ESRG

Current Research

ESRG engages in transdisciplinary research aimed at improving human-environment interactions. Focused on the human dimensions of environmental resource issues, our research projects link factors influencing the sustainability of land and natural resource use in complex settings, for example, human perceptions of ecosystems, environmental change, social organization and power relations, and local-global economic forces.
New opportunities for involvement are emerging all the time and we welcome expressions of interest from individuals and groups interested in working with the ESRG. Please visit this page often or contact us for updates.
ESRG projects are collaboratively designed with partners from various sectors to address specific environmental problems.

  • CANSTOREnergy Project (2023-Ongoing)

  • Designing Governance Frameworks for Protected Areas with Meaningful Indigenous Participation (2020-2025)

  • A First Nation-University Partnership for Capacity Enhancement in Forest Land Governance (2019-2024)

  • C-LAND: Climate Learning and Adaptation for Northern Development (2018-2024)

CANSTOREnergy Project

David Sinton (Principal Investigator), Kate Neville (Co-PI), Drew Higgins (Co-PI), Heather MacLean (Co-PI). Gisele Azimi, Laurel Besco, Ryan Bullock, Tracey Galloway, Maya Papineau, David Silas, Yimin Wu, Melanie Zurba, Aimy Bazylak, Joule Bergerson, Cheryl Teelucksingh, Chandra Veer Singh, Dwight Seferos, Christina Hoicka, Michael Ross, Edward Sargent, April Franco, Curtis Berlinguette, and Viola Birss (Co-Applicants)
Funded by: New Frontiers in Research Fund

In order to mitigate climate change and to address social inequality in Canada, our energy systems must be re-envisioned. Although Canada has vast renewable energy capacity, the country remains deeply reliant on fossil fuels. The key barrier to expanding renewable energy sources is a lack of seasonal energy storage, as demand for fuel increases during fall and winter. At present, storing excess energy generated during spring and summer for later use is a considerable challenge. The CANSTOREnergy Project aims at advancing the science and technology of conversion of renewable energy into carbon-based fuels, designing a new way to store energy to be used when it is needed.

The key objectives and outcomes include:

  1. Transforming the way that energy is stored by integrating policy, community engagement, and ownership models to influence technological development; and
  2. Creating technology to provide communities with the capacity to store renewable electricity for later use. This will consider the differing seasonal challenges that Northern and Southern communities encounter in Canada.

This project will design a new way of storing energy by building a process for designing technology which values both local input and control. This project is led by colleagues at the UofT. Bullock and members of the Environment and Society Research Group are part of the DIRECT team, which works to engage communities throughout the energy project.

Designing Governance Frameworks for Protected Areas with Meaningful Indigenous Participation

Melanie Zurba (Principal Investigator), Ryan Bullock (Co-Investigator)
Funded by: Mitacs

Many Indigenous communities have been navigating involvement in protected area (PA) governance for several decades despite often being marginalized from decision-making processes or assigned roles in the governance of PAs that are less than meaningful and do not align with traditional, cultural or spiritual values. It is well understood that social-ecological systems (such as PAs) generally require joint action from multiple partners due to their complexity and multi-jurisdictional nature. There is growing awareness among Indigenous communities, academics, governments, and global conservation organizations that social and environmental benefits of PAs should be secured through Indigenous participation and collaboration within PA governance systems.

Our proposed research has several objectives, though its overarching goal is to generate knowledge for shaping, implementing and assessing Indigenous collaboration in governance frameworks for global PAs. Addressing meaningful participation of Indigenous peoples in PA governance will enable organizations to move beyond structural injustices often embedded in existing frameworks and support emergent frameworks that promote more equitable and environmentally sound processes and outcomes. Advancement of knowledge:

The project aims to produce research outcomes that are valuable in both practical and scholarly contexts. Specifically considering Indigenous participation and collaboration in International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) PA programs and initiatives, this project will extend previous research activities with Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs) from Australia, Canada, and abroad. The research will integrate governance theory, social learning, and participatory social impact assessment tools, and will address gaps between existing PA governance frameworks and policies, and on-the-ground outcomes for Indigenous communities. The research will facilitate intercultural and intergenerational communication, centering itself on Indigenous perspectives, and will promote a long-term continuity of knowledge and stewardship of PAs by Indigenous communities. This timely project will inform future participation and collaboration through IUCN programs and initiatives that are geared towards developing frameworks for a global network of terrestrial and marine PAs. Our approach includes engaging with key informants and collaboratively developing case studies with partners from Indigenous People’s Organizations and academic institutions.

