Providing solutions to promote environmental sustainability and human development

By Amanda Appasamy, 1st year MDP student

I embarked on my journey in the MDP program with a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving. My field placement at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in Winnipeg has offered me an opportunity to work on various projects and has helped me understand the role of an international organization in providing practical solutions to the challenges that are faced in promoting human development and environmental sustainability.

 

L-R: Anika Terton (Program Officer), Amanda, Cameron Hunter (Program Assistant) & Jo-Ellen Perry (Adaption Lead)

IISD is a non for profit world leading centre for research and innovation. It promotes equity, citizen engagement, undertakes policy analysis, i.e., economic policy and law, freshwater, energy, integrated knowledge, adaption and resilience and provides practical solutions to help governments, institutions and businesses make tangible advancements on environmental, economic and social policies.

L-R: Karla Zubrycki (Project Manager, Water Program), Amanda and Dimple Roy (Director, Water Program)

My first six weeks at IISD have been an excellent learning experience. I had the opportunity to slowly build relationships with the people I am working with, as well as undertake research work, attended conferences and conduct interviews that have helped to enhance my understanding of the different challenges that communities face locally and internationally on multiple levels. Some of the tasks that I have completed and currently working on include:

• The creation of a user-friendly community-level decision support tool for Ecosystem-based Adaptation in developing countries with Anika Terton, the project officer for the resilience and energy program. This project is a joint collaboration with IISD and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Being involved in this project, allowed me to understand how critical ecosystems and ecosystem services are to livelihoods, especially in reducing climate change vulnerabilities and in improving adaptive capacities.
• Looking at the co-management of large area planning in Northern Manitoba specifically in the Nelson-Churchill River Basin by Indigenous communities and other existing entities and the use of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge in ecosystem management planning. Watershed ecosystem is crucial to human well-being, animals, and the environment as it provides benefits such as clean water, aquatic habitat, regulating temperatures to cultural and spiritual benefits. I particularly looked at the potential role of the Resource Management Boards in large area planning and had the opportunity to conduct interviews with decision makers at the Indigenous Municipal Relations (IMR). This project has allowed me to better understand trans-jurisdictional challenges, socio-economic issues and challenges faced by Northern communities in trusting the government due to the legacy of colonisation. Nevertheless, IMR is actively working on the path towards reconciliation by building relationships and valuing community leadership.
• Literature review of climate change and gender in Canada and identifying the level of integration of gender considerations in the National Adaptation Plan of developing countries.
• Climate change and non-climatic challenges in peri-urban communities in Latin America.

Monitoring in Development Practice

By Oluwabusola Olaniyan, 2nd year MDP student

I have been given an opportunity to intern at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). This practicum has been impactful and the experience garnered is an eye opener to new possibilities for development.

First and foremost, at the start of the placement, I was assigned to a monitoring task, which I felt was outside of my comfort zone, based on my previous experience. Identifying my skill gap, I took up the challenge as an opportunity to better understand the concepts and models involved in monitoring. 

Over the past two months of in-depth exposure to monitoring activities and collaboration with experienced monitoring staff at IISD, I have become a more knowledgeable development practitioner. My initial cold feet about monitoring has been transformed into a strength.

Busola testing water from the Assiniboine River

Specifically, my work focuses on water monitoring, including a long term monitoring strategy, which is one of the four thematic knowledge areas of IISD. Water monitoring entails the collection phase, the analysis phase and the reporting phase. It involves a cross-sectional review of the reporting components of Manitoba and Ontario water-monitoring programs. 

Indeed, I better understand how water monitoring reporting influences the management of water resources and the development of efficient water policies. In the same vein, the internship revealed how monitoring reporting can help bridge the gap between science and policies in the hopes for greater water security. Working as a water-monitoring intern, I feel better equipped with the knowledge of secondary monitoring while building on the research knowledge acquired through MDP. However, it is not so much the crystallized knowledge learned during my course of study, but more so it is the environmental awareness, scientific knowledge, the ability for independent initiatives and the critical analysis and problem solving skills I have developed over time.

I also have a greater understanding of power relationships between the tri-sector players in the society- the government, the private sector and the NGOs/civil society organisations, and learning how social, economic and environmental context influences these relations. 

My ultimate achievement during this placement is the treasured knowledge I am acquiring, the collaboration and interactions with development experts and handing real-life projects, which is beyond but complementary to what was taught in the classroom.

Youth Voice in Building More Inclusive Cities

By Adesuwa Ero, 1st year MDP student

One project which I was involved in during the first couple of weeks of my field placement at International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) was an Indigenous youth roundtable.  Youth were brought together to discuss their dreams about a future Winnipeg and ideas on how to enhance the social, environmental and economic well-being of our city. The roundtable was facilitated by the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre Inc., and is one of a series of roundtables currently going on across the Canada as part of an initiative of the Cities for People group.

Adesuwa (centre), Sharon Redsky (on her left), Pauline Gerrard (sitting at far left) with youth and their coordinators

The event really resonated with me as there were a number of overarching issues that stood out based on feedback, highlighting the seemingly little things that are prevalent in the city and are not receiving adequate attention or basically are being overlooked. My mentor Pauline Gerrard and I representing the International Institute for Sustainable Development assisted with facilitation and it was indeed an enlightening experience.

Youth at Ma Mawi Roundtable

Listening to the youth speak with such eloquence and enthusiasm about issues they identified as plaguing Winnipeg, I saw a young population who are very much aware of their city. I recall one of the youth coordinators correct one of the youth saying “we don’t use the word Aboriginal anymore, just as the word abnormal is offensive, so is Aboriginal.” Sincerely I had never, up until that day, thought of it that way. It got me thinking of how society labels things/people and the profound effect that could have on how society sees them and how they see themselves. Sometimes they may genuinely come out of a good place without knowing how the receiving party is taking it or what they attach to such labels.

 

Reflecting on the issues that were raised at the roundtable discussion, the subject that struck me the most was racism. I believe amongst other things, racism is very crucial not just to Winnipeg as a city but to Canada as a whole. According to Statistics Canada 2011, Winnipeg has the highest indigenous population than any city in Canada, with a growth rate of 20% within 2006-2011, on a national scale, the indigenous population grew by 20% between 2006 and 2011, compared to only 5% for the non-Aboriginal population. The indigenous population increased at a rate 4 times faster than the mainstream population. We all talk about sustainable development and how we can grow as a people and as a global community. The truth is, addressing these issues locally will have far reaching positive implications, not just for Canada but on a global scale.

Youth doing an energizer during the Roundtable

I heard the youth speak about their experiences with racism mostly in schools, their teachers' lack of knowledge of indigenous history, the derogatory name calling, and systematic racism. This reflects a huge disconnect between people living in the same community. It is a fact that just sustainable development will not happen in Canada if this issue is not adequately addressed. Not only does the government have a role to play, but as individuals living in the society, it is our duty to cleanse ourselves of all forms of stereotyping and start working collegially in making the world a better place. Having discussions like this is a important step in starting a conversation about our city, a platform for the young to influence major decisions that impact them, their families and the city.