New publications: Mohaddese Ghadiri looks at the development and planning of sustainable food systems
Congratulations to SPA PhD Student Mohaddese Ghadiri for publishing two new articles in the Journal of Environmental Management and in the journal Challenges together with her Supervisors Dr. Tamara Krawchenko (Associate Professor SPA) and Dr. Robert Newell (Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair in Climate Change, Biodiversity & Sustainability Royal Roads University). This research is part of the Climate–Biodiversity–Health (CBH) Nexus project of the The Transdisciplinary Research on Integrated Approaches to Sustainability (TRIAS) lab led by Dr. Robert Newell.
This research uses participatory system mapping to help understand and support the development of sustainable and resilient food systems. The article “Participatory system mapping for food systems: Lessons learned from a case study of Comox Valley” ground truths a system map of food systems through participatory methods and explains how participatory system mapping can be employed to clarify the complexity of food systems in a clear and concise manner for all stakeholders. This research contributes to the literature on participatory system mapping, including critiques of its practical utility, by employing participatory approaches to visualize multi-dimensional and multi-level system maps with an emphasis on verifying that they are clear, understandable/useful, and reliable for diverse stakeholder audiences.
The article “Applying a climate-biodiversity-health framework to support integrated food systems planning and policy” applies a context-based lens and place-based approach that engages stakeholders for integrated planning in food systems. It presents the various one-way and two-way relationships between areas of food systems, climate, biodiversity and human health and demonstrates the importance of integrated perspectives for community food systems planning in order to comprehensively understand the benefits and trade-offs of different food strategies and approaches.
