World Water Day: A Solutions-Driven Workshop on Climate Impacts on Freshwater was co-hosted by CIFAL 91亚色 and the Office of the Provost, in partnership with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, 91亚色. The event is part of CIFAL 91亚色鈥檚 In-Focus Knowledge Exchange Series for Nature, Climate, and People curated by Idil Boran.

The convenors of the workshop were , Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, CIFAL 91亚色 and Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, and , Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Provostial Fellow.

The event participated in World Water Day events, which have been held around the globe since 1993.

Professor Sharma observes that today, two billion people do not have access to clean water at home, while in Canada, more than 800 communities are subject to long-term drinking water advisories. Among communities that have not had clean water for more than ten years, two-thirds are Indigenous, characteristic of the inequitable distribution of fresh water in Canada and around the world. These facts frame the discussions for the workshop, bringing together concerns about access to fresh water and inequities within and across nations during an era of climate change.

Keynote speaker Professor Orbinski, Director of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, began with the observation that freshwater is precious. The contemporary narratives about our relationship with the natural world are inadequate, however, to the challenges we face, given shrinking freshwater supplies due to climate change and inequitable access to water. 鈥淲e need a different story about how we view ourselves, how we view our relation to each other and to the biosphere,鈥� Professor Orbinski emphasized, adding, 鈥淭his demands an understanding of the complexity of the hydrosphere and more broadly the biosphere within which all human life exists.鈥� We are now an urban population of close to eight billion people on this fragile earth. The impact of climate change and biodiversity loss is massive, making it very difficult to make accurate predictions about the consequences of these disruptions for the biosphere and human communities. We do know, however, that as climate change diminishes the access to freshwater, competition and conflict increases, as different communities struggle to secure water access for fishing, farming and other subsistence and cultural activities. To begin to address these challenges, Professor Orbinski argues, requires us to let go of tenacious ideas about human dominion over nature so that we may grasp the fundamental truth that, 鈥淲e are part of nature and we depend on nature for our very being and survival.鈥�

Professor Daniel Olago, Chair of the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, spoke about the continent of Africa, which holds 25% of the world鈥檚 surface water. Despite the abundance of freshwater sources, these have been negatively impacted by human activity, including deforestation and overfishing, as well as by climate change. Biodiversity suffers with cascading consequences. Flamingo populations in Lake Nakuru are decreasing, negatively affecting tourism and the economic health of the region, while in Lake Malawi, the loss of native fish leads to hunger and malnutrition among communities dependent on healthy fish stocks. Solutions are made complex by the dozens of political jurisdictions acting in lake areas and sectoral approaches to management, leading to poor coordination in addressing systemic challenges. An Integrated Lake Basin Management approach is required, Profesor Olago argues, bringing a holistic approach that balances conservation with sustainable development goals.听

As Dr. Syed Imran Ali, Research Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, observes, floods and droughts are the spectacular face of climate change and its devastating effects on freshwater sources. Equally important, but less noticed, are changes to the quality of the world鈥檚 water due to contamination. Inadequate sanitation always poses risks to the quality of the water supply, but these risks are experienced unequally. Worldwide, rural populations and refugees displaced due to conflict and disaster experience acute difficulties in accessing clean fresh water. The consequence is the proliferation of deadly water-borne infectious diseases, like cholera, watery diarrhoea and hepatitis E. Preventing deaths means improving water quality through chlorination at the point of consumption, where World Health Organization 鈥渦niversal standards鈥� for chlorination are inadequate in many humanitarian crisis contexts. To improve water quality in refugee camps and similar contexts, Dr. Ali and his team have developed machine learning and numerical modelling tools that determine adequate levels of chlorination to ensure water remains safe. This is one example of solutions-driven research that responds to the challenge of providing clean water in crisis situations and that is now in use by seven major humanitarian organizations working around the world.

Dr. , Assistant Professor in Gender, Feminist and Women鈥檚 Studies and a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory, observes that water crises are not only outside of Canada, but affect many First Nations communities on lands claimed by the Crown. She warns:

鈥淭here is something happening beneath our feet. It will stop the rivers from flowing and the water from filling the lakes in the spring. We will lose our fish, our moose and our traditional ways of living鈥he water will be stolen鈥� All Canadians should be concerned, because the hunger of the oil industry has no limits. If we contaminate waters upstream, we contaminate all water downstream and the ecosystems upon which they depend.鈥�

If Indigenous nations have shown remarkable resilience, they have been impoverished by the colonial theft of Indigenous land and left traumatized by genocide, including the infamous residential school system that sought to extinguish Indigenous kinship and ways of knowing and doing. The oil industries step into this context, making false promises to Indigenous communities that feel they have few choices as they seek to recover the power and knowledges that colonial actors have forcibly wrested from them. Dr. Alook emphasizes that this must end now through the recovery of Indigenous sovereignty, especially taking up responsibilities towards the land: 鈥淎s long as the sun shines, as long as the rivers flow, let it be the sovereignty of our people that takes precedence over the capitalist and colonial theft of our lands鈥his is our land, this is our water, and let us be stewards of all that the Creator has bestowed upon us.鈥� 

Dr. Catherine Febria is Canada Research Chair of Freshwater Restoration Ecology at the University of Windsor. Dr. Febria describes the Healthy Headwaters Lab, which she directs, as seeking to 鈥渃onnect land, water and people for future generations鈥� using a decolonial, community-centered interdisciplinary approach. River restoration now involves billions of dollars worldwide but moving forward demands more than money 鈥� it requires coordinated actions at every level from the most local to the global. In coordinating, Dr. Febria emphasizes, 鈥淪cience matters, but so does communication if diverse communities are to be meaningfully involved in river restoration. Best practices foreground local involvement.鈥� In Canterbury in Aotearoa/New Zealand, M膩ori community members, farmers and community groups came together with scientists to create healthy rivers. 鈥淭he relationships come before the science鈥� Professor Febria observes, 鈥淚t鈥檚 about building trust by listening and mobilizing lived knowledge alongside science.鈥� 

Human and environmental health depends on clean fresh water. On World Water Day 2022, these researchers came together to emphasize the importance of holistic approaches that take up science in collaboration with those most immediately affected by the contamination of freshwater sites, including Indigenous and other communities marginalized from power and decision-making. New ways of doing science with diverse knowledge holders and new/old ways of understanding human relationships within the natural world are necessary, they emphasize, for freshwater to be restored and for the flourishing of all life in generations to come.

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While earning her master's in organic chemistry, Brar was doing research in synthetic organic chemistry and was being co-supervised by a senior PhD supervising on reducing side reactions.

鈥淭he work involved used a lot of solvent. We recovered it and used 80 per cent of it for two cycles, but then it was down the drain. I asked about the volume in litres of these carcinogenic solvents that we were discarding and the co-supervising PhD had never done the calculations 鈥� there was no consideration for the environment," said Brar, the new James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering at 91亚色.

鈥淯p to that point, I had planned to do a PhD in organic chemistry, but I decided that I didn鈥檛 want to go into a field where I was contributing to contaminating the environment.鈥�

Instead, Brar decided to do an MSc in environmental engineering 鈥渢o see how I could help solve these challenges.鈥� She studied at the prestigious India Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai, where she was introduced to micro-organisms and 鈥渇ell in love.鈥� Her fascination with micro-organisms led to a position with the Government of India where she created a database of the contamination caused by testing explosives and explored phyto-remediation using microorganisms found in the roots of trees and plants.

While involved in this work, Brar found that much of the literature published originated from Defence Research and Development Canada in Valcartier, Que. Since she was planning to pursue a PhD, she decided to come to Canada to study. Brar travelled to Vancouver, B.C., to stay with cousins and apply to universities and chose to study in Quebec City, Que. based on the prominence of work by a research group there. She took a crash course in French before the semester began and journeyed east to earn a PhD in biochemical engineering and continue her work with micro-organisms.

After graduation, she began a post-doctoral fellowship at McGill University, but the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) soon tempted her to return to Quebec City as a faculty member. She remained there for 14 years until 91亚色 lured her east to serve as the James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at the Lassonde School of Engineering.

鈥淚 was already a professor, so it was a good time to make a change,鈥� Brar said.

She joined 91亚色 in 2019, but with the challenge of moving her lab, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brar hasn鈥檛 yet spent much time on campus. She hopes that will change this fall as Ontario begins emerging from lockdown and she is excited to be in Toronto.

鈥淗ere, in Toronto, I have access to a large network of academics and industry,鈥� Brar said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of action and dynamism, especially from an environmental perspective.鈥�

Brar is especially eager for the interdisciplinary opportunities offered by being at such a large, comprehensive university as 91亚色.

鈥淓nvironmental challenges are complex and need interdisciplinary action to make them work,鈥� she said. 鈥�91亚色 provides the kind of environment where I can interact with social scientists, policy experts and marketing people and ensure that research is promoted to the end user.鈥�

Brar is full of enthusiasm for her research and teaching. She is currently immersed in the bioremediation of sites contaminated by petroleum, using enzymes to restore them to health.

鈥淭his is a biochemical solution for emergencies,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e using enzymes instead of micro-organisms, because micro-organisms need nutrition to do their job, while enzymes simply need to be formulated. They offer ease of application and are more effective.鈥�

One of her graduate students has just discovered enzymes that are active at core temperatures, and they hope to journey to northern Canada to test them in harsh conditions. In addition, Brar is planning to teach an Introduction to Environmental Engineering course at 91亚色鈥檚 Las Nubes Eco Campus in Costa Rica next summer, where she hopes to get students involved in some field experiments related to composting, residues management and pineapple cultivation agro-residues value-addition.

Brar says that for students, choosing an institution that will promote their interests and their curiosity is essential.

She also encourages students to be well-rounded, looking beyond their narrow field of specialty to get a broader picture of the world.

鈥淟iberal arts should be part of engineering,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be creative just by studying engineering. You need to take courses outside, and a university like 91亚色 has such breadth, it should be possible.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for faculty members, too. Our vice-president of innovation has launched an interdisciplinary cluster network to promote collaboration between faculties. We have all these faculties with excellent researchers and we need to stimulate collaboration, because it鈥檚 important. It鈥檚 the future. As a force, together we can make an impact.鈥�

Brar has already put her words into action. In June 2021, she was a recipient of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada鈥檚 coveted CREATE (Collaborative Research and Training Experience) award. Her , which also included colleagues from the Faculty of Science, received over $1.6 million to collaborate with industry and communities to convert organic waste into products that are more valuable, reduce our carbon footprint and create a circular bioeconomy. One of the goals of this proposal is also to train a future-ready workforce, be they undergraduates or post-doctoral Fellows.

鈥淏rar is representative of the top global talent working on impactful global solutions 91亚色 continues to attract,鈥� said Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif. 鈥淗er bioremediation research work to recover sites contaminated by petroleum is an example of 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to environmental sustainability, in particular, the UN Climate Action Sustainable Development Goal.鈥�

She is also well respected at the Lassonde School of Engineering.

鈥淎 dedicated research leader in environmental engineering, Brar inspires a deep commitment to environmental stewardship in graduates and colleagues through her important contributions to interdisciplinary teaching and research in sustainable development for climate change adaptation and mitigation,鈥� said Professor John E. Moores, Lassonde鈥檚 associate dean, Research and Graduate Studies.

By Elaine Smith, special contributor

Faculty members are invited to share information about global engagement activities 鈥� education/learning, research or service 鈥� with Skandha Sunderasen at 91亚色 International, skandha@yorku.ca.

The post Fighting pollution with nature's tools and faith in interdisciplinary solutions: Professor Satinder Kaur Brar appeared first on Research & Innovation.

The webinar takes places听Monday,听June 28听at 12 p.m. (noon) via Microsoft Teams. To register, visit听.

AI can be a double-edged sword, and while it can make resources and information more accessible and solve some of the world鈥檚 climate challenges, it also requires more energy to use and, as a result, increases the carbon footprint. The panellists participating in the AI鈥檚 Dirty Footprint webinar will address this central challenge from a variety of perspectives.

The event, chaired by Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Pina D鈥橝gostino, founder and director of IP Osgoode, will begin with welcoming remarks from 91亚色鈥檚 Vice-President of Research and Innovation Amir Asif. The keynote will be delivered by MPP David Piccini, Ontario鈥檚 Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, in one of his first speaking engagements since his appointment to the role.

Professor Aviv Gaon of IDC Herzliya will introduce and moderate the panel. Featured panellists are Andrea Roszell, director, Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure, Guidehouse; Audrey Lee, senior director, Energy Strategy, Microsoft Canada; Kapil Singhal, co-founder and CEO, Vyntelligence; and Neetika Sathe, vice-president, GRE&T Centre, Alectra Inc.

The Bracing for Impact Webinar series is organized by IP Osgoode, in collaboration with the Harry Radzyner Law School at the IDC Herzliya in Israel and Microsoft Canada. This webinar is an international collaboration with participants and expected attendees in three different continents.

Courtesy of YFile.

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Our overuse of fossil fuels continues to compromise our future.

It seems that every day the media is filled with shocking evidence of climate change: Heat records are being broken in Australia while bush fires ravage the country as never before; Labrador鈥檚 permafrost is melting; and ocean levels continue to rise, threatening low-lying islands and coasts.

91亚色 researchers warn us that the climate change crisis is about to become a health crisis.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been called by the World Health Organization the defining public health challenge of our century,鈥� says Steven Hoffman, professor and director of 91亚色鈥檚 Global Strategy Lab. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a good assessment of it. What makes it overwhelming is that climate change is both caused by and impacts everything we do in our human civilization.鈥�

91亚色 biology professor Dawn Bazely has devoted her 30-year academic career to understanding invasive plant species. Observing how the climate changes is essential to her work.

She says that as climate change warms the globe, northern countries like Canada are seeing plant and insect species for the first time. 鈥淏ecause anywhere there is a warming trend, we鈥檙e going to see diseases that dominate tropical and subtropical areas become able to expand into other regions.鈥� That鈥檚 why, she adds, we are seeing more West Nile virus (carried by mosquitoes) and Lyme Disease (carried by ticks) in Canada.

Sheila Colla warns that a declining bee population will have serious impacts on our heath. Colla, assistant professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Environmental Studies, has noted significant reductions in the number of bumblebees, native to Canada.

She emphasizes that all bee species are susceptible to changes in weather caused by climate change. An early or late spring, for example, can change the growth of the fruits, vegetables and flowers that bees pollinate. This affects their ability to reproduce. Without bees, we have less food and, thus, fewer sources of nutrition.

鈥淎 third of our food is pollinated by animals, mostly bees,鈥� Colla explains. She adds that bees pollinate a huge variety of crops and, most importantly, they pollinate foods that are antioxidants, like tomatoes, berries, kale and lettuce.

Unlike honeybees, bumblebees don鈥檛 make honey 鈥� but they are extremely good pollinators, notes Colla. 鈥淵ou need more than one type of bee to pollinate our crops and for us to have a diet that has variety and lots of vitamins鈥� We clearly need to save all our pollinators.鈥�

For 91亚色 post-doctoral researcher and documentary filmmaker Mark Terry, the reality of climate change and its damage on living species can be seen, shockingly, at the north and south poles.

When he took a crew to Antarctica to shoot The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning in 2010, he filmed seals blinded by increased ultraviolet rays from the sun and penguins wandering away from their traditional coastal homes into the interior, on a desperate search for food. That鈥檚 because their primary food 鈥� krill, a crustacean found in Antarctic waters 鈥� is dying off due to warmer ocean temperatures.

Malawi, in southeast Africa, brings the disparity of climate change into sharp focus. It鈥檚 one of the poorest countries in the world, with an economy is based on agriculture. Maize 鈥� known as corn in North America 鈥� is the principal food crop. But the maize crop yield has dropped recently by as much as 34 per cent.

鈥淢aize requires a certain amount of sunlight and precipitation,鈥� says James Orbinski, director of 91亚色鈥檚 Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research (DIGHR) and former international president of M茅decins Sans Fronti猫res (Doctors Without Borders). 鈥淲ith climate change, Malawi now has prolonged periods of dryness. The Southern Region of Africa is amid its worst drought in 100 years. The famed Victoria Falls is running at a trickle, and taps are drying up. More than 45 million people are on food assistance because of crop failures. This is due to climate change.鈥�

Orbinski points to a cruel irony: 鈥淭he countries and regions that are most affected by climate change are the poorest and least developed regions. They are the least resilient and have the least flexible social, political and infrastructural systems. The irony is that they are the ones least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.鈥�

Is there hope for easing what could be a global health disaster?听 91亚色 researchers are optimistic 鈥� if we act now.

Bazely says it begins with sharing knowledge. 鈥淗ow we can equip local people everywhere and academics outside of the global north? How can we make the research and knowledge widely available? I鈥檓 very interested in open access and getting taxpayer-funded research out from behind the barriers of the university library systems. So many academics and researchers and people in the Global South just don鈥檛 have access to knowledge tucked behind expensive paywalls.鈥�

For Orbinski, the priority is 鈥渟eeing the symbiotic relationship between our biosphere and human civilizations that defines Planetary Health. It is also developing tools, technologies and policies that help communities adapt the new reality of the health impacts of climate change. We are actively working on these at the DIGHR.鈥�

Hoffman likens the global action we must take on climate change to the action taken to combat pandemics. 鈥淚nfectious diseases spread across borders. Viruses don鈥檛 carry passports. And as a result, if we鈥檙e serious about protecting our health from the next pandemic, we need to be thinking and acting globally in exactly the same way as we need to be thinking globally and acting globally about climate change.鈥�

Terry urges us to help young people embrace activism aimed at halting climate change. In his post-doctoral work with the Dahdaleh Institute, Terry is teaching a course geared toward documentary filmmaking and environmental activism. He has also led a team of his own students during a 鈥淔ridays for Future鈥� climate strike in Toronto and hosted a group of Indigenous students from Tuktoyaktuk at COP 25 in Madrid in December 2019.

鈥淪tudents are the ones who will lead us into the reforms needed to maintain a healthy planet. That鈥檚 why Greta Thunberg鈥檚 work has been so important. She鈥檚 done a remarkable job at raising awareness. I believe our goal now, at universities, is to provide students with the knowledge and tools they will need to keep up the fight.鈥�

To learn more about Steven Hoffman, visit his . To read more on Dawn Bazely, see her . To read more about Sheila Colla鈥檚 research, visit her . For more on Mark Terry, visit his . To learn more about James Orbinski, see his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity, such as Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the , a glimpse of the year鈥檚 successes.

Paul Fraumeni is an award-winning freelance writer, who has specialized in covering university research for more than 20 years. To learn more, visit his .

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鈥淲hen you think of garbage, think of us.鈥� Three years ago, this pithy slogan introduced the Waste Wiki project 鈥� the brainchild of Calvin Lakhan, a postdoctoral Fellow in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) 鈥� to the world. This project, sponsored by Professor Mark Winfield, is a free, open-access and user-friendly platform for data, waste-related literature and analytical tools available to the public. It means that users can interface with timely and comprehensive data so that they can make more informed decisions. It is devoted to advancing understanding of waste management research and policy in Canada.

鈥淭his project is based on two driving principles,鈥� Lakhan explains. 鈥淎ccessibility of research to any stakeholder, big or small, and knowledge mobilization 鈥� that is, sharing information in a way that鈥檚 practical, understandable and useful to a non-academic audience.鈥�

Lakhan, who earned his PhD from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University鈥檚 joint geography program and degrees in economics (BA) and environmental economics (MES) from 91亚色, has been very busy: since 2016, he has raised almost $300,000 in funding, including donations from public and private agencies, to study various aspects of waste management, from environmental attitudes and recycling behaviour to carbon cost calculators and other industry data and analysis.

He also grew the resource: the Waste Wiki project now boasts more than 6,000 studies on waste. It is the largest online reference library in Canada to concentrate solely on studies devoted to the subject of waste and recycling.

Key offerings in Waste Wiki

This resource offers one-stop shopping for all research on waste. Key components include:

• The Waste Library: the main repository for studies, as mentioned. It is conveniently divided into themes such as economics, behavioural or policy; activities such as collection, reuse, recycling and organics; and sectors such as residential, public space, industrial etc.
• Industry data: Lakhan has downloaded and hosted files from Stewardship Ontario, organized by industry program with a description of the files. For example, he profiles the Blue Box Program, Ontario鈥檚 residential recycling program for printed paper and packaging waste, featuring materials on the program, a financial summary and municipal funding.

• Five Slides or Less: Research Snapshots. Here, on PowerPoint slides, research papers are summarized in plain language, making the information accessible to a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Waste Wiki 101. This section offers a series of short papers and discussion on a variety of key subjects related to waste management. Lakhan compares this to a literature review, which sums up all existing research on a topic. It effectively distills key concepts and theories into a short, two- to three-page document.
• Waste Wiki Learning Series. This section provides valuable skills, training and resources to students, researchers and other stakeholders working within the space. Topics include key considerations for public space recycling and pay as you throw.
• Interactive maps. Here, users can see the data represented on a map of Ontario and look up landfills, for example.

2019: A banner year for Waste Wiki

This past year has been a time of tremendous growth for the project. Several major ventures were undertaken by Waste Wiki in March of this year alone. First, Waste Wiki announced its research collaboration with Pollution Probe, a Canadian charitable environmental organization that is a leading agent of change at the intersection of communities, health and environment.

Three days later, 鈥淲aste Wiki 鈥� Reduce and Reuse,鈥� a new online platform, was launched. 鈥淲e partnered with several innovative pioneers in the field of reduction and reuse, including Container Pros, Kijiji Canada and Furniture Bank,鈥� Lakhan explains.

The very next day, Waste Wiki@FES and Container Pros entered into a formal research collaboration. Both parties are committed to advancing issues surrounding reuse.

What鈥檚 next for Waste Wiki?

