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7th Annual Water Research Roundup

This year’s water research roundup webinar will feature water governance researchers and emerging professionals Emma Griggs (Simon Fraser University), Leona Shepherd (Thompson Rivers University), and Olívia Andrade de Almeida (University of Victoria). They will discuss their current work on priority issues related to watershed security and governance.

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The speakers will explore:

• The role of contemporary provincial legislation in managing cumulative effects in watersheds, particularly in the context of implementing B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and threats due to climate change.

• The relationship between wildfire and climate change, with a focus on using models to investigate trends in extreme fire weather events.

• Third sector engagement in water and sanitation delivery, water epistemologies, and community-based participatory design and mapping.

A Q&A will follow, hosted by Laura Brandes (POLIS Water Sustainability Project).

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About the Speakers

Emma Griggs has pursued conservation work and study in Australia, Namibia, and trekking in the Himalayas while earning a BSc in Natural Resource Conservation from the University of British Columbia and a Masters of Resource Management from Simon Fraser University (SFU). She was Lab Manager at the SFU Salmon Watersheds Lab, led by Dr. Jonathan Moore (Liber Ero Chair of Coastal Science and Management). Emma’s recently completed graduate work examined the ability of contemporary provincial legislation to manage cumulative effects in watersheds given the implementation of DRIPA and the threats of climate change in western Canada. Emma is now an Associate with JG&A | Dovetail Consulting Group.

Leona Shepherd is the coordinator at the University of Victoria’s POLIS Wildfire Resilience Project and has worked as a wildland firefighter. She is also a Masters student at Thompson Rivers University, where her work explores the relationship between wildfire and climate change, using models to investigate trends in extreme fire weather events. Leona’s research interests lie at the intersection between fire ecology, fire weather, and ecological governance. She is passionate about fostering the development of integrated strategies to adapt landscape and fire management to the challenges posed by climate change.

Olívia Andrade de Almeida is a Project Manager for the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, a PhD Candidate in Public Administration, and a sessional instructor for Regional and Urban Development at the School of Public Administration, University of Victoria. She completed her MA in Development Studies at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University. Her research focuses on third sector engagement with water and sanitation delivery, water epistemologies, and community-based participatory design and mapping. Prior to relocating to Lək̓ʷəŋən Territory, she worked in the third sector with emergency water and sanitation delivery at the border between Brazil and Venezuela, and has since acted as a consultant for the Victoria Foundation, the One Drop Foundation, and Kitselas and Kitsumkalum Nations, contributing expertise in the evaluation of project management frameworks, while also advancing research, spatial visualization and digital mapping to inform policy, development strategies, and community participation.

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The Creating a Blue Dialogue webinar series brings together expert water practitioners and thinkers, as well as emerging water leaders, to engage with innovative ideas on water policy and governance in Canada. By creating an online community of interest, the series strengthens the national capacity to engage with and solve problems, and raises awareness about emerging Canadian water issues, best practices, and policies. The series began in 2010 and is hosted by the POLIS Water Sustainability Project at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria.