Research & Impact

Julie poetry

100 Days shortlisted for Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize

We are thrilled to announce that UBC PhD Candidate and Liu Scholar Juliane Okot Bitek’s book, 100 Days, has been shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize.   For 100 days, Juliane Okot Bitek recorded the lingering nightmare of the Rwandan genocide in a poem—each poem recalling the senseless loss of life and of innocence. […]

crops, cropland productivity, climate change finance, climate defence

Integrated Natural Resource Management Chair

February 10th, 2017 The Panel on Integrated Resource Management by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) has announced that Cassie Doyle, CEO of the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI) at UBC, is now Chair of the newly appointed Expert Panel on Integrated Natural Resource Management. “Ms. Doyle has a distinguished public service career, including an […]

Liu West Mall

In Solidarity – Official Statements and Resources

We, at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, stand in solidarity with those impacted by the travel ban in the U.S., and with the Muslim community at UBC and beyond during this difficult time. Our research and relationships span the globe and recent events impact the freedom of our faculty, staff and students to travel abroad […]

An_Aerial_View_of_the_Za'atri_Refugee_Camp

Confronting the Refugee Crisis: What Role Can We Play?

Faculty, students and alumni across the UBC Faculty of Arts are confronting the global refugee crisis in a myriad of ways, whether by working directly with migrants, reporting on the refugee crisis from the field or offering policy advice on refugee resettlement programs in Canada. The Faculty of Arts asked four scholars from across UBC, including Liu Faculty […]

UBC-Yale Fox Fellow

Reflections as a UBC-Yale Fox Fellow – Şule Yaylacı

Şule Yaylacı is currently a UBC-Yale Fox Fellow and in the final year of her PhD at UBC. Her research examines the impact of organized intrastate political violence on the political culture in democratic settings. Learn more about her experiences as a Fox Fellow over the past four months at Yale. Note: The Liu Institute for Global […]

Splane

Splane Lecture in Social Policy: Sense & Debility with Dr. Catherine Frazee

In November 2016, the 
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 Richard
 B.
 Splane 
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Social
 Policy presented: Sense and Debility: How disability figures in progressive social policy with Dr. Catherine Frazee. Please find a video recording of her lecture below: Splane Lecture Paper: Sense & Debility: How disability figures in progressive social policy, full transcript by Dr. Catherine Frazee […]

Raphael Roman in Tofino

Synopsis: Enhancing Production in Coho: Culture, Community and Catch Project and Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable

Learn about MPPGA student Raphaël Roman’s work on the “Enhancing Production in Coho: Culture, Community and Catch” Project and his recent presentation at the Clayoquot Salmon Roundtable in Tofino, B.C.

Silhouette of a family with children refugees

Reflections on Breaking the Cycle Symposium and The Consul

Did you know that one in every 113 people globally is now either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee? Wars and persecution have driven more people from their homes than ever before, according to the UNHCR 2016 report Global Trends. It is this dire reality that compelled UBC’s Opera Ensemble and the Liu Institute for […]

soybean

A Return to Low Commodity Prices and U.S. Dumping

By Sophia Murphy, Liu Scholar Originally posted on October 20, 2016: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)  As international trade diplomats contemplate the latest move in their world—a formal complaint by the United States about China’s use of price supports for its farmers, lodged at the WTO last week—I am in Delhi to present […]

zimmer_power_plant

Harnessing Carbon Pricing to Build Competitive Advantage

Lucian Go is a Yale Fox International Fellow visiting the Liu Institute for Global Issues for 2016-17. His research is focused on climate policy and innovation. A Clear Signal: Harnessing Carbon Pricing to Build Competitive Advantage Trudeau’s government made waves this month by announcing plans for a national minimum carbon price, set to rise to […]

Liu Forest Courtyard

The Harper Factor: Assessing a Prime Minister’s Policy Legacy

A year after Canadians voted to replace Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, a new book is challenging some of the popular analyses about the former prime minister. The Harper Factor: Assessing a Prime Minister’s Policy Legacy, assembles some of the country’s foremost experts to evaluate his long-term impact on Canadian public policy and institutions. One of […]

Liu Professor Sets Scene at 2016 Our Ocean Conference

Liu Professor Sets Scene at 2016 Our Ocean Conference

 “The notion that the ocean I grew up with is not something that I can pass on to my kids and my grandkids is unacceptable” – President Obama Obama’s opening remarks at the 2016 Our Ocean Conference highlight an ever growing concern that the oceans that shape our world are being taken for granted. September […]

Quantum Leap: China’s Satellite and the New Arms Race

Quantum Leap: China’s Satellite and the New Arms Race

Taylor Owen’s new article in Foreign Affairs explores the exciting and terrifying possibilities that the new generation of quantum science brings. Could China’s new quantum satellite mean the start of an Arms Race?