Looking to the future, Lakhan says they are working on several exciting new initiatives that can support society in the transition to durable, reusable packaging. For example, Waste Wiki recently partnered with Club Coffee to investigate the role of compostable packaging in Ontario. 鈥淲e sit on the Provincial Technical Advisory Group regarding compostable products in Ontario,鈥� Lakhan explains.

He also reports that Waste Wiki is working with Clorox and the national Packaging Consortium to examine consumer attitudes toward single-use plastic packaging.

鈥淭he Waste Wiki team is evermore focusing on providing guidance to stakeholders using an evidence-based research approach, with a particular interest in finding optimal, end-of-life waste management scenarios,鈥� Lakhan says.

To learn more about this project, including media coverage, industry data and white papers produced, visit the . To learn more about Lakhan, visit his profile on . To learn more about Winfield, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, follow us at ; watch our new , which profiles current research strengths and areas of opportunity such as artificial intelligence and Indigenous futurities; and see the for a glimpse of the year鈥檚 successes.

By Megan Mueller, senior manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

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Martin Bunch

91亚色 is committed to sustainability and to addressing the intertwined social, economic, and environmental challenges we face locally and globally. One project perfectly illustrates this deep commitment: Professor Martin Bunch, in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), spearheaded the research component of 91亚色鈥檚 involvement in a major collaborative initiative with the Global Footprint Network. The ecological footprint is the only metric that compares overall human demand on nature with biocapacity 鈥� what our planet can renew.

The Ecological Footprint project has collected data from across the globe, from 1961 to present day, that provides some straightforward truths about the human predicament. In 2019, 91亚色 will join forces with the Global Footprint Network to determine if countries are on track to meeting the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals and to improve the Ecological Footprint project鈥檚 measures of demand on nature and biocapacity.

鈥淏y establishing the National Footprint Accounts at 91亚色 鈥� a vibrant, independent, well-governed and respected academic leader in sustainability 鈥� the accounts will become even more trusted and effective.鈥� 鈥� Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of the Global Footprint Network

鈥淲e hope that the Ecological Footprint will support evidence-based decision making, inspire positive change and action, and shape future public policy,鈥� Bunch said. 鈥淭he goal is to enhance the impact of this work on policy-makers in government, industry and civil society,鈥� he added.

Timing is critical

In an era when evidence-informed decision making is often under threat, the timing of this project is key.

Bunch believes that humanity is faced with many challenges relating to the ever-expanding global population (now at 7.6 billion people). These challenges include the conservation of biodiversity and the need for a dramatic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. 鈥淯nderstanding and communicating the use of the Earth鈥檚 resources compared to its supply of ecosystem services is crucial if we are to live within our means,鈥� he said.

Bunch鈥檚 areas of expertise mean that he鈥檚 perfectly suited for this kind of work. With an educational background in geography, his research and interests are highly interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.

鈥淭he problems I address require an approach that transcends traditional disciplinary bounds,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭his type of work is fertile ground for geographers who are practitioners of a science that is both analytic and synthetic, makes use of qualitative as well as quantitative methods, and has a history of exploring the relationship among human beings and their physical environments,鈥� he added.

91亚色 becomes global data centre for tracking biocapacity for over 200 countries

Beginning in 2019, 91亚色 will become the global data centre for the National Ecological Footprint Accounts. These accounts are the foundation of the Global Footprint Network鈥檚 ecological footprint metric, which is updated annually with UN data so that the footprint can help determine if countries are on track to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This means that the accounts track the ecological footprint metric and biocapacity of more than 200 countries and regions.

More than a dozen national governments (such as Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates) and many cities (including Calgary and Vancouver) already turn to this vital information to guide their sustainability policy.

The goal of the partnership is to make the National Footprint Accounts even more scientifically robust and widely used. An international hub at 91亚色 will not only update the accounts, but also co-ordinate, among international research institutions, methodological improvements to the Footprint Accounts.

What does this mean for 91亚色?

This new partnership means that 91亚色 will provide the leadership and core activities for an international research collaboration to further develop, strengthen and elaborate the accounts.

鈥淏y establishing the National Footprint Accounts at 91亚色 鈥� a vibrant, independent, well-governed and respected academic leader in sustainability 鈥� the accounts will become even more trusted and effective,鈥� said Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of the Global Footprint Network. 鈥淭his new placement at 91亚色 will turn these accounts into an even more incontrovertible reference for public and private decision-making in support of sustainability.鈥�

Looking for master鈥檚-level researchers in sustainability in 2019

In addition to hosting the Ecological Footprint database, 91亚色 will mobilize graduate programs to support the production of the National Footprint Accounts.

Bunch encourages researchers at the graduate level with backgrounds in sustainability assessment, sustainability indicators, quantitative methods, spatial analysis and geomatics (a field involving the collection, analysis and interpretation of data relating to the Earth鈥檚 surface) to think about using the Ecological Footprint in their graduate work.

Candidates would need to apply to do this. If accepted, these researchers could be offered funding of $11,000 per year for two years in addition to a research assistantship.

To learn more about the Ecological Footprint project, visit the To read a related YFile article, visit the . To read the press release, visit the . For more information about the Global Footprint Network, visit the To learn more about Bunch, visit his .

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By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

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The release of the complements the recent passing of a motion on Jan. 16 by the European Union that calls for a moratorium on deep sea mining.

Deep sea mining, along with the regulation of fisheries and biodiversity beyond state jurisdiction, were the key topics addressed at the May 2017 workshop organized by Professors Leesa Fawcett (91亚色, Faculty of Environmental Studies), Anna Zalik (91亚色, Faculty of Environmental Studies) and Elizabeth Havice (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill).

The two-day workshop, entitled 鈥淥cean Frontiers: An Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Changing Contours of Marine Space and Resource Access,鈥� brought together a network of interdisciplinary scholars to explore the political-economic and ecological dynamics that shape new resource practices in marine zones. The overall goal was to unite social scientists and ecologists to share their understanding of how contemporary marine resource use is redefining the ocean frontier, as well as how oceans should be conserved and equitably used, and by whom.

It was听supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Canada @150 91亚色 Fund, and the University of North Carolina 鈥� Chapel Hill Department of Geography and Center for Global Initiatives.

Tapping into the participants鈥� research and policy expertise, the workshop outputs disseminate, exchange and mobilize participants鈥� responses to a central question uniting their sectoral areas of work: How are the central principles that underwrote ocean governance in the era in which the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea was negotiated 鈥� sovereignty, socioeconomic equity and ecological sustainability 鈥� being remade through the new dynamics shaping contemporary ocean frontiers?

Globally, contests over access to marine resources are intensifying, said Fawcett.

鈥淪tates, firms, diverse user groups and conservation agencies are scrambling to claim resources for which demand has increased due to environmental, technological and political change. Only last week it was announced that the European Parliament has called for a moratorium on deep sea mining,鈥� Fawcett said. 鈥淒espite rapid changes in ocean use and knowledge, there has been minimal interdisciplinary research on the combined political-economic and ecological processes shaping the shifting terrain of the vast ocean frontier.鈥�

Given a central goal of the workshop was to further mobilize this knowledge, the workshop organizers produced a in which participants share their research contributions.

鈥淭he pedagogical intent of the Ocean Frontiers short video series we are publishing is to unite this interdisciplinary knowledge and make it more accessible to academic audiences and practitioners, which is essential to shaping policy and practice regarding ocean protection and sustainable use,鈥� said Fawcett. 鈥淓quipping and training the emerging generation of ocean specialists and policy-makers with interdisciplinary reference points is a crucial part of shaping these new policies.鈥�

These videos make specialist knowledge available in non-technical language to a broader public, and will be useful for teaching at postsecondary levels and for institutional knowledge sharing across organizations and communities engaged in, and affected by, activities on ocean frontiers.

Courtesy of YFile.

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What鈥檚 the key ingredient to successful partnerships? 91亚色 Development Studies Professor Uwafiokun Idemudia reviewed existing research on an unorthodox union between a non-governmental organization (NGO) and an oil company with a history of spills in Nigeria. He found that collaboration was beneficial even when innate creative tensions exist, and to reach sustainable targets, the company needs to align its overall strategy with the goals of the partnership.

This work, published in Business Strategy and the Environment (2016), fills an important void. 鈥淒ifferent strategies adopted by NGOs for working with businesses have remained relatively unexamined,鈥� Idemudia explains. 鈥淯ltimately, we鈥檙e looking for the necessary tools or approaches for sustainable development in developing countries,鈥� he adds.

This is Idemudia鈥檚 fort茅. He is a thought leader in the area of critical development studies, political economy and political ecology approaches to natural resource extraction in developing countries, business and development, issues of governance, transparency and accountability in resource-rich African countries.

Most business-NGO partnerships fraught with mistrust

Business鈥揘GO partnerships are based around the idea that by combining complementary core competences, resources and skills and sharing associated risks, business would achieve something it otherwise would not have achieve alone.

This is easier said than done. In reality, these partnerships can be fraught with tensions and complexities that introduce instability and precariousness. The relationship is often characterized by hostility and mistrust.

Idemudia鈥檚 research focused on two unlikely partners in region of environmental crisis

In this research, Idemudia focused on the Niger Delta, home to the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This is a region of crisis. 鈥淓nvironmental degradation, loss of livelihood, lack of social infrastructure and a high rate of poverty have, over time, transformed the Niger Delta into a volatile region where conflict is now endemic,鈥� he explains.

In his study, Idemudia examined the partnership between the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and the National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spills in the Niger Delta (NACGOND), a coalition of 20 civil society groups that seek to collectively address the issue of environmental degradation in the Niger Delta by advocating for changes in governmental and corporate policies.

SPDC does not have a good environmental track record in the region. 听From 1976 to 2005, a total of 9,107 oil spills were recorded in the Niger Delta, and from 2003 to 2007, SPDC alone recorded 1,243 spills. Making matters worse, often 70 per cent of the oil spilt into the environment is not recovered. Contamination, in other words, is chronic, making this the world鈥檚 most long-term environmental disaster.

SPDC joined into partnership with NACGOND mainly to improve its reputation after the series of oil spills.

Idemudia鈥檚 research had two main goals: To critically examine the challenges and opportunities confronting a business鈥揘GO partnership in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria; and to consider the theoretical and practical implications for business鈥揘GO interactions in the case of a coalition of NGOs within Africa.

Engagement at heart of NGO/oil company collaboration

In studying how the collaboration took shape, Idemudia realized that engagement was key. This took shape in many ways, for example:

• Quarterly NACGOND鈥揝PDC meetings where NACGOND raised issues of concern and, in response, SPDC addresses the concerns.
• Joint investigation visits where SPDC invited NACGOND to participate as an external third party observer in its process.
• Both parties invited each other to participate in various capacities in a number of their individual organizational activities related to environmental management issues in the Niger Delta. This ranged from advocacy and research projects by NACGOND to field visit invitations extended by SPDC to NACGOND to see remediated sites.

鈥淭he participation of both partners in each other鈥檚 projects gives these projects credibility and ensures adequate representation of stakeholder groups in such events,鈥� Idemudia explains.

