Chandni Singh

Senior Research Consultant - Practice | csingh at iihs dot ac dot in

EDUCATION:
2014    PhD, International Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom
2008    MSc, Natural Resource Management, TERI University, New Delhi
2006    BSc, Botany (Hons), Delhi University, New Delhi

Countries: India, Tanzania, Nepal, Myanmar, United Kingdom
States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan
Cities: Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Gulbarga, Kolar, Siliguri
Languages: English, Hindi

Chandni Singh works at the interface of climate change and development in rural and urban geographies within the global South. At IIHS, she works on issues of climate change adaptation, differential vulnerability and wellbeing, disaster risk and recovery, livelihoods transitions, and rural-urban migration. Chandni has worked on climate change projects such as the IDRC/FCDO funded Adaptation at Scale in Semi-arid Regions (ASSAR) and SDC-funded ‘CapaCITIES – Migration, Livelihoods and Climate Resilience’. She has led interdisciplinary, international projects such as IIED-funded ‘Long-term Impacts of Humanitarian Action in Chennai’ (2016-2017), British Academy funded Recovery with Dignity (2018-2021), and Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture as Green Infrastructure (2019-2022). Using a social-ecological systems lens, her work examines human dimensions of global environmental change, pathways for transformational change, and levers for equitable adaptation.

 

Chandni is a Lead Author of the IPCC’s Assessment Report 6 in 2022 on ‘Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability’ and a Contributing Author of the IPCC’s 2018 Special Report on 1.5°C. Chandni serves on the editorial boards of Regional Environmental Change, Climate and Development, and IIHS’s in-house journal Urbanisation. She is the Domain Editor on ‘Vulnerability and Adaptation’ at WIREs Climate Change and a Contributing Editor with Carbon Brief.

 

She has previously worked in research and practice-based organisations such as the University of Reading (UK), Bioversity International (Italy), Pragya, and WWF India across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. She has taught postgraduate level courses on climate change adaptation, sustainability, research methodology, and development studies. She is also interested in science communication for lay audiences and is a published poet.

Research Projects at IIHS

2023 – 2025Greening urban food systems: Building sustainable urban agriculture practices in Bengaluru through nature-based solutions
2022 – 2023Scoping study of human migration and displacement within India
2020 – 2022Climate Resilient Development Pathways for Semi-arid Regions of Africa and South Asia
2019 – 2022Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture as Green Infrastructure: implications on well-being and sustainability in the Global South (UP-AGrI)
2018 – 2021Recovery with Dignity
2017 – 2018CapaCITIES – Migration, Livelihoods and Climate Resilience
2016 – 2017Long-term Impacts of Humanitarian Action in Chennai
2014 – 2018Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR)

IIHS

Climate Science
Environmental Sciences
Public Policy/ Social Policy & Administration

 

Previous Teaching Experience

2016Conducted 3-day course on Vulnerability Concepts and Methods for 30 learners (government officials, NGO workers, researchers) under ASSAR project
2015Master class on climate change with Amir Bazaz
2013Developed course content for postgraduate module ‘Participatory Interventions in Development’, University of Reading, UK
2012, 2013Postgraduate Academic Mentor (Agriculture and Development), Disability Advisory Services, University of Reading, UK
2009Training on “New Enterprise Creation Programme in Tourism and Hospitality Management” for 30 rural entrepreneurs from Arunachal Pradesh

 

  • Singh, C., Patil, S., Poonacha, P., Roy, P., Malladi, T., Mahalingam, A., Koduganti, M., & Sharma, S. (2021). Understanding the impacts of urban and peri-urban agriculture on human wellbeing and urban sustainability: Case of Bangalore and Pune. In Urban imaginaries 2021: IIHS annual research conference proceedings (pp. 143-146).  Indian Institute for Human Settlements.
  • Singh, C. (2018, November). How do we assess vulnerability to climate change in India? at Workshop on Status of Climate Science and Technology in Asia. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6, Kuala Lumpur, Malasyia.
  • Singh, C. (2018). Opening up the methodological toolkit on adaptation research, Masterclass at Adaptation Futures, Cape Town.
  • Singh, C. (2018). It’s not just about data – Demand-driven climate services for better adaptation decision-making, Session Co-Convener at Adaptation Futures, Cape Town.
  • Singh, C. (2018). Climate change adaptation in cities: Insights on actors, institutions, and agendas, Session Convener and speaker at Cities and Climate Change Science Conference, Edmonton.
  • Singh, C. (2017, March). Differential vulnerability and response strategies: Evidence from a rural urban continuum in Karnataka. Presented at ASSAR Third National Consultation on Climate Change, New Delhi, India.
  • Singh, C. (2017, January). Is migration an adaptation strategy? Insights from the ASSAR Project. Invited Speaker at CARIAA Economics Winter School on session on migration, TERI University, New Delhi, India.
  • Singh, C. (2017, January). Mixed Methods: Surveys, Focus Group Discussions and Life History Approaches to Study Livelihoods Vulnerability. Invited Speaker at Research Methods Session, PhD Workshop, IIHS, Bangalore, India.
  • Singh, C. (2016, September). Moving in and out of vulnerability: migration as an adaptation strategy along a rural urban continuum in Karnataka. Paper presented at RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, London, United Kingdom.
  • Singh, C. (2016, September). How do we assess vulnerability to climate change in India? A systematic review of literature. Paper presented at RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, London, United Kingdom.
  • Singh, C. (2016, May). A holistic approach to analysing farmer decision-making: implications for adaptation policy and practice. Poster presented at Adaptation Futures, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • Singh, C. & Gajjar, S.P. (2016, May). Development pathways as a lens to understand adaptation, maladaptation and maldevelopment. Paper presented at Adaptation Futures, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • Singh, C. (2015, December). Scaling up climate information services: Lessons from India, Invited speaker at the Development and Climate Days, Side Event at COP 21, Paris, France.
  • Singh, C. (2013, November). Watershed Development in India: is community participation mere rhetoric? Nordic Development Conference ‘Knowing Development, Developing Knowledge?’ University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
  • Singh, C. (2013, May). Is climate variability the only factor affecting farmer perceptions risk? A case study in Rajasthan at Annual Economics and Social Sciences Postgraduate Conference, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom.