Growing Resilience (Asynchronous Session)
Featured Towards Equitable Green Justice: The Cases of Bangladesh, Kenya, and Bhutan View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Fatema Jahan Sharna
Developing countries are the most vulnerable to climate change, despite contributing the least to global CO2 emission. Subsequently, some developing countries have undertaken exemplary initiatives through their domestic laws and policies to promote green justice in the battle against climate change. Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Kenya are three such countries which have made a remarkable achievement in this battle through the constitution as well as their green laws, and policies. Bangladesh- the ninth most vulnerable country due to climate change, has safeguarded green justice and non-discrimination in regard to race, gender, class, and religion under its Constitution. Whereas, Bhutan is the only zero carbon nation, that has unique environmental constitutional provisions, laws, and policies, making it one of the most environmentally concerned developing countries. Kenya is also among the first group of developing nations to introduce an equitable approach towards gender and the environment through its adequate legal and policy instruments.
Participatory Methods for Examining Vulnerabilities to Exogenous Shocks: COVID-19, Climate Change, and Regional Food Systems Resilience View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Robert Newell, Colin Dring
Participatory processes are integral to sustainability and resiliency planning, as involving diverse stakeholders ensures planning practices and outcomes are grounded in local social, economic, environmental, and cultural contexts and realities. It follows that research and tools supporting planning processes should also be participatory, and such research approaches can lead to useful knowledge for developing appropriate, place-based approaches for addressing critical sustainability issues, such as climate change. Using the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD, British Columbia, Canada) as a case study, this research experiments with participatory methods and tools for supporting long-term food systems planning by examining regional food vulnerabilities and opportunities/needs for building resilience to exogenous shocks. The research involved a series of meetings and workshops supported by an online collaboration platform, CoLabS, which engaged different FVRD stakeholders to first, reflect on what COVID-19 has revealed about regional food systems vulnerabilities, and second, discuss how these insights can be used for integrated long-term planning and increasing food resilience in the face of climate change. In addition to examining vulnerabilities and resilience strategies, workshop participants and collaborators identified key research questions, information gaps, and potential improvements to the CoLabS platform; thus, they shared intellectual leadership, helping guide the exploration in food systems resiliency and long-term integrated planning. Insights from this work include the importance of incorporating flexibility in methods and tools for conducting participatory sustainability research. The work also revealed challenges around maintaining stakeholder engagement and including the appropriate diversity of perspectives and voices in participatory research efforts.
Featured Climate Change-induced Migration and Exposure Risks for Marginally Housed and Unhoused Populations: Developing a Response Framework View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mariya Bezgrebelna, Sean Kidd
The effects of climate change disproportionately impact the health and well-being of precariously housed and homeless populations. Addressing this issue requires a systematic approach grounded in the best available evidence and a robust knowledge mobilization strategy. Such an approach is much needed at the climate change-homelessness nexus which represents a major global health concern with stakeholders (e.g., policymakers and service providers) increasingly seeking guidance. This work thus aims to contribute to the field of climate change and health by advancing a response framework. The framework was developed by synthesizing current knowledge on the subject and by drawing on pertinent examples. The syntheses included the results of two systematic reviews and multiple think tanks and feedback sessions held with experts in the field. The result is the first comprehensive global response framework in this area with relevance to future research directions, policy interventions, and service system design. This framework serves to share the existing knowledge, to illustrate the potential application of such knowledge, and is an initial step towards consolidating the best available guidance related to the pressing concern of how climate change is influencing and shaping housing-related vulnerabilities.
Elements of Wellbeing Through Loss: Narratives of Displacement due to Climate Crises View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Laura Arpiainen
This paper centers on interviews with persons who have experienced either displacement or loss of their home due to climate related crises, mostly adverse weather events. The research is part of a three-year project called RESCUE (Real Estate and Sustainable Crises Management in Urban Environment) funded by the Academy of Finland. The objective is to identify elements of wellbeing that are tied into the built environment, and comment on how these elements can be taken into account in future planning and policy development in order to promote dynamic resiliency of communities.
Global Homelessness and Climate Change: Post Global View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mikhail Yerkovich
The project, Post Global, consists of images that were developed in concert with a research paper exploring two prevailing forces, homelessness/the under-housed, and the global effects of climate change. Post Global mirrors the research paper, relying heavily on the collaboration of many different individuals, spanning globally across many diverse regions. Post Global is an attempt to bring a visually impactful connection to the research taken up by Sean Kidd, Mariya Bezgrebelna, and their collaborators. The title of the photo project is a slight departure from the paper, but it succinctly arrives at the key concept behind the images. The title, Post Global, is used as a primer for the viewer of the exhibition, suggesting that these issues in one region are issues that others may take up in their own nations. The project relies on our global collaborators’ involvement as experts in their field to collect images that reflect their concerns for homeless/under-housed individuals and the effects of climate change on these populations in their region. With a general guideline, collaborators were given prompts to consider while undertaking the photographic aspect of the project. Because of the nature of the project, working with homeless/under-housed individuals, we wanted to stray away from exploitative images that have been seen all too often in these types of projects. Instead we decided to focus on objects or places that could represent the issues of homelessness, without exploiting a person's likeness or story for the project's gain.