Interestingly, the working atmosphere in this partnership was described as respectful, constructive and even friendly. Although both parties admitted that they came to the table lacking trust for the other, over time they gradually came to build trust. There seemed to be a consensus that the interaction was mutually beneficial.

Lessons learned point to collaboration, alignment

Idemudia鈥檚 research brought to the fore a few main take-away messages to building successful partnerships:

• Collaboration is good for both parties. SPDC regained its reputation after years of oil spills, and also benefited from the dense network and far reach of NACGOND within the Niger Delta. NACGOND, on the other hand, benefited in terms of internal capacity building, better access to management to voice community discontent and the credibility to attract future partners that can be supportive of its cause.
• Creative tensions exist, but that鈥檚 okay. They function as drivers of partnerships by creating enabling conditions for such partnerships to emerge and be sustained. This tension can serve as a source of discipline for both partners, but especially for the NGO partners because it moderates their tactics. It enables NGOs to maintain a critical distance from their business partners and thus not lose credibility.
• Business should align partnership goals with company鈥檚 overall goals. Businesses that go into such partnership with the goal of sustainable development (not just profit), need to align and integrate the partnership goals with the company鈥檚 overall strategic goals. This will maximize the benefits of the partnership.
• The best partnerships are where NGOs work with a non-NGO. Idemudia realizes that most NGOs might not be willing to collaborate on a one-to-one basis with a corporation. However, he believes they might be willing to join a coalition that is in partnership with a corporation. He also presses for more research in this area.

The article, 鈥�,鈥� was published in Business Strategy and the Environment (2016). For more information on Uwafiokun Idemudia, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, watch the , see the or visit the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

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Environmental management: Critical thinking and emerging practices by Peter Mulvihill and Harris Ali (Routledge, 2017). Cover image reproduced with permission of Routledge.

Positive leadership involves standing back from an issue, assessing the problem, providing a learned interpretation and delivering a rational and well-constructed vision for change or improvement. This is true in the academic world. Professors Peter Mulvihill (Faculty of Environmental Studies) and Harris Ali (Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies), have just released a new book, , which does just that. It鈥檚 especially pertinent because the issue is our dying planet.

The authors of this book 听潭 听essential reading for academics, students, practitioners, policy- and decision- makers, and historians听 潭 听believe that environmental management (EM) is facing a mounting ecological crisis. They emphasize that the full magnitude of this crisis is unknown and largely imponderable.

Time is of the essence; the planet is at a pivotal point in its history. 鈥淐urrent environmental management is not well equipped to handle the complex and uncertain implications of today鈥檚 ecological crisis,鈥� Mulvihill states. 鈥淣ew approaches need to be comparatively more flexible and imaginative to address future environmental problems of a scale and severity previously unforeseen,鈥� he adds.

EM is the best place to look for solutions. This field has evolved rapidly since the 1970s as a direct result of a variety of ecological issues that demanded policy and regulatory responses. Today, the field is very broad as it folds many closely related disciplines and approaches into the mix. It is also quickly changing. What started nearly 50 years ago as a reactive, compliance-based field has now matured into an expansive, interdisciplinary field of study primarily seeking sustainability.

Book aims to start fresh, introduce new and controversial approaches

In writing this book, Mulvihill and Ali provide a clear, intelligent and rigourous critique of what has been done to date and explore new ideas, some of which are considered by the mainstream to be markedly fringe or radical. They accomplish this, in part, by returning to fundamental questions, such as: What are the purpose, roles, scope and potential for EM?

In their return to basic principles, Mulvihill and Ali also provide a much-needed definition of EM. In fact, they devote several pages to a number of compelling definitions, but conclude that 鈥淓nvironmental management is a broad, collective, collaborative endeavor 鈥� it is nothing less than governance for sustainability.鈥�

The authors believe new approaches need to be flexible and imaginative to address future environmental problems

Asking the tough questions

From the start, the authors are clear that they鈥檙e asking big questions. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the deeper forms of sustainability that we are concerned with in this book,鈥� Ali explains. 鈥淲e鈥檙e interested in more powerful practices that are conceived explicitly to address the ecological crisis and deep, long-term sustainability. This means that the questions we should be asking about environmental management are profound and, to some extent, speculative or even unanswerable given the current state of affairs,鈥� he adds.

Chapters move from describing the situation to pressing for change

Although Mulvihill and Ali say that the book is not an attempt to examine EM in an exhaustive way, they still cover a remarkable terrain, and do so in a logical and compelling fashion. The first four chapters provide the all-important context and examine the key forces influencing new directions in EM. These chapters also provide significant insights into conventional EM. Importantly, this sets the stage for the latter half of the book, which opens with chapter five profiling the current state of alternative EM 鈥� theory, practice, limitations and gaps.

Case studies involving climate change are undertaken in chapter seven, followed by disaster studies and more. Chapter ten hits home with the authors鈥� press for a philosophical reorientation in EM, while subsequent chapters consider experimental applications and prospects for alternative EM.

This new book accomplishes four things particularly well:

• Captures the transient nature of EM and the ever-changing moving parts: natural, social and economic conditions shaped by politics and the public;
• Presents a healthy balance of theory, practice and connections to the real world;
• Integrates insights from disaster management to 鈥榖lack swan thinking鈥� 鈥� a metaphor referring to unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence, like an oil spill or high pollution levels, often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight; and
• Formulates a timely call for a re-orientation in environmental thinking.

The book, , was published by Routledge in 2017. For more information about Mulvihill, visit his . For more information about Ali, visit his .