Silhouette of a family with children refugees

Last Stop: Germany?

The Liu Institute for Global Issues’ video series, Seeking Refuge, focuses on different aspects of the refugee crisis we are witnessing in today’s world. The series includes a number of short videos that consist of snippets from interviews with Liu Institute and UBC Professors with legal and geopolitical expertise on refugee issues. Compelling questions such […]

Time for the hard work on meaningful climate policy

Time for the hard work on meaningful climate policy

Time for the hard work on meaningful climate policy George Hoberg (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) 22 July, 2016 According to Professor George Hoberg, Canada has so far relied on uncoordinated provincial climate initiatives, such as a carbon tax in BC, a ban on coal in Ontario, and regulatory instruments in Alberta, to meet its […]

Town Hall with the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs

Town Hall with the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs

On Friday, July 22nd, we were joined by the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Cabinet Committee in Environment, Climate Change and Energy for a town hall on Canada’s role in climate friendly economic development and the impacts of climate change on Canada and Asia, ahead of the Minister’s […]

Workshop: Women and Girls in Conflict - Learning from Lived Experience to Inform Policy Responses

Learning from Lived Experience

In mid-June 2016, Professor Erin Baines, along with author Evelyn Amony, participated in two special events in New York focused on the stories of victims of sexual and gender-based violence. The events were co-organized by UN Women, the International Center for Transitional Justice, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC, and generously hosted by the […]

An_Aerial_View_of_the_Za'atri_Refugee_Camp

Then & Now

The Liu Institute for Global Issues’ video series, Seeking Refuge, focuses on different aspects of the refugee crisis we are witnessing in today’s world. The series includes a number of short videos that consist of snippets from interviews with Liu Institute and UBC Professors with legal and geopolitical expertise on refugee issues. Compelling questions such […]

Cutting a lifeline to maritime crime: marine insurance and IUU fishing

Cutting a lifeline to maritime crime: marine insurance and IUU fishing

Cutting a lifeline to maritime crime: marine insurance and IUU fishing Rashid Sumaila (Liu Faculty Affiliate, University of British Columbia), Dana D Miller, Duncan Copeland, Dirk Zeller, Baris Soyer, Theodora Nikaki, George Leloudas, Stig T Fjellberg, Rebecca Singleton, Daniel Pauly 6 June 2016 This study is available for download here. New research from the University of […]

Seeking Refuge

Seeking Refuge

The Liu Institute for Global Issues’ video series, Seeking Refuge, focuses on different aspects of the refugee crisis we are witnessing in today’s world. The series includes a number of short videos that consist of snippets from interviews with Liu Institute and UBC Professors with legal and geopolitical expertise on refugee issues. Compelling questions such […]

Virtual Reality documentary wins Peabody Award

Virtual Reality documentary wins Peabody Award

Professor Taylor Owen worked alongside James Milward to create a Virtual Reality documentary, Ebola Outbreak: A Virtual Journey. This month, the documentary won a Peabody Award prize honoring excellence and innovation in digital storytelling. Named the Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Award, this initiative embodies shared core interests of the Peabody Awards and Facebook in recognizing stories […]

UBC-Yale Fox and Fulbright Fellows

Liu Scholars Honoured as Yale-UBC Fox Fellows

Şule Yaylacı, Liu Scholar and PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science as well as Lily Ivanova, Liu Scholar and Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at UBC were recently recognized as Yale-UBC Fox Fellows. The Yale-UBC Fox International Fellows Program is designed to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other […]

Nagasaki_Cranes - Chan

Exploring Nuclear Dangers

On May 3rd, 2016, renowned Japanese actor Sayuri Yoshinaga and composer & pianist Ryūichi Sakamoto visited UBC as part of a series of events organized by the Centre for Japanese Research, in collaboration with the Liu Institute for Global Issues, The Simons Foundation, the Simon Fraser University Centre for Dialogue and sponsored by The Asahi Shimbun. The […]

sea, ocean, biodiversity

An Ocean of Diplomacy – Negotiating for the Health of our Common Ocean at the UN

Marjo Vierros, Visiting Fellow at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, gave a seminar on April 27th, 2016 on the changing landscape of ocean governance and the recently started negotiations at the United Nations for a new international instrument for marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, or the “global ocean commons.” Historically, our view of the […]

