GPS Update: Leveraging your Strengths to Strategize for Success + Career Development Webinar Series + More!

Participate in our quick poll on which conflict resolution workshop you would like to see offered!

Registration is now open for:

Leveraging your Strengths to Strategize for Success (includes code to complete your StrengthsFinder assessment)| Jun 13 | In-Person : 10 -12 pm| Webinar: 1:30 – 3 pm

Check out community.grad.ubc.ca for other opportunities including:

Career

Career Development WEBINAR Series (Topics: LinkedIn, Resumes and Cover Letters, Interviews and Negotiating) | starting Jun 18

Grad School Success

Literature Reviews: Analyzing (with NVivo) | Jun 11

Introduction to R for statistical analysis | Jun 12

Annual Research Computing Summer School | Jun 24- 27

Events

Rehearsing Conflict Workshop Series (June 13-15, 17-20)

Tri-Agency Updates and CCV Consultation (Senior PhDs and Postdocs) | June 3| 1 – 2:30 pm

GSS summer BBQ, June 13

Volunteering

Accessibility Focus Group is looking for graduate students in research-based program

Congratulations to the 2018/2019 Freda Pagani Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2018/2019 recipients of the Freda Pagani Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis and the Freda Pagani Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation!

Freda Pagani Award for Outstanding Master’s Thesis

Teddy Eyster

Modeling dam removal in a mountain meadow with MODFLOW-NWT

Freda Pagani Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation

Poushali Maji

Access to modern energy, air pollution and greenhouse gas mitigation : Inter-linking three major energy challenges facing India today

The Freda Pagani Awards have been endowed by family and friends for graduate students in the Resources, Environment and Sustainability graduate program. As founder and director of the Sustainability Office at UBC, Freda helped to develop green building guidelines for campus facilities, initiated an energy management program, created the UBC Social, Ecological, Economic, Development Students Program (SEEDS), and developed a community energy and water plan. In addition, Freda led the creation of the University’s first ecologically friendly building, the C.K. Choi Building.

Congratulations Teddy and Poushali!

Congratulations to the May 2019 Graduates!

Congratulations to our RES & RMES May Graduates! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors and can’t wait to see what amazing things you’ll go on to do. If you wish to check out the graduate theses & dissertations, click here.

Nathan Bendriem (MSc)

Supervisor: Rashid Sumaila

Tugce Conger (PhD)

Supervisor: Stephanie Chang

Rae Cramer (MA)

Supervisors: Terre Satterfield and Jiaying Zhao

Ghazal Ebrahimi (PhD)

Supervisor: Hadi Dowlatabadi

Teddy Eyster (MSc)

Supervisor: Mark Johnson

Maggie Low (PhD)

Supervisor: Terre Satterfield

COMMENTARY: May 22 is international biodiversity day — and this scientist thinks change is possible: Op-ed by Kai Chan, IRES Faculty Member

The United Nations issued its first comprehensive global scientific report on biodiversity on Monday, May 6, 2019.

(AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

In the jobs-versus-environment debate, neither side is wrong. The problem is the 20th-century economy that forces us to choose. This is a key message of the new UN report I co-authored about nature — a message often overlooked.

Of course, British Columbia and Alberta are at loggerheads over oilsands pipelines when Albertan jobs and the B.C. environment are both on the line.

This interprovincial tussle is just one symptom of a global economic system that prioritizes economic growth over sustaining its foundations. Whereas our economic systems were sufficient to industrialize nations, now these systems are showing their incapacity to deliver what humanity — and nature — now need. Rather, they fuel economic growth at the expense of wildlife declines and the erosion of critical life-support services that ecosystems provide, yielding polluted water, floods, soil loss and crop failures.

This is the conclusion of the recent UN report — the IPBES (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) Global Assessment — the most exhaustive and authoritative assessment on nature and human dependence on it ever.

Faced with a choice between our livelihoods and sustaining the environment for nature and future generations, we have generally chosen our livelihoods, understandably. In the current economy, tragic trade-offs arise when local environmental protection fuels the export of not only jobs but also damaging production. The benefits of this economic growth are short-lived, but many costs are long-lasting, widespread and unjust. Dam collapses, oil spills, forest loss, landslides, coral reef bleaching and persistent pollution affect us all, but particularly the most vulnerable, while a few grow wealthier.