A First-Nation University Partnership for Capacity Enhancement in Forest Land Governance

Ryan Bullock (Principal Investigator), Jordan Gardner (Co-Investigator), Alan Diduck (Collaborator)
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Canada’s Indigenous forest communities must be able to conserve ecosystems, be adaptive amid forces of economic restructuring, and address conflict to support local wellbeing. Conventional governance and development systems often erode the resilience of forest communities by removing benefits and introducing local disparity and instability. Communities are now finding influence and value in collaboration, especially in dispersed rural settings. To date, little attention has been given to how communities can use forest management planning to build these linkages and capacity, and there are explicit calls for increased linkages among governments, academics, and industry, recognizing that collaboration for innovation is not happening to the degree which it could and should. As groups engage in to rethink relationships among communities, governments, industries, and forests, there is a demand for relevant knowledge, partnering opportunities, and exchange of skills and resources. Proven approaches needed to support constructive interactions and collaborations remain largely undefined and those that exist need to be more widely shared.

Goals and Objectives: Our partnership will address the need for partnered research and capacity building towards sustainable forest land governance. This locally mandated partnership will support interdisciplinary research, education, and action to advance Indigenous community and forest land sustainability. Our overriding goal is to identify, share, and build on existing models and techniques to support community capacity building through First Nation community and university collaboration. We will do this by conducting community-based research to 1) analyze how First Nations and settler Canadian relations can be reconciled through forest governance models that produce sustainable benefits and support economic, cultural and ecological multi-party priorities; 2) develop First Nation-university capacity building initiatives, benefits, and participation needed to respond to shifting sectoral and societal demands in forestry; 3) mobilize different knowledges among forestry professionals, youth, Elders and university researchers and students.

Breadth of Partnership and Engagement: Our partnership will support a consortium of practitioners, Indigenous and settler communities, youth and scholars who will engage in applied community-based research and experimentation. Our membership will be inclusive and open to community members who want to be involved in related activities. Our networked research approach, rooted in the expressed needs of research participants, will engage partners in building ownership, communication, and advocacy into the research program. The approach values empowerment, inclusivity, diversity, and democratic decision making in the research process. Participants will be supported to engage in all stages of the research process, from question identification to data collection and analysis, as well as dissemination. Partner organizations will benefit through access to a diverse partnership that will provide information, data-sharing, and informational tools. Network access will lead to strengthened interactions and communication with participants, and to new collaborative relationships, putting local knowledge and leadership into action.

C-LAND: Climate Learning and Adaptation for Northern Development

Ryan Bullock (Principal Investigator), Alan Diduck (Co-Investigator)
Funded by: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Climate change is transforming northern environments at an alarming rate (IPCC 2014). Rising global demand for Canada’s resources is creating unparalleled economic opportunities but also demands (Crowley and Coates 2013). Due to environmental and economic change, northern communities are undergoing fundamental socio-economic and cultural transformations (Bullock et al. 2016). Governments and industries managing renewable resources are increasingly pressed to address long-term plans for adaptation to large-scale disturbances, while continuing to meet short-term business and governance needs.

Recognizing the climate change uncertainties facing the Canadian natural resources sector today, this research will examine how to improve adaptive capacity in Canada’s renewable resource sectors, with a focus on forestry and hydroelectricity. Our objectives are to:

  1. Assess awareness and multi-scale learning (i.e., cognitive, normative, behavioural, relational and organizational changes) about climate change adaptation;
  2. Gain insights into how learning occurs (i.e., learning process conditions and how learning outcomes influence adaptations and inform policy) in innovative organizational models; and;
  3. Explain how learning can support adaptive capacity in complex governance settings.

The findings of this research will offer insights and decision-making tools applicable to resource sectors and communities across Canada as well as internationally. Building this knowledge base will act on Canada’s commitments from the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21) as well as federal objectives for achieving A Clean Growth Economy, namely to advance renewables and new climate adaptation strategies through innovation for increased “resilience in the North and Indigenous communities” (Government of Canada 2016).

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