Climate Adaptation, Land Acquisition and Security: the Gendered Politics of Dispossession in Pakistan
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Grantham Institute for Climate Change
Abstract
This research will investigate the impacts of land acquisition for climate (adaptation) related mega development projects on the security of vulnerable and marginalised citizens and communities. The research will use a gender lens to uncover how citizens face differentiated experiences of dispossession and access to legal mechanisms of accountability and redress.
Two categories of land acquisition that are being developed in response to climate change will be investigated at sites across two of Pakistan's provinces: (1) rural land sold/leased to foreign investors and/or converted to Corporate Agriculture Farms (CAF); and (2) rural and urban land acquisition by local-foreign investors for the construction of climate-related mega development projects.
The primary concern is to investigate how local security and livelihoods are impacted by these processes. Secondly it focuses on how various actors/institutions use diverse transparency, accountability and litigation mechanisms.
The two provinces - Sindh and Punjab - have diverse histories of conflict, development and land use, offering important analytical and comparative avenues. The case studies reinforce the importance of the rural-urban nexus by bringing to the fore the complex interplay between international investment, governance regimes, land acquisitions, and differentiated forms of land dispossession and indigenous reactions.
Two mechanisms to be investigated are, first, the expectation that climate adaptation developers consult communities and obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Secondly, the role of The Right to Information Ordinance 2013 (RTI) which, supposedly, enables ordinary citizens access to official government documents and approach a court if access is denied concerning any project, scheme or development. Previous research has highlighted that a core driver of local conflicts in Pakistan is the lack of fair legal recourse and grievance mechanisms for ordinary citizens.
This research will provide valuable data on how citizens see the state in climate-related development and if/how they can hold developers accountable. Such data will support appropriate capacity building to foster peaceful legal resolutions and mitigate for security risks of climate adaptation.
Two categories of land acquisition that are being developed in response to climate change will be investigated at sites across two of Pakistan's provinces: (1) rural land sold/leased to foreign investors and/or converted to Corporate Agriculture Farms (CAF); and (2) rural and urban land acquisition by local-foreign investors for the construction of climate-related mega development projects.
The primary concern is to investigate how local security and livelihoods are impacted by these processes. Secondly it focuses on how various actors/institutions use diverse transparency, accountability and litigation mechanisms.
The two provinces - Sindh and Punjab - have diverse histories of conflict, development and land use, offering important analytical and comparative avenues. The case studies reinforce the importance of the rural-urban nexus by bringing to the fore the complex interplay between international investment, governance regimes, land acquisitions, and differentiated forms of land dispossession and indigenous reactions.
Two mechanisms to be investigated are, first, the expectation that climate adaptation developers consult communities and obtain Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Secondly, the role of The Right to Information Ordinance 2013 (RTI) which, supposedly, enables ordinary citizens access to official government documents and approach a court if access is denied concerning any project, scheme or development. Previous research has highlighted that a core driver of local conflicts in Pakistan is the lack of fair legal recourse and grievance mechanisms for ordinary citizens.
This research will provide valuable data on how citizens see the state in climate-related development and if/how they can hold developers accountable. Such data will support appropriate capacity building to foster peaceful legal resolutions and mitigate for security risks of climate adaptation.
Planned Impact
The research will have impact in multiple sectors including:
1. Research and Students - the team, particularly Dr. Nausheen Anwar and Dr. Aradhana Sharma, have an excellent record of publications in top-tiered academic journals. By May 2017, the team will have compiled a list of specific journals to target and provisional timetable for producing at least 3 academic manuscripts. The team aim to have submitted all 3 manuscripts by the close of the project. We believe that by utilising, both, rigorous inter-disciplinary theoretical inquiry and participatory data, our writing will be powerful and will contribute to the development of inter-disciplinary social science.