Near the start of the three-year IPBES assessment, it became clear that nature and its contributions to people were still being degraded at an alarming rate — despite major previous intergovernmental and government measures. Clearly, a bigger change was in order. Thus, my co-authors and I undertook extensive analyses to determine what changes would enable feeding the planet, maintaining clean water, resourcing our growing cities, providing much-needed energy, combating climate change, protecting nature and achieving other crucial goals. What would it take? New technologies? New environmental laws and policies? More money for conservation?

No: all three were helpful but insufficient, alone or together. To achieve the kind of world envisioned in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 — and maintaining it past 2050 — meant much more. Success appeared to require a series of fundamental changes directly addressing economic, political and social structures.

In a nutshell, success requires a global sustainable economy.

For instance, our analysis suggested that national policies would likely need to move away from the current paradigm of economic growth. We would likely need more internationally consistent taxation, technologies and economic activities with net positive environmental effects and less income inequality. We would need to reduce consumption among the affluent and to cut waste, including by repurposing it as resources in a “circular economy.” We would need to overcome opposition from vested interests — including those in government.

In a global sustainable economy, governments could not undercut each other by allowing damaging development to foster artificially cheap production. Within nations, the choice would be between different forms of environmentally sensitive development, not between jobs and the environment. Multi-sector industry organizations are already moving in this direction — like the Marine Stewardship Council for seafood, Forest Stewardship Council for wood products and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. We need to help these organizations to grow and strengthen along with regulations and we need to cover all products.

A global sustainable economy is achievable. Humanity is clearly capable of incredible feats: walking on the moon, building the internet, mapping the human genome.

Yet, as authors of the report, we felt sure that IPBES’ 132 member nations would not accept these provocative findings. Any nation could strike any finding from the assessment or torpedo the whole.

Full of trepidation, we waded into a week of negotiations that went past midnight every night, past 3 a.m. on the last. Governments nitpicked about words, and some threatened to veto the report. It came down to the wire.

On May 4, all 132 nations approved the Global Assessment with all of its most challenging findings, to high fives and a standing ovation.

Clearly, this is just the beginning. There are no concrete prescriptions, no binding agreements, no penalties. But pinpointing the solution is the first step in this journey.

For Canada, the next steps are in motion: reforming environmental impact assessment in Bill C-69, substantially expanding networks of protected areas and strong and nationally consistent carbon pricing.

But going beyond this is key, and it will require that citizens demand and participate in this transformation. Join us.

Kai Chan is a professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia and a co-ordinating lead author of the IPBES Global Assessment.

Link to article.

Congratulations to the 2018/2019 Les Lavkulich Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2018/2019 recipients of the Les Lavkulich Graduate Student Fellowship and the Les Lavkulich Outstanding Leadership and Service award!

Les Lavkulich Graduate Student Fellowship:

Brianne Della Savia, IRES MA Graduate Student

Research Summary:

Brianne’s research will explore municipal implementation strategies to reduce potential environmental and human health risks caused by endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). Exposure to EDC contaminants originates from pharmaceuticals and personal care products designed for attending to medical conditions and the aesthetic qualities of life, however, exposure can bind, block or mimic hormone receptors threatening irregular cognitive development, reproductive growth and related cancers. The aim of her research is to understand the capacity and perspectives of municipal utilities to effectively reduce the risks posed by EDCs. The focus will be to analyze implementation options to manage EDCs through source control programs and end-of-pipe water treatment technologies. Brianne’s thesis will contribute an interdisciplinary understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of municipal utilities to address endocrine disrupting compounds as perceived by municipal wastewater utilities.

Links to research:

Brianne is part of the Gunilla Öberg’s EGESTA lab. Check out her profile here!

Les Lavkulich Outstanding Leadership and Service:

Krista Cawley, IRES MSc Student

Description:

Krista’s research is centred around nature-based coastal flood protection in the Fraser Delta. Through wave modelling and fieldwork in the tidal marshes of the Fraser Delta in British Columbia, her work aims to evaluate the potential flood protection offered by the vegetation in these unique marsh ecosystems. By evaluating the wave attenuation in coastal ecosystems, this research may provide evidence to inform nature-based solutions and planning for flood risk reduction in the future.

