March 12, 2020: IRES Student Seminar with Helina Jolly

March 12, 2020: IRES Student Seminar with Helina Jolly

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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Gidiku Vapathu (2020)

Gidiku Vapathu is an ethnographic research documentary about the Indigenous Kattunayakan (Nayaka) people of India. In Kattunyakan language, ‘Gidiku Vapathu’ means ‘Going to the forest’ (Gidiku – Forest; Vapathu – Going). A term commonly used by the community members to invite their friends and family as they start their daily walk into the forest.

With around 700 ethnic groups, Adivasis (translated in the Sanskrit language as Original Inhabitants) of India forms the world’s largest Indigenous population. Kattunayakans are one such Adivasi community living within the sub-tropical forests of Southern India. They belong to a particularly vulnerable group of hunter-foragers of South Asia and speak a Dravidian dialect (a combination of three Dravidian languages – Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada). Characterized by animistic belief systems, deep-rooted relationships with the local forest ecosystem, they believe they are the true ‘leaders of the forest.’

Set in Kattunayaka settlements in and around the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in rural Kerala, the documentary is an attempt to understand how these traditional societies perceive and interact with forest and non-human beings. It unfolds through the storylines of a Kattunyakan child, an octogenarian ethnobiologist, and a middle-aged chief. We hear them speak about the joys of living in and with forests interlaced with their anticipations and anxieties.

Gidiku Vapathu also brings forward the ‘uncomfortable’ conversations on ‘what constitutes development and conservation?’ by acknowledging how several Indigenous and traditional societies across the world continue to live in fear of getting displaced from their lands. It highlights the different ways in which Indigenous people perceive their local ecosystems, both as their home and as the means to understand lived experiences, memories and future aspirations.

Click here to watch the trailer. 

Helina Jolly

IRES PhD Program

Bio:

Helina Jolly is a PhD candidate at the Institute for Resources Environment and Sustainability working with Dr. Terre Satterfield and Dr. Milind Kandlikar. She is a National Geographic Explorer (2018), UBC Public scholar (2017 and 2018), and Liu scholar (2016). An ecologist and environmental policy analyst by training, she studies the relationship between forest ecosystems and Kattunayakars, a lesser-known hunter-gatherer society of South Asia. Her doctoral research examines the complexities of human and nature connections within the forest landscapes of the Western Ghats in Kerala, India, through the conversations on human-wildlife interactions, food security, forest fire and rights- capabilities. Helina is also the founder of an international web-based project, ‘The Everyday Nature’ (www.theeverydaynature.com) that focuses on documenting the perception of people towards nature. She also leads the Collective for Gender+ in Research at the UBC that seeks to develop a network to articulate methods and tools to engage gender in research. Before joining UBC, Helina worked in India for six years on various environmental projects in South Asia with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), Centre for Science and Environment and Clinton Climate Initiative. She is a Commonwealth Scholar and has an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Understanding The Great Climate Science Scenario Debate

Forbes quoted Justin Ritchie and Hadi Dowlatabadi from UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC, about the RCP8.5 pathway.

We may avoid the very worst climate scenario. But the next-worst is still pretty awful.

Hadi Dowlatabadi, a professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC, says the levels of coal use in the high-end warming scenario were always implausible given the world’s coal reserves.

Ottawa closer to single-use plastic ban after finishing science assessment

UBC environmental lawyer David Boyd says Canada needs to take action to match the rhetoric about the single-use plastic ban.

March 5, 2020: IRES Professional Development Seminar with Tom Hetherington

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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From climate grief to action

People from all walks to life are struggling to cope with the emotional impact of the climate crisis. In this Professional Development Seminar, Tom will share strategies and supports from the “From Climate Grief to Acton (FCGA)” group for dealing with feelings associated with eco-grief and/or climate anxiety, including non-judgmental personal storytelling, building communities of mutual support, mindfulness exercises, and self-empowering action planning.

Tom Hetherington

Bio:

Tom Hetherington, MSW, is a recently retired Social Worker who has supervised professional teams of counsellors and students for many years. Tom is the leader of a team of other professionals, practitioners, and students who have developed the From Climate Grief to Acton (FCGA) group to create a space for people to express their thoughts and grief about the climate emergency without judgment.

February 27, 2020: IRES Faculty Seminar with Jiaying Zhao

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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The impact of direct giving on people experiencing homelessness: Experimental evidence from Vancouver, Canada

A growing body of research suggests that direct cash transfers are an effective solution to reduce global poverty, although most evidence comes from developing countries. The current study is the first randomized control trial in developed countries examining the impact of unconditional cash transfers on homeless individuals. Specifically, we distributed a one-time unconditional cash grant of $7,500 to each of 50 homeless individuals in Vancouver, with another group as controls. Our preliminary data show that the cash transfer results in significant improvements in housing stability, food security, savings, and cognitive function, with no increases in spending on temptation goods. Based on a cost-benefit analysis, the cash transfer results in net savings per person per month via reduced shelter use. Our preliminary findings suggest that unconditional cash transfers can be an effective and cost-effective solution to reduce homelessness in developed countries.

Jiaying Zhao

Associate Professor, IRES and Department of Psychology
Canada Research Chair (t2, Behavioral Sustainability)

Bio:

Jiaying Zhao is the Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Sustainability, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC. Her research uses psychological principles to design behavioural solutions to address financial and environmental sustainability challenges.

Website: https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/

IRES Profile: https://ires.ubc.ca/person/jiaying-zhao/

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=w6d1YTgAAAAJ&hl=en

February 20, 2020: No Seminar Due to Reading Week

There will be no seminar on Thursday, February 20 due to Reading Break (Feb 18-21).

February 13, 2020: IRES Student Seminar with Juan Diego Martinez and Andrea Byfuglien

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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*** CLICK HERE TO VIEW RECORDING (Andrea 04:30-32:28) (Juan Diego 34:22-54:47)***

Reducing inequality in food access as a means to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The synergies between the whole set of SDGs highlights the relevance and central role the food system plays in achieving a better future for humanity and staying within planetary boundaries. Two main determinants of food access at the individual level are national food availability and household income. For this reason, the reduction of inequality among and within countries (SDG 10) will better enable achieving some of the most morally profound SDGs, ending poverty and eradicating hunger (SDGs 1 and 2). In this study we provide insights into within-country inequality in food access to enable future income-based estimation of environmental impacts across the globe. We used national income distribution by decile and national food availability estimates by major food group to estimate how food and nutrient access varied by income within countries over the past half century. We then used a scenario-based approach to study different future interactions of income growth, inequality trends and food productivity to estimate future food security and nutrition indicators. Our results show that future inequality plays a key role in pathways toward ending hunger and poverty.

Juan Diego Martinez

IRES PhD Program

Bio:

Juan Diego is a PhD student at IRES working with Dr. Navin Ramankutty. His research is centered at the intersection between Food and Nutrition Security and the environmental impacts of different diets. Currently understanding how access to food is shaped by income/expenditure inequality, illustrating the disparities among and within countries in the past decades.

He holds a B.Sc in Biology and a B.Eng in Industrial Engineering for the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. In the past, he worked with the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Research Institute and as a renewable energy consultant for Latin America

February 6, 2020: IRES Faculty Seminar with Mark Harris

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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*** VIEW SEMINAR RECORDING (Audio begins at 4:55min)***

Dancing for Country (towards Reconciliation?) – A non-Indigenous Australian perspective

On December 1, 2019, for the first time in history, Indigenous communities from across Australia danced in unison at the same time, dancing for Country, for ancestors and for healing. For the first time in over 150 years, Corroboree took place on Gundungurra Country (in south-eastern New South Wales). In this presentation I want to juxtapose this moment with the recent history of moves to achieve Reconciliation in Australia that began with the establishment of a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 1991 and was followed by the attempts to comprehend Australia’s history of forced removal of Aboriginal children from the 1900s through to the 1970s (dubbed the Stolen Generations). This presentation will consider this historical context and the question of whether Reconciliation is possible in a settler-colonial society such as Australia and what lessons (if any) might be drawn for non-Indigenous peoples seeking to achieve Reconciliation.

Mark Harris

Associate Professor, Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice

Bio:

Dr. Mark Harris is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice where he teaches courses on Globalization and Social Justice and Gender, Race, Law and Social Justice. His research focuses primarily on social justice issues with an emphasis on Indigenous rights in relation to cultural heritage, land claims, the stolen generations, intellectual property and criminal justice issues in both Australia and globally. He has worked as a lawyer giving advice on native title (land) claims for Indigenous communities in South-Eastern Australia.

Website: https://grsj.arts.ubc.ca/person/mark-harris/

January 30, 2020: IRES Professional Development Seminar with Steve Chignell, Erika Luna Perez, Leonora Crema, and Stephanie Savage

IRES Seminar Series

Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)

Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall

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Scholarly publishing and the knowledge economy: how did we get here, where are we going, and what can we do about it?

Scholarly publishing is in crisis. A handful of corporations own most of the world’s top academic journals, making as much as 37% profit from library subscriptions, paywalls, and the volunteered time of researchers. Publishers have also found new ways of monetizing open access, as scholars seeking to make their results open to the public pay thousands of dollars for each paper published without a paywall. Meanwhile, companies have developed a suite of metrics that are now being sold to universities as a way to ‘track impact’ and boost rankings. This increases the pressure to publish, spurring the proliferation of hundreds of new journals of varying quality. This seminar will describe how we got here and how you, as scholars and authors, can navigate this complex system. It will then open into a discussion exploring potential alternatives and challenges to realizing them.

Stephen Chignell

IRES PhD Program

Bio:

Stephen Chignell is a Ph.D. Student in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability supervised by Dr. Mark Johnson. He is interested in both the physical and social aspects of environmental and sustainability issues, and enjoys finding creative ways to understand their intersection. Prior to UBC, he completed a M.S. studying the relationships among water development, land change, and urban growth in Ethiopia. He also worked to reconstruct the history of Antarctic science with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research project. He is passionate about making scholarly research and its outcomes more open and collaborative.

Leonora Crema

Scholarly Communications and Copyright Services Librarian, University of British Columbia

Bio:

As a UBC Scholarly Communications Librarian, Leonora advises researchers about making works open access, managing one’s scholarly identity, and navigating the changing landscape of academic publishing. She administers the UBC Scholarly Publications Fund, has been instrumental in recent open textbook projects, and is UBC’s contact person for the Canadian ORCID consortium.

Erika Luna

IRES MSc Program

Bio:

Erika Luna is an MSc student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability supervised by Dr. Navin Ramankutty and Dr. Amanda Giang. Her current research interests are food security and international development. She holds a BSc in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Erika gained research experience from working at different universities across North America where she studied a variety of socio-environmental problems. This past research experience contributed to build her passion on data science and GIS as tools to think critically and holistically about the interactions between humans and the environment.

Stephanie Savage

Scholarly Communications and Copyright Services Librarian, University of British Columbia

Bio:

Stephanie Savage is a Scholarly Communications and Copyright Services Librarian at UBC Library. In this role Stephanie educates the UBC community in matters of copyright law and policy and advises researchers on open access publishing and author rights. Stephanie is also the campus administrator for Open Journal Systems, an open publishing platform that hosts over 40 journals published out of UBC.