Graduate field school course in India offered in August
A special offering in the Spring 2023 term is a graduate field school course in the area of Environmental Change and Governance. Blue Justice and Coastal Livelihoods to Transition from Vulnerability to Viability will be held August 12-19, 2023 in Chilika, India.
About the course
The notion of Blue Economy/Blue Growth is spreading through the world’s coastline. This has given rise to novel terms such as Blue (In)justice, which is being increasingly used to signify issues of fairness and equity resulting from the unchecked implementation of Blue Economy/Blue Growth agendas. Coastal communities are often hampered when it comes to realizing principles of fairness and equity, and they grapple with historical injustices and current practices that significantly impair their viability and increase their vulnerability. Analyzing vulnerability (and viability) through the prism of environmental and social justice facilitates a holistic understanding and identification of crucial strategies to move towards fair, equitable, and resilient coastal social-ecological systems. This includes treating justice issues as both a cause and effect of vulnerability and viability.
The week-long field school brings together a selected group of up to 50 graduate students and early-career researchers / professionals from academia, government, NGO, and coastal communities. The field school provides a creative platform to deliberate collaboratively and learn about concepts, approaches and methods helpful to achieve a just transition from vulnerability to viability within aquatic social-ecological systems. The School includes a creative mix of both classroom teaching and field training right in the heart of Asia’s largest Lagoon – Chilika. Participants will gain firsthand experience and creatively engage in furthering their understanding and knowledge of just and equitable vulnerability to viability transitions, and with concepts and approaches that are novel, transdisciplinary and problem-oriented in nature.
University of Waterloo students receive course credits towards their successful completion of the Field School (INDEV 617, ERS 675, CR/NCR course). All on-site Field School costs for registered UWaterloo students are covered (this includes local accommodation, all meals, local transportation by bus and boat, field / village community visits, cultural pilgrimage (day-long walking tour) of Puri temple town and the beach, a one-day policy workshop with fishing communities, cultural program and all training costs for eight days). All participants are responsible for costs of flights to arrive to the field school in advance of the start time. A certificate of participation is provided to all those that complete the course.
For further details and to receive permission numbers to REGISTER in INDEV 617/ERS 675, please contact Anastasiya Saparaliyeva (INDEV) or Amanda Campbell (SERS).
The field school directors are Dr. Prateep Nayak and Dr. Derek Armitage.
Photo of fishing boats in Chilika Lagoon, India by Janmejaya Mishra, 2022.