Abstract:

Coastal communities are at an elevated risk of coastal flooding from the combined impacts of future sea level rise, storm surge, and winter storms. While communities situated in these low-lying areas are planning for future flood risk, often nature-based solutions are vaguely described due to the complexity of their flood protection services. Vegetation in tidal marsh ecosystems can act as a buffer to flooding by reducing wave height and dissipating wave energy. However, most research on tidal marshes focuses on salt marshes and mangroves, and little is known about the variability of flood protection across seasons. Using field measurements and numerical modelling, this research aims to evaluate the potential flood protection of the Sturgeon Bank brackish marsh near the City of Richmond, to provide evidence informing nature-based solutions which may assist in planning for flood risk reduction in the future.

About the Les Lavkulich Awards:

The Les Lavkulich Scholarships for Resource and Environment has been endowed by colleagues, friends and UBC alumni in honor of Professor Les Lavkulich, who created the RES program in 1979, the first truly interdisciplinary graduate program at UBC. As the program’s inspirational leader between 1979 and 2004, he was able, with his unrelenting effort and visionary thinking, to build it into an internationally renowned program. The two awards are given every year.

The Rohingya Refugees in Limbo: Repatriation and Resettlement

Blame the Signs: When Recycling is Confusing, We Avoid It

Read the full article here.

April 11, 2019: IRES Student Symposium Speakers: various RES Master and PhD students

The IRES Student Symposium showcases research done by our Masters and PhD students.

Date: April 11, 2019, 2:00-4:30pm

Location: Earth Sciences Building 1012

Symposium Schedule

Click here to view the video recordings Part 1 and Part 2.

20 mins per speaker (15 min talk, 5 min questions)

2pm to 2:05pm – Introduction by Leila Harris
2:05pm to 2:25pm – John Driscoll
2:25pm to 2:45pm – Naya Arriagada Oyarzún
2:45pm to 3:05pm – Victor Lam

3:05pm to 3:25pm – Break (20 mins)

3:25pm to 3:45pm – Steve Williams
3:45pm to 4:05pm – Krista Cawley
4:05pm to 4:25pm – Connor Robinson

Cash Bar and Dinner in AERL Building Lobby: 4:30pm to 8pm

Analyzing NAFO fisheries yields in terms of nutrients, rather than catch weights, leads to novel insights

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (2:25-24:50 min)

Abstract: Fisheries yields are typically expressed and analyzed in terms of the weight of the catch. However, catch weight is not necessarily a good indicator of food and/or nutrient production, as different taxa can vary greatly in the amount of food that they yield for humans and in the nutrient content of that food. Given the dietary importance of seafood, particularly for food-insecure populations, it is proposed that analysis and and management of fisheries’ yields should be expanded to consider nutrients of particular dietary importance. In this study, yields from Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) fisheries were re-expressed in terms of yields of specific nutrients. Results and conclusions from this analysis will be discussed, with a particular focus on how nutrient-specific analysis can reveal trends, insights, and conclusions that are not apparent from analysis of catch weights alone.

John Driscoll (PhD Program)

supervised by Kai Chan

Bio:

John is a Ph.D. candidate in Kai Chan’s lab, where his research focuses on the analysis and management of fisheries for food production outcomes. He received his B.A. in biology from the College of Wooster (Ohio), and a Master’s of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University (Halifax). Prior to arriving at UBC, he was the fisheries program manager for a Canadian environmental organization. John has conducted a number of sustainability analyses for the Seafood Watch/SeaChoice programs, and has approximately 350 days-at-sea experience in fisheries, primarily as a fisheries observer in Alaska and New England.

“We fought like never before, but we lost as usual”: Environmental governance in red tide/salmon farming crisis in Chiloé Island (Chile)

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (25:25-47:00 min)

Abstract: In 2016, a social movement developed on the Island of Chiloé in protest against the consequences of the worst “red tide” algal bloom in Chile’s history, as well against the salmon farming industry. Research has shown that coastal communities are suffering a broad array of environmental changes that challenge them socially, culturally and economically. When these communities face chaotic multi-shock events such as the case of Chiloé Island, adaptive capacity is challenged. Through qualitative interviews, this research aims to describe the perceptions of Chiloé inhabitants regarding the multi-shocks of the red tide/salmon crisis, and how those processes impact their social adaptive capacity. Specifically, in terms of governance of the conflict, while a few positive outcomes are associated with the social movement’s efforts including Supreme Court decision, national and local governance strategies are rigid, short term oriented, and far from adaptive.