To learn more about Research & Innovation at 91亚色, watch the , see the or visit the .

By Megan Mueller, manager, research communications, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, 91亚色, muellerm@yorku.ca

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The symposium, Everything Under the Sun: 91亚色鈥檚 Engagement in Vital Environment and Climate Change Issues, will take place Thursday, Nov. 17, from 9:30 to 3pm, in the Founders Assembly Hall, 152 Founders College, Keele campus. It is sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. All are welcome, but organizers request that those interested in attending the symposium should submit their RSVP here:听.

The first in a series of events bringing together 91亚色 researchers from diverse fields with common interests, the symposium proceedings may translate into larger research initiatives, both collaborative and individual.

Each speaker will give a 15-minute presentation that will be followed by a five-minute Q&A. The morning session will be chaired by Glendon Professor Christina Clark-Kazak听and Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Carys Craig. The afternoon session will be chaired by Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) political science Professor Sandra Whitworth. Opening remarks will be delivered by Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) Dean No毛l Sturgeon.

William Colgan, professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering, will deliver the first presentation of the day. The impact of climate change on Earth鈥檚 cryosphere is striking and Colgan will speak about how the Greenland Ice Sheet is presently shedding ice at more than 8000 tonnes per second year-round. All around Greenland, glaciers are accelerating their iceberg discharge and meltwater runoff to the ocean is reaching further inland. He will also speak about long forgotten military bases, which were carved into the ice sheet during the Cold War, are now posed for exposure at the ice sheet surface and the disastrous effects on the world if this rate of melting continues to escalate.

Climate change and industrial disasters will be the focus of a presentation by Ali Asgary, professor in the School of Administrative Studies, LA&PS.听While the links between the frequency and magnitude of climate-related natural disasters and the climate change have become clear and more evident in recent years, the links between the climate change and industrial accidents and disasters have not been studies and understood very well. Asgary's presentation will examine the future trends of industrial disasters that may be directly, through climate variables, or indirectly through other natural disasters linked to the climate change.

FES Professor Rod MacRae鈥檚 research focuses on creating a national food agriculture policy for Canada and the set of coherent and comprehensive programs required to support such a policy. MacRae will speak about the food system as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, a reality poorly recognized by most decision makers. He will explore the untapped potential of the food system to contribute significantly to Greenhouse gas reductions听and to build resilience in the face of climate threats.

Research based on laser remote sensing of atmospheres has been carried out at 91亚色 since 1968. The LIDAR (light detection and ranging) systems have been installed in laboratories, ground vehicles, aircraft, icebreaker ships, and spacecraft. Lassonde Professor James Whiteway will discuss field campaigns that have been carried out to study air quality and climate on Earth, and to discover the basic composition and processes in the atmosphere of Mars.

Sea ice in the Arctic is strongly shrinking. However, easy interpretation of the rapidity and causes of the changing conditions are complicated by the fact that the ice moves and deforms, affecting its thickness. However, ice thickness is difficult to observe. Lassonde researcher听Alec Casey will discuss innovative, in-situ, airborne and satellite methods to observe sea ice thickness and show results from some key regions of the Arctic, and demonstrate the need for close collaboration between geophysicists, atmospheric scientists, engineers and biologists.

FES Professor Mark Winfield will examine the status of current federal and provincial policy commitments and strategies with respect to reductions in Greenhouse Gas emissions in Canada. The key opportunities and barriers to the development of a coherent national strategy will be identified and highlighted. Winfield's presentation will identify potential pathways forward for the federal government and leading provinces, and assess the prospects for success.

The energy sector contributes to more than 80 per cent of Canada鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change requires important changes in relationships between technology and communities. However, there is growing concern that lack of diversity in the workforce is a barrier to discourse and innovation of energy in communities. For example, where documented, women often make up less than 20 per cent of an energy sector workforce. FES Professor听Christina Hoicka, the PowerStream Chair in Sustainable Energy Economics, will talk about how to go about finding emerging and established women scholars in energy research topics in order to develop a network for research collaboration.

Lakes in permafrost landscapes are experiencing rapid changes in ecosystem structure and function in response to permafrost thaw. In order to understand the trajectories of ecosystem change driven by thawing permafrost, LA&Ps geography Professor Jennifer Korosi will discuss how a long-term perspective that spans decades to millennia is required to provide necessary context. She will explore how lake sediment cores can be effective for characterizing spatial variability in lake ecosystem change related to permafrost thaw in northern environments.

Librarian William Denten will explore Anthropocene librarianship and making art. Specifically, Denten will show how听听is a sonification of the most recent atmospheric CO鈧� reading at Mauna Loa in Hawaii at the observatory run by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GHG.EARTH is meant as background, ambient music, to be played at a low volume while one does other things. The next day the sound will be a little different. The day after that, a little different again.

There are many techniques to measure the emission of pollutants, aerosols and greenhouse gasses from various sources and each technique has strengths and weaknesses, often balancing cost against uncertainty. Lassonde Professor Mark Gordon will discuss various approaches with examples including deposition and emission of aerosols and volatile organic compounds to and from a forest; emission and mixing of aerosols and CO2 from vehicles on highways; and pollutants and greenhouse gasses emitted from oil sands production facilities.

Everything Under the Sun will conclude with a panel by 91亚色 Associate Vice-Presidents of Research Sushanta Mitra and Celia Haig-Brown. Panellists will be Lassonde Professor Sunil Bisnath, FES adjunct Professor听Kaz Higuchi, 听Lassonde Professor Usman Khan, Lassonde Professor Spiros Pagiatakis and Lassonde Professor Peter Taylor.

Credit: YFile

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