100 Days

100 Days

  The University of Alberta Press recently published 100 Days, a collection of poetry written by Liu Scholar Juliane Okot Bitek, who is a PhD student in the Interdisciplinary Students Graduate Program at the University of British Columbia. For 100 days, Juliane Okot Bitek recorded the lingering nightmare of the Rwandan genocide in a poem. Okot […]

uganda youth, uganda security

New Directions in Research on Gender Based Violence…in Northern Uganda

  Dr. Erin Baines (Associate Professor, Liu Institute for Global Issues) and Beth Stewart (Liu Scholar Alumna, PhD Candidate at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice) recently participated in a workshop at the University of Birmingham: New Directions in Research on Gender Based Violence and Children Born of War in Northern Uganda. The […]

Ending Energy Poverty

Ending Energy Poverty

Hisham Zerriffi, Assistant Professor and Ivan Head South/North Research Chair, Liu Institute for Global Issues, discussed Ending Energy Poverty on The Agenda with Steve Paikin on April 27, 2016. Much of his research focuses on institutional factors impacting the diffusion of new technology, determinants and patterns of household energy choice and welfare implications of rural energy use. […]

MOA Panorama

Truth, Reconciliation, and “Double Settler Denial”

Liu Scholar Alison James co-authored Truth, Reconciliation, and “Double Settler Denial”: Gendering the Canada-South Africa Analogy, where they expand Nagy’s recent findings by gendering the continuum of settler colonial violence in both locations and by outlining the implications of these TRCs for Indigenous and Black women in particular. Read the publication in the Human Rights Review and learn […]

cropland

Verena Seufert’s Take on a New Study on How to Stop Deforestation while Feeding People in 2050

Verena Seufert is a researcher at the Liu Institute for Global Issues and the Institute for Resources Environment & Sustainability, at the University of British Columbia. In light of a new study published in Nature, Exploring the biophysical option space for feeding the world without deforestation, Seufert shares that the findings provide us with “important […]

Nowhere People

On April 7, 2016, the Allard Prize and the Liu Institute for Global Issues hosted Greg Constantine, a documentary photographer from the United States. Constantine presented his 10-year project and book, Nowhere People, which documents the plight of stateless communities around the world. Constantine’s photo, “Boys and men carrying mud in open space,” was the prize winner of […]

UBC Main Mall

Prof. Taylor Owen Proposes Policy Challenge for the 21st Century

  At this week’s Public Policy Forum dinner, event honouree, UBC Professor Taylor Owen, challenged institutions and think tanks to evolve and innovate, or risk irrelevance. His remarks are published in this OpenCanada article. Taylor Owen, Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Global Affairs at the Liu Institute for Global Issues and School of Journalism and OpenCanada’s […]

UBC Main Mall

Visiting Fellow in Residence Call for Applications Has Ended

*Please note: The Call for Applications for the academic year 2016-17 has now ended. The Liu Institute for Global Issues and Green College at the University of British Columbia invite applications for the position of Liu Institute Visiting Fellow in Residence at Green College for the academic year 2016-17. The position offers the opportunity for […]

Taylor Owen Wins Emerging Leader Policy Award

Taylor Owen Wins Emerging Leader Policy Award

MPPGA Professor Taylor Owen is being awarded the 2016 Emerging Leader Award from Canada’s Public Policy Forum in Toronto today, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the quality of public policy and good governance. Taylor is Assistant Professor, Digital Media and Global Affairs, UBC and Founder & Editor-in-Chief of OpenCanada.org.

Liu Case Room

Margaret Purdy Named to Review Canada's Defence Policy

Margaret Purdy is one of the four eminent Canadians named today by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to the national Advisory Panel on Canada’s defence policy review. The ministerial advisory panel will help craft a comprehensive plan for the military’s size and scope in the future. Learn more in the CBC article. Margaret is former associate deputy […]

MPPGA Gondola Ride

Become a Global Change Maker

UBC’s new two-year, professional Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA) program equips students with a broad policy foundation of multidisciplinary policy analysis and design skills as well as subject-specific expertise in development, sustainability and global governance. Visit mppga.ubc.ca for more details.

DRC_Panel_ErinBaines

Dominic Ongwen and the Search for Justice

Dominic Ongwen was a brigade commander in the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) but he was also one of its earliest victims, spending nearly three decades surviving the violence and tumult of war. This article, Dominic Ongwen and the Search for Justice, features research conducted by Liu Institute Professor Erin Baines and partners in Uganda, […]

West Coast

B.C.’s Howe Sound is no place for an LNG facility

Woodfibre LNG Ltd. has proposed the construction of a liquefied natural gas facility at the head of Howe Sound, a scenic fjord beloved by British Columbians, especially those of the Lower Mainland. Wade Davis, Liu faculty affiliate and anthropology professor at the University of British Columbia and Tom Rafael, a retired lawyer argue that there may be […]

Navin Farm

Farming in a Changing Climate

No matter what happens, people still need to eat. Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Global Food Security and Sustainability, with the Liu Institute for Global Issues and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia visited The Agenda to discuss how climate change could affect agriculture around the world and whether we can […]