One of the most important impacts will be on the future careers of students and researchers, especially in Pakistan. IBA is leading an agenda in high-quality social science research and training in Pakistan. Its students range from the working classes to the elite - which is very rare for a higher education in Pakistan - and so it is providing a vital interface for people from multiple social, class and ethnic groups to explore debates and learning in a safe environment. IBA has been truly pushing boundaries by delivering new courses (led by Dr. Anwar) on equality, gender, sexuality and rights in Pakistan. The students who learn about this project are set to benefit greatly, and take these dialogues and debates out into the wider communities. We have witnessed this transformative process over the last few years.
Furthermore, the rigorous training provided to the research assistants - especially in the matter of negotiating 'triple subjectivities' between themselves, the participants and us - will have positive impacts on their research capacities, career trajectories and the institutions in which they will later work. We emphasise their talents and treat them as equals. We truly see this as a huge contribution of our approach.
2. Civil society - through this project Shehri will co-construct an evidence base which they have expressed they really need. This will positively impact their future operations, provide them greater recognition and give them new opportunities to write about their work. We will co-produce a policy brief with Shehri which will support them in future engagement with the government. More broadly, this partnership and its data will be made open access and available to any other actors who are interested. A professional training course will be developed between the partner organisations to support civil society actors to engage with the Right to Information and 'Free, Prior and Informed Consent' laws. This will also be open to government.
3. Policy - the policy actors who are already engaged with the team have expressed an urgent need to understand how land acquisitions are taking place and their impacts. They are also especially interested - at least the multi- and bi-lateral donors- in the issue of gender and how to ensure access to services and the law are gender-appropriate. The data produced will powerfully demonstrate how these issues transpire. Furthermore, the workshops to explore viable policy options and resultant policy guidelines will provide practical options for government actors at local, provincial and federal levels. The donors will therefore have a better grasp of what kind of funding mechanisms are needed to support the government to deliver more equitable and gender responsive policy and law.
4. Citizens - we sincerely believe that this research will have a positive and sustainable impact on citizens lives by providing them i) an avenue for expression of their marginalisation and experiences of gender through ethnography, workshops and participatory photography, ii) data to support their claims to rights - in accessible languages and formats; iii) new linkages with civil society and state actors and iv) advocacy of their plight to government and donor actors at multiple scales from the local to the global.
1. Research and Students - the team, particularly Dr. Nausheen Anwar and Dr. Aradhana Sharma, have an excellent record of publications in top-tiered academic journals. By May 2017, the team will have compiled a list of specific journals to target and provisional timetable for producing at least 3 academic manuscripts. The team aim to have submitted all 3 manuscripts by the close of the project. We believe that by utilising, both, rigorous inter-disciplinary theoretical inquiry and participatory data, our writing will be powerful and will contribute to the development of inter-disciplinary social science.
One of the most important impacts will be on the future careers of students and researchers, especially in Pakistan. IBA is leading an agenda in high-quality social science research and training in Pakistan. Its students range from the working classes to the elite - which is very rare for a higher education in Pakistan - and so it is providing a vital interface for people from multiple social, class and ethnic groups to explore debates and learning in a safe environment. IBA has been truly pushing boundaries by delivering new courses (led by Dr. Anwar) on equality, gender, sexuality and rights in Pakistan. The students who learn about this project are set to benefit greatly, and take these dialogues and debates out into the wider communities. We have witnessed this transformative process over the last few years.
Furthermore, the rigorous training provided to the research assistants - especially in the matter of negotiating 'triple subjectivities' between themselves, the participants and us - will have positive impacts on their research capacities, career trajectories and the institutions in which they will later work. We emphasise their talents and treat them as equals. We truly see this as a huge contribution of our approach.
2. Civil society - through this project Shehri will co-construct an evidence base which they have expressed they really need. This will positively impact their future operations, provide them greater recognition and give them new opportunities to write about their work. We will co-produce a policy brief with Shehri which will support them in future engagement with the government. More broadly, this partnership and its data will be made open access and available to any other actors who are interested. A professional training course will be developed between the partner organisations to support civil society actors to engage with the Right to Information and 'Free, Prior and Informed Consent' laws. This will also be open to government.
