellowships:
http://www2.undprcc.lk/about_us/fellowship.php

Theme – Climate Change and Human Development
Human development is about expanding human potential and enlarging human freedom. Climate change is a human development challenge, as it threatens to erode human freedoms and limit choice and plunge large numbers into poverty and hardship.

Climate change is hampering efforts to deliver the MDG promise as it undermines international efforts to combat poverty and exacerbates already existing inequalities. Those, in turn, can result in an increase in conflict over sharing natural resources. Climate change is in fact an increasingly powerful driver of wider inequalities between and within countries, also between women and men.

Climate change can result in increased frequency of extreme weather events, flooding, storms, drought, increases in sea temperatures, and melting of glaciers, etc., which effect negatively agriculture and health/nutrition. This has negative implications on the livelihood of poor and vulnerable communities who depend largely on agriculture and natural resource management. In particular, women are affected in their roles of food producers and providers, guardians of health, and care givers. Reduced employment opportunities, for example for women working in agricultural fifields, constitute a net loss in income which leads to a loss in savings, making it even harder for households to cope with disasters.

The magnitude of this long term challenge can be assessed considering that an additional 1.8 billion people are expected to face water stress by 2080, with large areas of Central Asia, northern parts of South Asia and northern China facing a grave ecological crisis as a result of glacial retreat and changed rainfall patterns. Up to 330 million people in coastal and low-lying areas are expected to be displaced through flflooding and tropical storm activity. In the Asia Pacific region, in particular, over 70 million people in Bangladesh and 22 million people in Viet Nam could be affected by global warming-related flflooding.

What are the mechanisms through which the ecological impacts of climate change affect the poor? Are there examples of good practices to ensure climate and human security?

Have climate change and other environmental concerns been integrated in development planning in the context of environment protection and sustainable development? What has been the effectiveness of policies introduced? What is a possible agenda to promote human development and climate security? These are some of the questions that could be addressed.

The Fellowship
The UNDP Human Development Academic Fellowship for Asia Pacific carries an award of US$ 10,000. The students will be required to submit to UNDP a copy of their fifinal approved dissertation. In addition, Fellows may be expected to present their work in workshops/seminars and other events arranged by UNDP (travelrelated costs will be covered separately).

The thesis will acknowledge UNDP’s support by saying: “The author acknowledges the financial support received from the UNDP Asia Pacific Human Development Academic Fellowship for the research.”

Application Process
All candidates must complete a formal application in English or with an English translation, including:
· Summary statement of the objectives of the proposal
· Project proposal not exceeding 2,500 words
· Curriculum vitae