Yale UBC Fox Fellows

Yale-UBC Fox International Fellowship Program

The Yale-UBC Fox International Fellows Program is designed to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries by promoting international scholarly exchanges and collaborations among the next generation of leaders. To accomplish this goal, the program seeks to identify and nurture those students who are interested in harnessing scholarly knowledge to respond […]

LRA

Dominic Ongwen and the Search for Justice

Dominic Ongwen was a brigade commander in the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) but he was also one of its earliest victims, spending nearly three decades surviving the violence and tumult of war. This article, published in Warscapes, features research conducted by Liu Institute Professor Erin Baines and partners in Uganda, the Justice and Reconciliation Project. […]

LRA

Experiences of Children Born into LRA Captivity

Read the report, We Are All the Same: Experiences of children born into LRA captivity, published by the Justice and Reconciliation Project, and a blog post written by Liu Scholar Beth Stewart, based on her research with children born into the captivity of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, funded in part by Liu Scholar […]

Professor Wade Davis on the Wonder of Culture in a Time of Enormous Change

Wade Davis discusses what can be done to preserve cultures at risk as part of the national Research2Reality initiative. Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology, Faculty Associate at the Liu Institute for Global Issues, and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at UBC. Claiming that humanity is at a literal cusp of history, Davis explores the […]

Taxi apps, regulation, and the market for taxi journeys

Taxi apps, regulation, and the market for taxi journeys

Taxi apps, regulation, and the market for taxi journeys Milind Kandlikar (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia), Simon Harding and Sumeet Gulati June, 2016 This publication is available for download here. Source: Science Direct: Transportation Research Part A (Policy and Practice) Liu Faculty, Milind Kandlikar, and co-authors Simon Harding and Sumeet Gulati, attempt to provide a […]

climate change, resource exploitation

Measuring and tracking the flow of climate change adaptation aid to the developing world

Measuring and tracking the flow of climate change adaptation aid to the developing world Simon D Donner (Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC), Milind Kandlikar (Liu Faculty, UBC), and Sophie Webber (Grad Student, UBC) May 3, 2016 This publication is available for download here. Source: IOP Science: Environmental Research Letters Liu Faculty Affiliate Simon Donner, Liu Faculty Milind Kandlikar, and graduate […]

ethical audits, supply chain

Ethical Audits and the Supply Chains of Global Corporations

Ethical Audits and the Supply Chains of Global Corporations Jane Lister and Genevieve LeBaron, Past Faculty Affiliates, UBC January 15, 2016 Source: Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute This new SPERI Global Political Economy Brief, based on research conducted at the Liu Institute by senior research fellow Jane Lister and associate Genevieve LeBaron presents new evidence and key findings and […]

Food security in Asia and the Pacific

Food security in Asia and the Pacific

Ashok Kotwal, Liu Faculty Affiliate and Professor in the Department of Economics at UBC, on Food Security and Safety Nets Food security is achievable when “all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food” (World Food Summit, 1996). This global challenge is impacted by economic growth, changing demographics, consumption […]

oil, freedom oil

Paris Bridge: Unpacking International Climate Governance

In December, countries adopted a new agreement on climate change that will ultimately replace the Kyoto Protocol. To learn more, watch these Paris Knowledge Bridge: Unpacking Climate Governance videos produced by Jennifer Allan, UBC PhD Student and the IISD and derived from 60 interviews with heads of UN agencies, negotiators and civil society. Watch the videos on the IISD […]

Joseph Stiglitz

"America is on the wrong side of history" – Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, professor,  and author, visited UBC in the fall of 2015 as part of the Lind Initiative in U.S. Studies. The Lind Initiative in US Studies is an annual dialogue series started with a $3-million donation from alumnus and long-time supporter Phil Lind. This program, led by the Liu Institute […]

walmart, walmart politics, csr, eco-business

Farming for Walmart: the politics of corporate control and responsibility in the global South

Farming for Walmart: the politics of corporate control and responsibility in the global South Sara D. Elder (Liu Scholar, University of British Columbia) and Peter Dauvergne (Former Liu Director, University of British Columbia) July 8, 2015 This publication is available for download here. Source: Journal of Peasant Studies: Critical Perspectives on Rural Politics and Development Liu […]

Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2 emissions scenarios

Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2 emissions scenarios

Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2emissions scenarios Rashid Sumaila (Liu Faculty Affiliate, University of British Columbia), J.-P. Gattuso, A. Magnan, R. Billé, W. W. L. Cheung, E. L. Howes, F. Joos, D. Allemand, L. Bopp, S. R. Cooley, C. M. Eakin, O. Hoegh-Guldberg, R. P. Kelly, H.-O. Pörtner, A. D. Rogers, J. […]