3. Policy - the policy actors who are already engaged with the team have expressed an urgent need to understand how land acquisitions are taking place and their impacts. They are also especially interested - at least the multi- and bi-lateral donors- in the issue of gender and how to ensure access to services and the law are gender-appropriate. The data produced will powerfully demonstrate how these issues transpire. Furthermore, the workshops to explore viable policy options and resultant policy guidelines will provide practical options for government actors at local, provincial and federal levels. The donors will therefore have a better grasp of what kind of funding mechanisms are needed to support the government to deliver more equitable and gender responsive policy and law.
4. Citizens - we sincerely believe that this research will have a positive and sustainable impact on citizens lives by providing them i) an avenue for expression of their marginalisation and experiences of gender through ethnography, workshops and participatory photography, ii) data to support their claims to rights - in accessible languages and formats; iii) new linkages with civil society and state actors and iv) advocacy of their plight to government and donor actors at multiple scales from the local to the global.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- Economic and Social Research Council (Co-funder)
- Swedish Energy Agency (Collaboration)
- Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Collaboration)
- Turkana Pastoralist Development Organization (Collaboration)
- World Bank Group (Collaboration)
- Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (Collaboration)
- Institute of Business Administration, Karachi (Collaboration)
- Shehri (Citizens for Better Environment) (Project Partner)
Publications
Anwar, N.H. And Sawas, A.
(2020)
FAST-TRACKING PAKISTAN'S GRID MODERNITY: EXPLORING THE POLITICS OF INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA'S HINTERLANDS
| Title | Asia's Urbanizing Periphery - The Emerging Cities of Islamkot and Mithi |
| Description | This is a documentary shot by our research assistants on the changing landscape of the towns of Islamkot and Mithi, due to the mega energy projects. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The documentary was only recently released/ |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxkTajx_cQ8 |
| Title | Participatory photo exhibition website |
| Description | Our participatory photo project with research participants will be launched through a website in April. |
| Type Of Art | Image |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The website is about to be launched. The impacts are yet to be realised. However we are aware that the participants found the process beneficial, to be able to express their feelings about how development and climate change is affecting them through photographs. |
| Description | - What were the most significant achievements from the award? We have worked with over 660 participants in 3 sites and across 14 villages in Thar (Sindh), Bahawalpur (Punjab) and Kot Addu (Punjab). These are communities directly affected through, displacement and/or dispossession from the land acquisitions for mega projects. Despite high levels of insecurity and militarisation of these projects by the state (to prevent critique or dissent), we have been pleased with the detailed ethnographic and participatory research we have achieved with some of the most marginalised citizens of the country. One of our key aims were to generate avenues for their expression of grievances and opinions regarding these processes. Secondly to build awareness and capacity around their rights to legal recourse, for example through the Right to Information Law, or for negotiation and compensation as required by the international norm for Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Interestingly, since the project completed, we have received a huge amount of interest in our emergent findings from civil society movements, embassies (including the UK embassy/FCDO), researchers and donors in the results. We have given several confidential briefings which have supported the development of longer term thinking about how to resist harmful megaprojects in strategic ways. One of the movements has now transformed into the Pakistan Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy. They are a collective of CSOs who are attacking the state's fossil fuel based economic strategy, in part illustrated by the impacts on people in the Thar coal region. We have shared our findings with them and discussed strategic approaches to ensure the visibility of women's voices across the region. They are currently in the process of exploring further documentation through 'People's Tribunals'. This coalition is going from strength to strength and we are liasing with one of the lead partners on their approach. Secondly, this project has formed the basis for some critical strands of work that are now going on. The first strand is a project supporting a major philanthripic donor - The SAGE fund - on their grant giving strategy for their 'Resilient Women and Natural Resources' Theme. This is also related to the Ford Foundation's theme of the same name. I am developing a detailed case study on this research project for that project. Secondly, it has leveraged a longer term grant from IDRC, to IBA (now called 'Karachi Urban Lab') on displacement, the land acquisition law and the right to information law - all drawing in a gendered and intersectional perspective. That project is reaching a huge number