Chandni Singh

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

EDUCATION:
2014    PhD, International and Rural Development University of Reading Reading, United Kingdom
2008    MSc, Natural Resources Management and Policy TERI University Delhi NCR, India
2006    BSc (Honours), Botany University of Delhi Delhi NCR, India
2005    Diploma in Creative Writing (English) Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Delhi NCR, India

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, Nagapattinam, Kochi, Bhubaneswar
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’ 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.

Teaching

  • Urban Sustainability, Environmental science, Urban Fellows Programme (UFP), IIHS
  • Changing Climate, Changing Cities, Climate change, Urban Fellows Programme (UFP), IIHS
  • Urban Risk and Resilience, Disaster risk reduction, Urban Fellows Programme (UFP), IIHS

 

Training

  • Vulnerability Concepts and Methods,Project-related training, IIHS
  • Exploring Blue-Green Infrastructure for Climate Action in Indian Cities, DoPT Training, IIHS, 2023
  • Training on Life History Interviews to Track Air Pollution Impacts in South Asian Cities, Project-related training, ICIMOD 2021
  • Mixing Methods and Temporality, IIHS PhD Workshop 2019
  • Sharma, S., Singh, C., & Patil, S. (2023). Do home gardens regulate indoor temperature? A pilot study in Bengaluru, India [Virtual presentation]. In Adaptation Futures 2023, Montreal, Canada.
  • 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.
  • IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group II
  • Climate Change Local Adaptation Pathways (CLAPs)
  • Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR)—Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA)
  • Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow—Climate Adaptation Failure Puts World at Risk
  • CapaCITIES: Migration, Livelihoods and Climate Resilience
  • Climate Resilient Development Pathways for Semi-arid Regions of Africa and South Asia
  • Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP)
  • COVID Observatories
  • Global Assessment Reports (GAR) on Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Green Climate Fund (GCF) Report
  • Greening Urban Food Systems: Building Sustainable Urban Agriculture Practices in Bengaluru through Nature-Based Solutions
  • Identifying Steps towards Making India Compatible with the 1.5°C Target
  • International Coalition for Disaster and Climate Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
  • Long-Term Implications of Humanitarian Actions: The Case of Chennai
  • Recovery with Dignity (RwD)
  • Report on Scaling Up Climate Finance in the Context of COVID-19
  • Summary for Urban Policymakers (SUP)
  • Third Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3.3)
  • Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures (TESF)
  • Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture as Green Infrastructure (UP-AGrI)
  • Synthesis Report (SYR) of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)
  • Review of Climate Journalism in India
  • Scoping Study of Human Migration and Displacement within India
  • Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience in the Anthropocene (NATURA)