Acting on Weather & Climate

Networks and Infrastructure for Adaptation and Mitigation Decision Making

FOCI’s Work Package on ‘Networks and Infrastructure for Adaptation and Mitigation Decision Making’ led by Dr. Joel Finnis focuses on infrastructures designed to facilitate planning around weather-driven hazards and climate change. Central to these activities is recognition that fostering coastal community sustainability in the context of a changing climate requires i) relevant, reliable guidance on anticipated climate impacts; ii) resources to identify and communicate weather hazards as they happen, and iii) availability of viable, cost-effective adaptation options. Designing infrastructures to meet these is best done through co-production of knowledge by practitioners (e.g. forecasters, climate scientists, engineers) and stakeholders, ensuring that resulting guidance is relevant and inclusive of diverse perspectives.

‘Sustainable Coastal Atlantic Canada Dialogues’ Report

by Finbar Hefferon, Mark C.J. Stoddart, Natalie Slawinski, Bojan Furst, Catherine Potvin and Howard Ramos

Throughout the ‘Sustainable Coastal Atlantic Canada Dialogues’ sessions held in October 2020, panelists and other attendees from a wide variety of sectors and research perspectives shared their thoughts and past experiences in collaborative research. These tips are applicable across FOCI work packages and focus on effective partner engagement, as well as advice for communicating research concepts and results. The report touches on effective partner engagement, communicating research, and addressing sustainability crises. The sessions set the foundation for FOCI collaboration and communication and provided a crucial starting point for dialogue among FOCI members.

Eat The Coast. Pictured from right: Leo Hearn, Meg Young, Lea Mary Movelle, and Sam Morton. Photo credit: Social Justice Co-operative NL

Social Justice Co-operative NL

The Social Justice Co-operative NL is a non-profit member-owned co-operative that formed in 2013 to continue Oxfam NL’s 50+ year tradition of speaking out for social justice, connecting the local with the global, and working with like-minded agencies for common social change goals in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 2019, the SJC has been leading a campaign to address the climate crisis in NL by connecting with activists and organizing a wide range of actions with a vision of anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and international worker solidarity. As a FOCI partner, we have helped connect researchers with grassroots organizers working on food sovereignty to help inform them about the projects being done and the ideas being discussed at the community level. Our lead on this project, Kerri Claire Neil, has spoken at FOCI’s Sustainable Coastal Atlantic Dialogues event in October 2020, provided input for an online survey for FOCI’s work package 6 on ‘Perceptions of Climate Change and Social Futures’, and has been involved in providing input for an upcoming project with the Ocean School.

Bright Future: Researcher Spotlight

Meet Om Prakash Yadav

Trained in dentistry, specialized in Public Health Dentistry (both from India), Mr. Om Prakash Yadav is pursuing a second master's in Community Health at MUN. He was the recipient of the Shree Mulay Community Health Graduate Award and the Mitacs Research Training Award at MUN. Additionally, he received the "Medal of Merit" award at the UNESCO/UNITWIN Network Web Seminar-2020 for his outstanding presentation.

He is assisting Drs. Atanu Sarkar and Desai Shan with two research projects as a research assistant. He gathered and collated approximately 100,000 data points for the study to evaluate geographical and temporal patterns in distributing different environmental pollutants across Europe. He is now collaborating with Dr. Shan on a study examining growing problems in Canadian marine governance.

Mr. Yadav recently submitted his master thesis titled "Risk perceptions of occupational noise exposure and its impacts on fish harvesters' health in Newfoundland and Labrador: A mixed-methods study."

Research and involvement with FOCI

Mr. Yadav is working within work package 1, "Improving safety and reducing the environmental footprint of marine vehicles by design and operation," under the supervision of Dr. Lorenzo Moro. His research focuses on occupational exposure to noise and its associated health impacts on fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. He performed the study to ascertain the impression of noise risk and self-reported hearing problems among fish harvesters. Additionally, he investigated the non-auditory health consequences of noise exposure among fish harvesters. This study will identify fish harvesters' noise-related perceptions and behaviors and highlight existing policy gaps in Canada's current noise regulatory framework.

Mr. Yadav co-chairs the Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Caucus with fellow FOCI researchers. The Caucus aims to provide its younger members with the skills and connections required to assist them in achieving FOCI goals and professional objectives. He is a regular attendee at HQP sessions. During one of the HQP meetings, he also presented and discussed his master's thesis findings.

‘Getting it Right’ Dialogue

Upcoming OFI Module I Workshop

As OFI Module I is approaching the project’s final stage, they aim to bring together lessons from the research to inform governance for fisheries and ocean sustainability. The “Getting it Right” Dialogue is a key opportunity to facilitate discussion about the change and transition that may be required as we move forward. The Dialogue is tentatively scheduled to be held in person in St. John’s, as an ‘in-person’ meeting, in the Summer of 2022. They are now inviting the public to contribute ideas on themes and topics they need to address at the Dialogue. Share your idea by completing a short survey in the link below!

Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Building collaborative interdisciplinary research infrastructure in Atlantic Canada’s lobster fisheries

Apply by September 17, 2021

FOCI invites applications for a Post-Doctoral Fellow position to support the development of industry-led collaborative research infrastructure that will gather and integrate biological data on lobster with new data on social and economic performance of the fishery into a sustainability framework that can be used to inform adaptive decision-making. The preferred start date for this position is November 2021.

Blue Future Pathways Program with Fishing for Success

Looking for Regional Coordinators

Apply as soon as possible

Blue Futures Pathways aims to connect youth across Canada with education, employment and funding opportunities that inspire and support them in developing a successful career in the emerging Sustainable Blue Economy. Our partner Fishing for Success in Petty Harbour, NL is currently seeking a graduate student based near St. John's/Petty Harbour who is permitted to work in Canada for this position on a four-month contract with possibility for extension.

Contact Kimberly Orren at kimberly.orren@islandrooms.org for more information.

About FOCI

The Future Ocean and Coastal Infrastructures (FOCI) program is facilitating innovative transdisciplinary research and outreach focused on the creative co-design of infrastructures to prepare for change and build safe, sustainable and inclusive communities in Atlantic Canada.