of people, in the current context of displacement in Pakistan. It is also supporting civil society litigation efforts through specific cases. - To what extent were the award objectives met? If you can, briefly explain why any key objectives were not met. I answer this question as per each key research question which I have pasted below: Research Questions 1. How do rural/urban women, men and transgenders understand and experience state law and customary law relating to land and property rights? - How does gender mediate access to such laws and rights? - We have found that there is a significant lack of reflection and awareness by government actors and corporate/development actors on the key role of gender as it relates to their work and access to rights. However, this is now slowly transforming and changing - and we are regularl;y drawn upon as key experts, to support CSOs and other actors to develop effective strategies to engage with women and their rights and agency. - How do courts intervene in matters of forced displacement? Currently there are a series of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) in the courts regarding the 'Gorrano Dam' in Thar (see: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/239642-Experts-urge-govt-SECMC-to-resolve-controversial-Gorano-Dam-issue ). We have been working with the lawyer and activist Leela Ram who is leading one of the PILs. We have learned that the court system is currently slanted in favour of the corportates and governments, who use their power to continously ajourn cases, leading them to become increasingly stretched out and expensive. This raises concerns about how useful the court system is for poor and marginalised groups. Further, this lack of substantive justice fuels resentment and frustration against the state. - How aware are marginalized communities of the RTI and Free, Prior and Informed Consent? Awareness is low, especially outside of Karachi, where Dr. Gardezi has been actively building awareness with Sheri and now with PPF. However, we have used the research to build awareness with over 600 participants, and we will continue to do so through our workshop on April 28. 2. Have citizens been consulted and/or asked for consent in processes of land acquisition? How? Some affected populations have been consulted in Thar, however only those physically displaced by the development, and hardly any of those dispossesed by it. However, as we have observed, the consultation processes are characterised by uneven power dynamics, especially against women and ethnic minorities, which means they do not have access or their voices are not heard. For many participants this is a 'showcase' rather than a consultation. In the solar and geothermal projects in the Punjab, we could not find any people who had been consulted, and those who contested the land acquisitions claim to have been violently displaced by the military. More recently, the Supreme Court and the Punjab/Lahore High court have started to pay more attention to land rights in the context of the land acqusition law. In 2021 there is a panel of judges that will be reviewing evidence from the People's Tribunals in Thar, that i mentioned earlier. However, in the wider context the supreme court has taken a Suo Moto action on land acquisiton for 'public purpose'. We have recently finalised a policy brief on this, which will be shared in June 2021. 3. How do groups (and which groups) resist or challenge climate-related land-grabs (if they do)? Citizens can raise concerns at consultations (however, as mentioned above these are rife with power imbalances); they can contact the implementing agencies directly, however participants told us their concerns were largely ignored. In particular, the gender dynamics around such processes are exclusive, making it hard for women to be heard in particular, and there is no space afforded to transgenders. Local NGOs and activist networks have been working with such groups to raise their concerns, but this has been difficult in increasingly militarised spaces. Such activists are at risk and some have been abducted or threatened as they are seen to be causing problems for projects which are cast by the state as vital to national security. As a result there are serious security dynamics, some caused by the state and others by political activist networks who are using such grievances to fuel separatist or anti-state narratives in Sindh especially. This is also reported to be the case in Balochistan but we did not conduct research there due to the security risks. In terms of utility of the law, this remains to be seen. The ongoing PILs are being dragged out, which is exhausting the finances of those pursuing them, as well as energy and patience. However, it is important to note that one of the corporate actors involved in these developments, Engro, has shown promising signs of adapting to community concerns and pursuing more inclusive consultation processes and benefits of the projects for affected communities, including women. The impacts of these new initiatives are yet to be evaluated. 4. What role do indigenous and nationalist movements play in challenging land development and acquisitions? As indicated above, indigenous networks have been key to contesting the land development and acquisitions. A huge amount of resources have been expended by the indigenous citizens, and their plight has been raised in the national and international media, as well as the courts. However, awareness and recompense are two different things. As it stands, their customary land rights continue to be violated. This raises concerns about their human security as well as what their next avenue for action could be if this one is unsuccessful (which is looking likely at this stage). More recently, in 2020 the Pakistan Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy has been formed. We are in conversation with them about how best to support their efforts with our networks, expertise and evidence gained from this project. 5. What strategies work for aligning interests between communities and development projects? As mentioned above, there are some promising steps being taken by Engro. This has been since the company hired an activist from the province as its head of CSR. Since then, this actor has pursued a more inclusive process of communication, consultation and benefit sharing with the affected communities. Unfortunately, some of them feel this has come too late. However, the private and non-governmental sectors can play a key role in aligning interests with communities as well as holding governments accountable on citizens' rights to land. Engro is pursuing some interesting initiatives around supporting the community - especially women - to formally register their rights to the land. However, as mentioned, this comes after a significant period of expansive and highly impactful land acquisition and development. In all regions one of the most critical issues is customary rights to land - including commons or 'grazing' land which is being hugely affected by these projects in the name of promoting climate adaptation and resilience. In all three regions we have found they have decreased the resilience of pastoral and smallholder farming livelihoods and created human insecurity. More needs to be done to prevent the acquisition of commons grazing land and customarily owned land, without strategies which are approved by the affected communities. In terms of any objectives not met: there was a significant challenge researching corporate agriculture farms leased to foreign investors. They were highly securitised and we experienced some security risks in pursuing that avenue of the work so we decided to focus in more on land acquisition for energy mega projects. |
| Exploitation Route | Currently, these issues are a major part of the public and political discourse in Pakistan. The findings of this project are of great interest to the media, policy actors, development actors and activists. However, we are careful about communicating the results in the most effective way to ensure they are understood and reported correctly. We conducted a workshop on the 12 september 2018, which included a focus on how to more objectively report land acquisition/rights issues, as our results have shown highly subjective reporting so far, which fuels unhelpful narratives. Dr Raza Gardezi has used the findings to continue training citizens, policymakers and practitioners on land rights and legal mechanisms of recourse. Update in 2021: the outcomes are now being taken forward proactively by CSOs and consortiums as mentioned earlier. We are very pleased to see that political space is slowly opening up for movements to question the role of megaprojects in the future of the country. Additionally, there is a much more active discourse on climate action now, as sanctioned by the most recent Prime Minister (Imran Khan), which has allowed us to pursue more conversations and support around the climate transition and the security dynamics around that. For example, we have supported networks like 'Women in Energy Pakistan', to have workshops on these key intersecting themes of women's rights, climate justice, land and the green transition. |
| Sectors | Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | http://karachiurbanlab.com/digital-narratives/grid-modernity.html |
| Description | As of 2021, our findings have been used by and to: 1. Civil society - we have given several direct briefings to civil society, including the newly formed Pakistan Alliance for Clean Energy and Climate Justice. They have used them, especially the learnings on gender and women's participation, to inform their future documentation approach - we have held several follow up workshops on this topic and theme, funded under other research awards on displacement, climate change and land rights - we have held training in INGOs about how to document women's rights and security in the context of climate-related megaprojects. This has fed into key guidance e.g. ActionAid's Feminist Research Guidelines - public resistance and dialogue about the role of fossil fuel exploration in the country's future is much more possible compared to 2 years ago - the terms of the debate have shifted in the right direction 2. Government - we have both given presentations on this project to senior civil servants in government, including (formerly DFID) the FCDO and embassies 3. Lawyers/litigators - We continue to engage in dialogue and contribute towards formulation of land and legal reform programming that is attentive to both males and females' gendered roles in development and their experiences of conflict. - we shared the findings with one of the country's most prominent environmental lawyers, who is arguing a related case in the courts now and pursuing change to the land acqusition act, as well as compensation and resettlement mechanisms In Thar, Sindh, we worked with 8 villages that are located at the core and the periphery of the land mass where a range of connected energy projects are underway, including hydropower, 'reverse osmosis' and coal. These villages are a mix of Muslim and Hindu Scheduled caste populations, and comprise mostly pastoralists and agriculturalists. Two of the villages are being relocated under an extensive compensation scheme. Similarly, in Bahawalpur, Punjab, 4 villages in proximity to the renewables (solar) project have been selected; and in Kot Addu (also Punjab), 2 villages affected by a geothermal plant were studied. These comprise ethnic Punjabi and Seraiki speaking populations, and are pastoralists, semi-nomadic herders and small-scale farmers. The pastoral livelihood systems in these Punjabi villages have been affected with no or limited compensation for the affected. In covering these locations in Punjab and Sindh where such energy mega projects continue to be constructed (under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor investments), we have an opportunity to compare the gendered outcomes of land displacement, compensations and conflict in different contexts. Conversations that we catalysed within these communities about land rights, compensation processes and gender roles viz-a-viz these processes - continue and there seems to be greater space for women in these dialogues than at the start of our project. One of our RFAs, Nirmal Riaz, has taken her PhD research to the same communities and reports back about the shifting gender norms around women's participation and rights related to economic rights and land tenure. Communities continue to express that the research process supported their confidence to speak out about what they perceived to be abuses of power by the state, NGOs and corporate actors around the use of land in which they have held historic, customary rights. Furthermore, increased awareness about their rights to contest the developments through legal mechanisms such as the Right to Information Law and Public Interest Litigations (PILs). For example, the discussions generated through our research processes have supported ongoing PILs by affected citizens against a dam being built as part of these developments in Thar (the Gorrano Dam). |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | Invitation to share findings with key ministers |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Postgraduate course at IBA directly related to this research project and in the school of social sciences and liberal arts. |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Upcoming policymaker and practitioner workshop on mega projects and the right to information law at the Pakistan Press Foundation on Aprul 28 2018. |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | DOWN2EARTH: Translation of climate information into multilevel decision support for social adaptation, policy development, and resilience to water scarcity in the Horn of Africa Drylands |
| Amount | € 4,500,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | Human Dynamics of Climate Change (LC-CLA-05-2019). |
| Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 08/2024 |
| Description | GCRF Urban Violence & Climate Change Network |
| Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Research Councils UK (RCUK) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 03/2022 |
| Description | National Research Programme for Climate - Knowledge about and for climate efforts in society |
| Amount | 7,358,433 kr (SEK) |
| Funding ID | 2017-01941_3 |
| Organisation | Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS) |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | Sweden |
| Start | 01/2018 |
| End | 12/2020 |
| Description | Conflict Sensitive Adaptation in Kenya and Ethiopia |
| Organisation | Catholic University of Eastern Africa |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have developed a research project and partnership which will evaluate how conflict sensitive the implementation of renewable energy projects are in the borderlands of Kenya and Ethiopia. This will inform technical guidance and training I and my partners will give these two institutions on conflict-sensitivity in their work in future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are giving us access to their departments and funded projects in Kenya and Ethiopia for research purposes. |
| Impact | This project has just launched as of 1 Jan 2018 so there are no outputs as of yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Conflict Sensitive Adaptation in Kenya and Ethiopia |
| Organisation | Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have developed a research project and partnership which will evaluate how conflict sensitive the implementation of renewable energy projects are in the borderlands of Kenya and Ethiopia. This will inform technical guidance and training I and my partners will give these two institutions on conflict-sensitivity in their work in future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are giving us access to their departments and funded projects in Kenya and Ethiopia for research purposes. |
| Impact | This project has just launched as of 1 Jan 2018 so there are no outputs as of yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Conflict Sensitive Adaptation in Kenya and Ethiopia |
| Organisation | Swedish Energy Agency |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We have developed a research project and partnership which will evaluate how conflict sensitive the implementation of renewable energy projects are in the borderlands of Kenya and Ethiopia. This will inform technical guidance and training I and my partners will give these two institutions on conflict-sensitivity in their work in future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are giving us access to their departments and funded projects in Kenya and Ethiopia for research purposes. |
