Speakers:
Michele Koppes, Professor, Department of Geography, UBC
Holly Chubb, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Geography, UBC
Talk title:
Community Co-developed Geohazards Research and Management
The Khumbu, Nepal. Photo Michele Koppes.
The Khumbu, Nepal. Photo Michele Koppes.Talk Abstract:
Mountain communities are among the most exposed to climate-induced natural hazards, including glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and catastrophic landslides. However, communities most affected by geohazards often have limited influence over how research agendas are defined and implemented. At the same time, environmental research is undergoing a critical shift—from historically top-down, Eurocentric models in which priorities are set primarily by academic institutions, toward approaches that center Indigenous and place-based knowledge, and community-defined needs. Drawing on recent collaborative projects with Indigenous and settler communities in Nepal and BC, we reflect on our experiences integrating community perspectives throughout the research lifecycle—from proposal development to outcomes and new research directions. We argue that co-development is not only an ethical imperative, but also essential for producing useful, actionable, natural hazards research. We will explore the challenges and lessons learned from our experiences, and provide practical recommendations for academics across geographical and earth sciences who seek to embed community partnership into their own research.
Speaker Bios:
Michele Koppes is Professor of Geography and Faculty Associate at the Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia.
Her research focuses on landscape response to climate change, from the current day to the long term. She is fascinated with all rates of geomorphic change, particularly the effects of glaciers and humans on mountain landscapes and how cultures perceive and adapt to these changes. In addition to her scholarly interests, she is involved in creative science communication, transformative education, and critical approaches to physical geography.
Holly Chubb is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Geography at UBC. She joined the Landscapes of Climate Change Lab in 2021 as a Natural Environment Research Council PhD Candidate from Newcastle University (UK), completing her PhD in the lab in 2024. Her research explores the implications of climate change on high mountain hazards, with a focus on contemporary examples from the Patagonian Andes and Coast Mountains: the 2010 Qw’elqw’elústen (Mount Meager) debris flow, 2017 Villa Santa Lucía aluvión, and 2019 N’skenú7 (Joffre Peak) landslides.
She investigates how a degrading cryosphere is increasing the frequency and magnitude of these phenomena, with a special interest in the bulking and entrainment mechanism of catastrophic mass movement events, using event signatures preserved in the geomorphological record for hazard understanding and prediction.
Her postdoctoral work has expanded to consider community-centred approaches to managing risks from catastrophic mass movements in Canada in Chile.
This is hybrid event hosted in Geog 229 and on zoom.