Naya Arriagada Oyarzún (MA Program)

supervised by David Boyd

Bio:

Naya was born and raised in Chiloé Island, Southern Chile, surrounded by nature and unique rural life. She graduated from Sociology in Chile in 2013 and has professional and academic experience in social research. In Chile, she has worked as a project manager for national and international public opinion surveys, as well as research assistant and consultant for UNDP. Her previous work in academic research has focused on regional social movements and conflicts, but currently is looking to broaden her scope to environmental conflicts and governance towards sustainable solutions for the affected communities.

Naya is working under the supervision of Dr. David R. Boyd. Her research is focused on social movement’s outcomes and social resilience in coastal communities where collective action regarding marine resources is contentious. Specifically, her research explores the links between governance and policy changes, social capital and adaptive capacity in the salmon farming conflict in Chiloé.

Examining How Religious Environmental Organizations Construct and Tailor Messages on Climate Change: A Case Study of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline Expansion Resistance

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (47:20-1:06 min)

Abstract: Through education, advocacy and activism, religious environmental organizations (REOs) could play a critical role in addressing disengaged religious audiences on climate change. Based on a case study of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion resistance, this presentation examines how REOs construct and tailor the messages of climate change to religious audiences throughout the movement. Drawing on the framing approach, we identified major themes in 15 semi-structured interviews with key REO informants. Preliminary findings suggest that REOs drew upon and emphasized frameworks of environmental stewardship, interconnectedness, and climate justice to justify their actions in pipeline resistance. However, some REOs had to tailor their messages in light of wider, political and institutional considerations. This work contributes to the growing literature on the role of religious actors in climate change politics, and provides valuable empirical evidence of the nascent religious environmental movement in Canada.

Victor Lam (MA Program)

supervised by George Hoberg

Bio:

Victor is broadly interested in the social and cultural dimensions of climate change, with a focus on the role of religious actors in climate change politics and communication. Prior to his studies at UBC, he worked as a research assistant at the Department of Geography and Asian Energy Studies Centre at Hong Kong Baptist University, where he facilitated projects on energy policy and governance in China, Hong Kong, and Japan. He has also worked with several grassroots and religious environmental organizations in Hong Kong and Canada. He completed his BASc with Honours in Sustainability, Science and Society at McGill University.

Justice in Energy Transitions

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (5:07-27:23 min)

Abstract: I argue that transitions research more broadly needs to take more account of justice in its analysis. This analysis draws primarily from environmental and energy justice literature to engage with the concept of justice in transitions research, as it seeks justice for people, communities, and the non-human environment from negative environmental impacts. This is achieved through different forms of justice: distributive, procedural, and recognition. I ground the theoretical proposal in the case of the Alberta Energy Futures Lab, a public engagement process designed to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy future, to provide an empirical example of the application of environmental justice and sustainability transitions. I conclude with reflections upon the application of a justice approach to sustainability transitions research and offer insights into a potentially new research agenda.

Steve Williams (PhD Program)

supervised by John Robinson and Terre Satterfield

Bio:

Steve has extensive professional experience in evaluation, impact measurement, and data visualization for sustainability and social change projects. He combines his experience with information design to design and facilitate public events and collaborative professional development trainings, using data to engage the public and stakeholders in sustainability dialogue, and integrating art and theatre into public engagement. Steve is currently a PhD candidate at UBC evaluating the societal impacts of sustainability transition experiments with the Energy Futures Lab in Alberta, Canada as case study. In 2018, Steve was a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany and continues as an Affiliate Scholar with IASS.

What do plants and waves have in common? An evaluation of the flood protection potential of a coastal brackish marsh near Richmond, BC, Canada

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (28:00-47:18 min)

Abstract: Coastal communities are at an elevated risk of coastal flooding from the combined impacts of future sea level rise, storm surge, and winter storms. While communities situated in these low-lying areas are planning for future flood risk, often nature-based solutions are vaguely described due to the complexity of their flood protection services. Vegetation in tidal marsh ecosystems can act as a buffer to flooding by reducing wave height and dissipating wave energy. However, most research on tidal marshes focuses on salt marshes and mangroves, and little is known about the variability of flood protection across seasons. Using field measurements and numerical modelling, this research aims to evaluate the potential flood protection of the Sturgeon Bank brackish marsh near the City of Richmond, to provide evidence informing nature-based solutions which may assist in planning for flood risk reduction in the future.

Krista Cawley (MSc Program)

supervised by Stephanie Chang

Bio:

Krista is an MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Chang. She is interested in how vegetation in coastal tidal marsh ecosystems can act as flood protection during winter storm events. Previously, she completed a BSc in Environmental Science with a concentration in Ecology and Conservation at UBC. Born and raised in Powell River, she has developed a keen interest in marine and coastal systems and has worked in outdoor leadership and youth education for 10 years.

Modeling and Comparing the Effects of Agricultural Land Application of Biosolids and Biochar on Soil Health

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO (47:40-1:10:04 min)

Abstract: The Capital Regional District (CRD) is currently determining what the preferred beneficial reuse option is going to be for its soon-to-be-produced Class A biosolids (highly treated sewage sludge). This could mean directly using the biosolids in agriculture or turning them into biochar before use in agriculture. Each of these options comes with its own set of pros and cons to soil and environmental health, and social and economic implications. In this thesis, system dynamics modelling is used to compare the pros and cons, in terms of effects on soil health, of agricultural land application of biosolids and biosolids-derived biochar in the CRD. This is done by looking at how the stocks of fixed and plant-available nitrogen, permanent and labile carbon, and two endocrine-disrupting compounds change over time as a result of land application of either of these soil amendments.

Connor Robinson (MSc Program)

supervised by Gunilla Öberg and Steve Conrad

Bio:

Connor is a second-year MSc student at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability under the supervision of Dr. Gunilla Öberg. He grew up in Vancouver, a place that he once thought of as having a steady, secure water supply given the amount of rain we receive and the highly-engineered nature of the urban water system. This notion was quickly flipped on its head, however, as he learned more about how environmental systems work and at the same time the effects of climate change started to be locally seen.

Connor received his Bachelor of Environment with a major in Global Environmental Systems from Simon Fraser University. During his undergraduate studies, he acquired a keen interest in water resources management, particularly in working towards environmentally, socially and economically sustainable management of this important resource for its many purposes. As an undergraduate, he served as a research assistant, assessing the regulatory environment surrounding distributed energy resources at water and wastewater utilities, under the supervision of Dr. Steve Conrad. His MSc thesis is focusing on analyzing and mapping the nature and extent of scientific and technical production in the wastewater treatment field, and creating an interactive tool that experts and policymakers can access to easily learn more about the field or aspects of it.

Photo Credit: from openclipart.org

New Climate Solutions Research – Opportunity Projects

New Climate Solutions Research – Opportunity Projects

The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is pleased to announce the first four research projects to be awarded funding under its new Opportunity Projects Program (OPP).

Opportunity projects are partnership-driven, research initiatives that aim to generate high-impact climate mitigation or adaptation solutions. OPP launched in late 2018, resulting in 29 applications.

PICS executive director Sybil Seitzinger says the four chosen projects from this inaugural call address British Columbia climate change challenges and opportunities, but are scalable for end-users well beyond the province’s boundaries. Each will receive up to $60,000 per year for a maximum of three years, to fund its operations.

The four projects will address either climate change mitigation and/or adaptation, specifically—thermal energy storage; adaptive management of coastal kelp and fisheries by First Nations; designing a multi-family residential buildings framework that incorporates climate mitigation and adaptation needs, and developing an open-access, climate-adapted planning tool for conservation land and protected areas.

Projects are summarized below. The next call for Opportunity Projects will be issued later this month around April 30, 2019.

Integration of Mobile Thermal Storage in City of Surrey’s District Energy Network . Project lead: Majid Bahrami, SFU

District energy networks can play a central role in reducing building-related emissions due to their high efficiency and the flexibility they offer for integrating energy from renewable sources. The building sector is a major contributor to GHG emissions in Canada and worldwide. In collaboration with the City of Surrey and Canmet ENERGY, this project aims to develop a novel modular (scalable) thermochemical-based mobile thermal energy storage (M-TES). The proposed system will be capable of capturing waste heat from distributed, non-connected sources and moving this heat to connect into a district energy system. The heat stored in the M-TES can be used for load shaping and to offset requirements for generating peak power from non-renewable sources. The resulting benefits from this project include a reduced reliance on non-renewable fuels for peak loads, reduced carbon emissions and lower operating costs. The project will serve as an example for sustainable energy initiatives in other municipalities in BC and beyond.

Climate Adaptive Planning for British Columbia. Project lead: Oscar Venter, UNBC

There is currently no planning tool available that takes into account future climate change when establishing protected areas in British Columbia (BC) and projecting impacts on natural systems. This project, in partnership with The Nature Trust, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the BC Parks Foundation, will address the core question: How can we adapt our conservation plans in BC to minimize the impacts of a changing climate? The first online, open-access, fully operable and user-friendly tool will be developed to support climate–adapted systematic conservation planning across BC. This tool will be accessible and flexible for diverse user groups, as well as updatable with future enhancements in understanding climate change in BC.

Designing solutions to the hidden impacts of climate change on Canada’s undersea forests. Project lead: Anne Salomon, SFU

In 2015 First Nations communities on central BC’s coast observed an expansive outbreak of an encrusting bryozoan. This outbreak occurred in correlation with extreme ocean temperature anomalies (“warm blob”) in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Giant kelps were heavily encrusted by the bryozoan, causing them to sink to the seafloor where they rapidly disintegrated. This project—in partnership with the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance that encompasses all four First Nations of BC’s central coast (Heiltsuk Nation, Kitasoo/ Xai’ xais Nation, Nuxalk Nation and the Wuikinuxv Nation)—will determine whether adaptive management of traditional community-based kelp harvest and herring spawn-on-kelp fisheries can minimize the negative impact of temperature-induced bryozoan outbreaks. This project aims to enhance the resilience of both kelp forest ecosystems and coastal communities to climate change.

Adaptive Mitigation: A framework for assessing synergies, conflicts, opportunities and trade-offs between climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban neighbourhoods.* Project lead: Stephanie Chang UBC

In partnership with BC Housing, this project will investigate how strategies for adaptation and mitigation in urban neighbourhoods intersect, focusing specifically on multi-family residential buildings and their immediate context, in order to maximize the opportunity for “shelter-in-place”—or safety within the building one occupies. The research goal is to develop an integrated building adaptation and mitigation assessment (IBAMA) framework and tool to help decision-makers identify solutions that simultaneously incorporate both elements. The long-term objective is that the IBAMA framework will influence future building codes, standards, and construction best practices in both British Columbia and abroad.

*Note that this project supports the research of IRES MSc student Ilana Judah.

For more information on OPP visit the PICS website Research Engagement Program

April 4, 2019: IRES Faculty Seminar with Navin Ramankutty

IRES Seminar Series

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

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

*********************************************************************************

*** VIEW SEMINAR VIDEO HERE (starts at 3:07min)***

Can we produce our way out of food system problems?

Abstract:

The global food system is one of the biggest drivers of global environmental degradation. This will only worsen if increasing population and consumption generates increased production in the future. Solutions to this challenge often focus on increasing production through ‘sustainable intensification’, and commonly include closing yield gaps, genetic engineering, or expanding organic and/or urban agriculture. However, an assessment of existing studies suggest that such “hard path” solutions, from the supply side, will be insufficient to meet our food and environmental goals of the future. On the contrary, “soft path” solutions, such as reducing waste and shifting diets, are needed to deal with the magnitude of the problem. Soft path solutions, focused on improving efficiencies and reducing demand, have huge leverage, such that even small changes can have large impacts. The open question is how we can achieve such shifts.

Navin Ramankutty

Interim Director and Professor, IRES

Bio:

Navin Ramankutty is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Change and Food Security at the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. His research program aims to understand how humans use and modify the Earth’s land surface for agriculture and its implications for the global environment. Using global Earth observations and numerical ecosystem models, his research aims to find solutions to the problem of feeding humanity with minimal global environmental footprint. He contributed to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report and to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He was an editor of the journal Global Food Security and Global Ecology and Biogeography, and is an Associate Editor of Environmental Research Letters. He is a Leopold Leadership Fellow.

Website: https://ires2015.sites.olt.ubc.ca/person/navin-ramankutty/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=POHYXREAAAAJ&hl=en

Photo Credit: Susanne Nilsson from Flickr/ Creative Commons