| Impact | This project has just launched as of 1 Jan 2018 so there are no outputs as of yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Conflict Sensitive Adaptation in Kenya and Ethiopia |
| Organisation | Turkana Pastoralist Development Organization |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have developed a research project and partnership which will evaluate how conflict sensitive the implementation of renewable energy projects are in the borderlands of Kenya and Ethiopia. This will inform technical guidance and training I and my partners will give these two institutions on conflict-sensitivity in their work in future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are giving us access to their departments and funded projects in Kenya and Ethiopia for research purposes. |
| Impact | This project has just launched as of 1 Jan 2018 so there are no outputs as of yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Conflict Sensitive Adaptation in Kenya and Ethiopia |
| Organisation | World Bank Group |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We have developed a research project and partnership which will evaluate how conflict sensitive the implementation of renewable energy projects are in the borderlands of Kenya and Ethiopia. This will inform technical guidance and training I and my partners will give these two institutions on conflict-sensitivity in their work in future. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They are giving us access to their departments and funded projects in Kenya and Ethiopia for research purposes. |
| Impact | This project has just launched as of 1 Jan 2018 so there are no outputs as of yet. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Research partnership with IBA University Karachi |
| Organisation | Institute of Business Administration, Karachi |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This AHRC funded research project was set up in partnership with Dr. Nausheen Anwar at IBA Karachi. Nausheen was co-PI and completely invaluable to the project. As planned, we have pursued several collaborative activities which have helped to raise the profile of IBA Karachi as a foremost research institution in Pakistan and South Asia. I have in particular used this opportunity to showcase the high quality of the institute's research in order to counteract unhelpful, long held biases against research institutes based in Pakistan and the global south. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 1. Co-Principal Investigator of the project, Dr. Anwar's expertise was crucial to the conception and implementation of this project, as well as the publications we are developing and the training and management of the Research Assistants (RAs) ; 2. Administration and logistics - IBA has managed the contractual processes with RAs, and been responsible for much of the logistics within Pakistan. |
| Impact | The outputs are related specifically to this project so I have listed them in the appropriate boxes elsewhere on this form. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Blog on the PACCS website: 'For the many, not for the few? Climate-related mega projects and Human Security in Pakistan', |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This blog was written for the AHRC-PACCS website in january 2018. The purpose was to highlight the research project and initial finding around the human security impacts of climate adaptation related mega projects. As it was fairly recent, I am unaware of the readership or substantive impact to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/blog/climate-related-mega-projects-and-human-security-in-pakistan/ |
| Description | Blog sharing the research - 'For Pakistan, China's huge energy investments may have serious political costs' - The Conversation, July 14 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog on our research was initially published by The Conversation, but then picked up by the Huffington Post as well as 10 other outlets. It has a readership of 49, 933 reads to date. It has also provided a point of discussion for different actors including government stakeholders, donors and the private sector who have approached us since reading it. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/for-pakistan-chinas-huge-energy-investments-may-have-serious-political-c... |
| Description | Conference Presentation at RC21 Leeds in September 2017. Paper title: "Climate Adaptation, Land Acquisition and Security: the Gendered Politics of Dispossession in Pakistan" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Abstract: "This paper presents the preliminary findings of an AHRC-ESRC funded research study on the impact of climate adaptation on gender and security in the 'urban hinterlands' of Sindh and Punjab in Pakistan. South Asia's hinterlands are inherently different from urban areas in terms of their governance and security. In these urbanising peripheries, intense forms of marginalisation manifest and they become key sites where the climate change-development-security nexus plays out. The development agenda has decidedly moved towards 'urban' centres/cities, yet the reality of many developing countries is an urbanising agrarian hinterland upon which states and cities depend (Aguilar et al, 2003; Girardet, 2017; Roy, 2005). Because of the global urban policy agenda those most affected by the urbanisation of the hinterland are largely invisible. This research project focuses on those invisible citizens, particularly in the context of the implementation