Professor Wade Davis recognized as top influential Thought Leader

Professor Wade Davis recognized as top influential Thought Leader

Wade Davis, University of British Columbia Professor, best-selling author, speaker, and named by the National Geographic Society as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, has recently been recognized for his contributions to ethnobotany by the Swiss Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) as #16 in their list, Thought Leaders 2014: the most influential thinkers. GDI, Switzerland’s historically first thinktank, worked […]

New Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Household Fuel Combustion

New Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Household Fuel Combustion

Professor Hisham Zerriffi was co-lead on the Financing review that contributed to the development of new indoor air quality guidelines for household fuel combustion. These guidelines aim to help public health policy-makers, as well as specialists working on energy, environmental and other issues understand best approaches to reducing household air pollution, the greatest environmental health risk in […]

The Effect of Community-Based Natural Resource Management on Household Welfare in Namibia

The Effect of Community-Based Natural Resource Management on Household Welfare in Namibia

Effects of Community-Based Natural Resource Management on Household Welfare in Namibia Hisham Zerriffi (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) Robin Naidoo and Brianne Riehl May 12, 2015 This publication is available for download here. Assistant Professor, Hisham Zerriffi explores the development of a widespread community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) program in Namibia, which makes it an ideal […]

climate change, resource exploitation

Direct human influence on atmospheric CO2 seasonality

Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Global Food Security and Sustainability with the Liu Institute and IRES, is co-author on a paper published in top scientific journal, Nature. The paper is titled “Direct human influence on atmospheric CO2 seasonality from increased cropland productivity.” Please find the article here.

climate change

Local food producers struggle to stem Canada's growing hunger problem

“We are not paying the cost to future generations of climate change, we are not paying an appropriate value to ensure animals are cared for and husbanded in way that is appropriate, we are not paying the cost of water pollution or soil degradation,” says Evan Fraser, Liu Visiting Professor and a Canada Research Chair in […]

food, crops, wheat, GMO, farm

Press Release Features Important Findings of a Study Co-Authored by Professor Navin Ramankutty

Globalization threatens benefits of an African ‘green revolution’, says Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Global Food Security and Sustainability, Liu Institute for Global Issues and Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. Navin co-authored an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that argued that a prospective “green revolution” in Africa could boost land use and carbon […]

sea, ocean, biodiversity

New UBC Partnership, OceanCanada, Launched

OceanCanada is a research collaboration between 15 Canadian universities, non-governmental organizations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), and others and is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grants program. Partners from across Canada will gather together to holistically study the challenges and opportunities facing Canada’s oceans and coastal communities. Watch Rashid Sumaila, research […]

cookstove, india

Complexities and challenges in the emerging cookstove carbon market in India

Complexities and challenges in the emerging cookstove carbon market in India Hisham Zerriffi (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) and Olivia E. Freeman January 7, 2015 This publication is available for download here. Source: Energy for Sustainable Development, ScienceDirect, Vol. 24 This article, co-authored by Hisham Zerriffi, introduces research that examines how carbon financing is impacting cookstove dissemination […]

forced marriage, namibia, africa

Forced marriage as a political project: Sexual rules and relations in the Lord’s Resistance Army

Forced marriage as a political project: Sexual rules and relations in the Lord’s Resistance Army Erin Baines (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) March 14, 2014 Source: Journal of Peace Research, Page 1-13 This publication is available for download here. Abstract One of the most vexing contradictions about the Uganda originated rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army […]

crops, cropland productivity, climate change finance, climate defence

Direct human influence on atmospheric CO2 seasonality from increased cropland productivity

Direct human influence on atmospheric CO2 seasonality from increased cropland productivity Navin Ramankutty (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) Mark A. Friedl, Josh M. Gray, Steve Frolking, Eric A. Kort, Deepak K. Ray, Christopher J. Kucharik November 19, 2014 This publication is available for download here. Source: Nature Navin Ramankutty, Professor, Global Food Security and Sustainability with […]

Liu Multipurpose Room

Panel Presentation "Demystifying the Chinese Economic Miracle"

May 26th, 2014 – UBC Featured Speaker: Dr. Justin Yifu Lin received his PhD in economics (University of Chicago, 1986) and served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank between 2008 and 2012. Before joining the Bank, Dr. Lin acted as the Founding Director and professor of the China Centre for […]

armed conflict

Global Focus: On the Edges of Conflict

Armed conflict in the early 21st century tends to be asymmetrical and protracted, fought by an array of armed groups on both physical and political battlefields, and causing disproportionate suffering and death to civilians. The Edges of Conflict Project worked to better understand the nature of such conflict and to improve respect for the rule of […]

Which New Approaches to Tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases Show Promise?

Which New Approaches to Tackling Neglected Tropical Diseases Show Promise? Jerry M. Spiegel (Liu Faculty), Shafik Dharamsi (Past Liu Faculty Affiliate), Kishor M. Wasan, Annalee Yassi, Burton Singer, Peter J. Hotez, Christy Hanson, Donald A. P. Bundy  This research is available here. This PLoS Medicine Debate examines the different approaches that can be taken to tackle neglected […]

Modern Warfare: Armed Groups, Private Militaries, Humanitarian Organizations, and the Law

Modern Warfare: Armed Groups, Private Militaries, Humanitarian Organizations, and the Law Benjamin Perrin, Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law (Past Liu Faculty Associate) July 11, 2012 The face of modern warfare is changing as more and more humanitarian organizations, private military companies, and non-state groups enter complex security […]

Indian Marketplace

The Right to Food: Food Access, Food Subsidy, and Residue-Based Bioenergy Production in India

The Right to Food: Food Access, Food Subsidy, and Residue-Based Bioenergy Production in India Professors Hisham Zerriffi, Ashok Kotwal, Milind Kandlikar, Siwan Anderson February, 2012 Researchers at the Liu Institute for Global Issues will be working to answer important questions on food security in India, thanks to a grant from the International Development Research Centre […]

Indian Marketplace

India: Can solar power become a tool for pro-poor development?

India is one of the most energy poor countries in the world. In rural India, about one in five villages are not connected to the electrical grid. Even in villages with grid connectivity, about 100 million households do not get power from the electrical grids due to a lack of last mile connectivity. Many parts […]

Chris Dolan

Institutional Capacity to Respond to & Prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

‘The Analysis of Absence: An Enquiry into Institutional Capacity to Respond to and Prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence against Men & Boys’ A workshop by Dr Chris Dolan, Director of the Refugee Law Project and (former) Liu Institute Visiting Fellow at Green College Presenters: Dr Chris Dolan, Dr Erin Baines, Alicia Luedke, M.A. (Political Science) and Christopher Carter (Community and Regional Planning) […]

Corporatization is weakening activism and empowering big business

Corporatization is weakening activism and empowering big business

Not just about the money: corporatization is weakening activism and empowering big business The corporatization of activist groups, including Greenpeace, is the focus of a new op-ed co-authored by Liu Institute Director, Peter Dauvergne, and former Postdoctoral Fellow, Genevieve LeBaron. “Corporatized activism is shoring up big business, sustaining capitalist states, and building support for a […]

Rural Electrification: Strategies for Distributed Generation

Rural Electrification: Strategies for Distributed Generation

For those in developed nations, suddenly being without electricity is a disaster: power cuts have us fretting over the food stored in the freezer, and even a few hours without lights, televisions, or air conditioning is an ordeal. However, for an estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide, the absence of electricity is their daily experience. An […]

young mothers, life, politics commodities

Life for sale? The politics of lively commodities

Life for sale? The politics of lively commodities Rosemary-Claire Collard, Jessica Dempsey (Liu Scholars Alumni, University of British Columbia) December 4, 2013 This publication is available for download here. Source: Environment and Planning A, 45(11) 2682 – 2699 A publication in Environment and Planning A, co-authored by Rosemary-Claire Collard and Jessica Dempsey, with support from the […]

armed-conflict-soldiers

On the Edges of Conflict

Armed conflict in the early 21st century tends to be asymmetrical and protracted, fought by an array of armed groups on both physical and political battlefields, and causing disproportionate suffering and death to civilians. The Edges of Conflict Project worked to better understand the nature of such conflict and to improve respect for the rule of […]

corporate, corporate politics, eco-business, corporitization, secure city

LISTEN: Jane Lister speaks to Radio New Zealand about Eco-Business

LISTEN: Jane Lister speaks to Radio New Zealand about Eco-Business Jane Lister, Past Faculty Affiliate, UBC June 19, 2013 Jane Lister, co-author (with Peter Dauvergne) of “Eco-Business: A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability”, speaks to Radio New Zealand about whether the recent corporate embrace of ‘sustainability’ is making any environmental impact on the earth.  [16’ 12″] Listen […]

WATCH: Hisham Zerriffi on Energy Access for Development

WATCH: Hisham Zerriffi on Energy Access for Development Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC June 18, 2013 On May 21, 2013, Hisham Zerriffi spoke at the Global Energy Assessment West Coast Launch event, held at Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy. The video is available here.

ethical audits, supply chain

The Eco-Business Market Advantage

The Eco-Business Market Advantage Peter Dauvergne (Former Liu Director, University of British Columbia), Jane Lister (Past Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) May 29, 2013 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit the World Financial Review. Source: The World Financial Review, May 2013 Worldwide, firms are looking for […]

Liu researchers provide recommendations for $100 billion in annual climate change aid

In advance of a major United Nations climate conference, Liu Institute researchers are providing recommendations for managing a $100 billion annual commitment made by the international community at last year’s United Nations climate conference to help the developing world respond to climate change — a funding promise almost equal to all existing official development aid […]

Energy poverty creating a respiratory disease ‘epidemic’

Energy poverty creating a respiratory disease ‘epidemic’

Energy poverty creating a respiratory disease ‘epidemic’ for almost half the world’s population Limited access to clean sources of energy, known as energy poverty, makes nearly half the world’s population reliant on burning wood, animal waste, coal or charcoal to cook. This leads to severe respiratory diseases that kill roughly two million people worldwide each […]

eco-business brand

Eco-Business: A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability

Eco-Business: A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability Peter Dauvergne (Former Liu Director, UBC), Jane Lister (Past Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC) April 1, 2013 This publication is not available for download here. McDonald’s promises to use only beef, coffee, fish, chicken, and cooking oil obtained from sustainable sources. Coca-Cola promises to achieve water neutrality. Unilever has set […]

corporate, corporate politics, eco-business, corporitization, secure city

The Corporatization of Sustainability

The Corporatization of Sustainability Jane Lister (Past Faculty Affiliate, University of British Columbia) Peter Dauvergne (Former Liu Director, University of British Columbia) January 17, 2013 This publication is available for download here. Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister show that sustainability efforts by large multinational retail corporations limit the potential for finding deeper solutions to pressing environmental problems […]

agriculture, food, GMO, crops, wheat

Solving the Global Food Crisis

The Liu Institute’s International Development Research Network (IDRN) recently interviewed Professor Navin Ramankutty (Tier II Canada Research Chair in Land Use and Global Environmental Change at McGill University) about his research. Watch the interview below, and visit the IDRN’s blog for more information.

canton fair, sustainability shopping

Shopping for Sustainability at the Canton Fair

Shopping for Sustainability at the Canton Fair Jane Lister, Genevieve LeBaron (Past Liu Faculty Affiliates, University of British Columbia) July 6, 2012 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please click here. In recent years, big brand companies have competed to adopt far-reaching sustainability goals. They are now racing to […]

Framework for Screening Human Health and Environmental Risks from Nanomaterials

Framework for Screening Human Health and Environmental Risks from Nanomaterials

On May 24th and 25th, 2012, the Liu Institute, led by Professor Milind Kandlikar, hosted a group of experts for a workshop on nanotoxicology, human exposure assessment, and environmental fate and transport. The workshop forms part of a project which aims to generate a more complete understanding of risks and uncertainties for emerging nanomaterials. The […]

food, crops, wheat, GMO, farm

Food Security in Asia and the Pacific

The Liu Institute hosted a group of experts for a symposium on Food Security in Asia and the Pacific. Hosted in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), the Symposium brought together academics, policy makers, and private sector representatives to further understand […]

IDRN Development Challenge

IDRN Development Challenge

Spring 2012 marked the inaugural International Development Research Network (IDRN) Development Challenge, in which teams submitted detailed proposals outlining suggestions for addressing a specific development challenge affecting a less-developed region. Ten teams had to pass through two stages of competition in order to be eligible for the cash rewards that would allow them to begin […]

coal

Coal, wood burning kills more people than malaria

Coal, wood burning kills more people than malaria Hisham Zerriffi (Liu Faculty, University of British Columbia) February 17, 2012 This publication is available for download here. Source: The Hindu Burning coal, wood or charcoal for cooking kills two million people worldwide, each year — more than malaria — thanks to severe respiratory diseases this causes through […]

resource politics

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources

Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources Philippe Le Billon, Liu Faculty, UBC January 17, 2012 From Angola and Liberia to Iraq and the DRC, wars have taken place in resource rich countries full of poor people. In Wars of Plunder: Conflicts, Profits and the Politics of Resources (Hurst & Columbia UP) Philippe Le […]

clean fuel, fuel, stoves

Improved stoves in India: A study of sustainable business models

Improved stoves in India: A study of sustainable business models Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC November 24, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511005556 Burning of biomass for cooking is associated with health problems and climate change impacts. Many previous efforts to disseminate improved stoves – […]

energy, china energy, electricity

Three dimensional energy profile: A conceptual framework for assessing household energy use

