It might be one final project for one undergraduate class, but the findings could have an impact for years to come.
Around the River Bend: Global Climate Change, Water Security and the Implications for Canada, an in-depth report on the subject spanning roughly 200 pages, is the cumulative project of Western’s Honors Specialization in International Relations module.
The project’s intention was to examine the issue of climate change as it relates to Canadian policy, but thanks to ambitious students, it evolved to an impressive report the group hopes will make its way to the hands of government and foreign policy makers, said Tom Deligiannis, the instructor for this year’s International Relations capstone course.
In the first term, students looked at the issue of climate change in a broad context, narrowing their final project’s focus to the issue of water security in the second term. That project was meant to be roughly 80 pages long. But the students, highly motivated and involved, really stepped up, he said.
“Initially, they didn’t really understand the implications globally, and for Canada, and the extent of the implications. They now have a better, thorough understanding of the implications of climate change, and what foreign policy challenges could emerge from that,” Deligiannis said. He added something like water security poses various challenges ranging from food security to economic security, across the globe.
“When you do a report on climate change, the issue can get politicized. This report wasn’t about mitigation; this was about dealing with the consequences of adaptation and mitigation,” he added.
“The issue touches so many other issues. It’s an issue that won’t go away and the current government isn’t talking too much about it. They (the students) came to appreciate it as an issue important to their lives, that this is your future and these are challenges your generation is going to have to deal with.”
The students should be walking away from the course with a sense of accomplishment, pride and great professionalization, on top of the lessons learned in the course, he continued.
“I’m really proud of the work that they did and the effort they put into it. They hunger for projects where they can have some relevance.”
Deligiannis said he’s been in contact with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service because they employ academic research in their work through an academic liaison. He plans to send the report to members of parliament, the Department of Foreign Affairs and to critics as well.
“I hope it can reach people in the government and environmental critics in the House of Commons. I hope it reaches people who are willing to read it and understand how catastrophic it would be if nothing comes from mitigation and adaptation needs,” said Melinda Stevenson, one of the students.
“I had little to no experience with it (climate change) and hadn’t taken a course on it. Now I know how much this will impact everyone throughout the world, knowing how many fields it can impact – agriculture, energy,” she added.
Classmate Patrick Chapman hadn’t previously considered the different ways climate change and water security can impact the world.
“You don’t really think about how important water is until you look at every sector and see how important it is in primary resources, manufacturing, refinery,” he said.
“Even if the report is read by a few people who just start to understand the issue, it will be good, if it can help people see climate change isn’t just showing up as shorter winters in Canada. It would be good if more people were aware of the relation between the natural environment, national politics and policy. As a whole, there’s not a great awareness. If there is, it’s not reflected in current policy or rhetoric.”