Three dimensional energy profile: A conceptual framework for assessing household energy use Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC November 24, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421511004861 The provision of adequate, reliable, and affordable energy has been considered as a cornerstone of development. More than one-third of […]

arctic, climate change

Apply scientific rigour to climate change aid decisions, UBC academics argue

Apply scientific rigour to climate change aid decisions, UBC academics argue Simon Donner, Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC Milind Kandlikar, Liu Faculty, UBC Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC November 19, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit:http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Apply+scientific+rigour+climate+change+decisions+academics+argue/5737936/story.html Source: The Vancouver Sun, Saturday November 19, 2011, Page B3 As […]

crops, cropland productivity, climate change finance, climate defence

Preparing to Manage Climate Change Financing

Preparing to Manage Climate Change Financing Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC Milind Kandlikar, Liu Faculty, UBC Simon Donner, Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC November 17, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6058/908.full Source: Science 18 November 2011: Vol. 334 no. 6058 pp. 908-909 DOI: 10.1126/science.1211886 At the 2010 […]

climate change

Experts advise on managing climate change aid

Experts advise on managing climate change aid Milind Kandlikar, Liu Faculty, UBC Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC Simon Donner, Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC November 17, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Experts_advise_on_managing_climate_change_aid_billions_999.html Source: Agence France Presse A group of climate science experts from the Liu Institute have recommended […]

What should Canada be doing in Afghanistan post-2011?

What should Canada be doing in Afghanistan post-2011?

To discuss this issue, the Liu Institute hosted a workshop on “Peacebuilding – Afghanistan after 2011”, chaired by Taylor Owen and Emily Paddon, with support from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Trudeau Foundation. The event was part of a Liu Institute project on Peacebuilding in Afghanistan, led by Taylor Owen […]

government, canada, climate panel, ottawa

Who Participates in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Why

Who Participates in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Why Milind Kandlikar, Liu Faculty, UBC Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC September 30, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.05.007 Abstract: This paper presents a quantitative analysis of international representation in the activities of the Intergovernmental Panel […]

cookstove, india

Innovative business models for the scale-up of energy access efforts for the poorest

Innovative business models for the scale-up of energy access efforts for the poorest Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC September 1, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343511000510 Source: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, Volume 3, Issue 4, September 2011, Pages 272-278 Despite years of effort primarily by […]

csr, state, corporate social responsibility, state corporate social responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility and the State

Corporate Social Responsibility and the State Jane Lister, Past Liu Faculty Affiliate, UBC June 9, 2011 This publication is not available for download. To purchase a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.ubcpress.ca/search/title_book.asp?BookID=299173310 Public concern about worsening global environmental and social conditions has led to skepticism about the efficacy of voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, […]

UBC researchers call for “social offset” to tackle neglected tropical diseases

UBC researchers call for “social offset” to tackle neglected tropical diseases

Public health and international development experts at the Liu Institute have called for a “social offset” mechanism to set aside a portion of research funding slated for neglected tropical diseases (NTD) to address broader social determinants of disease. Their comments are published alongside other perspectives in the Debate section of the online journal PLoS Medicine. […]

woods, forest, trees, deforestation

Illegal Timber in Retail Supply Chain

Timber is a vital resource that is all around us. It forms our homes and furniture, our disposable diapers and newspapers, and boxes our cereal and new appliances. The way we produce and consume timber, however, is changing. With international timber companies and big box discount retailers increasingly controlling through global commodity chains where and […]

The Perils of Barbequing Indoors in the Dark

The Perils of Barbequing Indoors in the Dark Hisham Zerriffi, Liu Faculty, UBC April 8, 2011 Source: TEDxGeorgiaStrait Video URL https://youtu.be/rkOGsJ6nNZs  

timber

Timber

Timber Jane Lister, Past Lu Faculty Affiliate, UBC Peter Dauvergne, Former Liu Director, UBC March 3, 2011 This publication is not available for download. To purchase a copy of this publication, please visit: http://www.amazon.ca/Timber-Peter-Dauvergne/dp/0745649289/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1299187499&sr=8-6 Timber is a vital resource that is all around us. It forms our homes and furniture, our disposable diapers and newspapers, and […]

clean fuel, fuel, stoves

Clean fuel worsens climate impacts for some vehicle engines: UBC study

Clean fuel worsens climate impacts for some vehicle engines: UBC study Milind Kandlikar (Liu Faculty, UBC) Conor Reynolds, (Adjunct Professor, UBC) Andrew Grieshop (Former Liu Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC) March 1, 2011 This publication is available for download. To download a copy of this publication, please visit: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es102430p Source: Environmental Science and Technology A pioneering program by one […]

fruit, food, gmo, harvest, farm

Food Security in Asia and the Pacific

In Asia and the Pacific, despite rapid economic growth and ongoing structural transformations, providing enough safe and nutritious food remains a challenge. This report – “Food Security in Asia and the Pacific” – aims to investigate key policy options for dealing with the food security challenges in the region. For a free download, or to […]