of climate change related mega projects, notably solar, hydropower and underground coal gasification. The primary concern is to investigate how local security and livelihoods are supported and/or impacted by these processes. Secondly it focuses on how various actors and institutions use diverse . transparency, accountability and litigation mechanisms. Importantly, the projects being studied are funded through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - a $46 billion investment as part of China's 'One Belt One Road Scheme'. Pakistan and it's citizens are thus at the centre of geo-political shifts in development planning, funding and implementation. The research uncovers how poor citizens are impacted by such development, how/if they benefit through livelihood and compensation mechanisms and how they contest it through formal/legal and/or non-formal mechanisms. The paper will share the findings of 10 months of fieldwork in three case studies with women, men and trans* people. Sawas will share some examples of data including participatory photography and ethnographies of the quest for justice through public interest litigations." In terms of impacts of the presentation, there were a great deal of audience questions and discussion around the research, and it challenged views around the effects of low carbon development as well as how to categorise the 'urban'. I was also contacted after by panelists and audience members to enquire about the possibility of pursuing joint research projects/proposals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Participatory Photography with research participants |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | As part of this project we have done a participatory photography exercise with a range of research participants. This has been done to allow them to own the narrative about themselves - something which is rarely practised in development and security research. This will be showcased on a website which is currently being curated and will be launched in April. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
| Description | Presentation at National Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 'Empowering Women for Growth and Prosperity' Conference organised by Lead Pakistan and the Government of Pakistan |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.lead.org.pk/lead/Uploaded_images/Events/Agenda-Pakistan%20women%E2%80%99s%20empowerment%2... |
| Description | Presentation at World Urban Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Innovating pathways for safe and sustainable urban futures: #Innovation4SafeCities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ukri.org/files/research/gcrf/wuf10/gcrf-wuf10-delegate-booklet-pdf/ |
| Description | Presentation of working paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of working paper at urban conference organised by Asia Research Institute at National University of Singapore |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Public presentation for the Swedish Development Forum (FUF) which is a professional body supporting development actors based in Sweden. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was asked to give a filmed presentation on climate change, migration and security - reflecting on my work. I dedicated part of my presentation to sharing the implications learned through this research project, related to citizen's displacement or dispossession and their impact on security dynamics. FUF published the filmed talk on its website, youtube and twitter feed and I have since had contact from international stakeholders about the content. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.fuf.se/2017/11/28/security-and-migration-dimensions-of-climate-change/ |
| Description | Public seminar on our research project at IBA University entitled: "Democracy in Action: Petitioning the State" on March 6 2017. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a public debate focussed on our research agenda, specifically public interest litigations around energy mega projects in Sindh and Punjab. The session was moderated by Co-Pi Dr. Anwar and featured: Dr. Raza Gardezi (our partner on the project) - key expert on the legal mechanisms; journalist Sohail Sangi and Leela Ram an activist lawyer who is currently pursuing such a public interest litigation against the state. The key purpose was to raise awareness of citizen's legal rights and opportunities when dispossessed or displaced by mega projects. It was attended by a large audience of approximately 70-80 key stakeholders and was subsequently covered in the Sindhi media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.iba.edu.pk/democracy_in_action_petitioning_the_state.php |
| Description | Public seminar on our research project at IBA University entitled: "Mega projects, development and the environment: sustainability in the energy sector" on November 8 2017. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This debate, again focussing on our research project, invited the Director of the Government's Alternative Energy Department (Mehfooz Qazi) and the program officer responsible for the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment of one of the mega projects we are researching, to discuss such impacts and policy responses. Due to the profile of the speakers, it attracted a significant audience. It also helped to counteract negative views about the work of the government and the implementing agencies of these mega projects; such news have been fuelling political activism which has the potential to breed security problems. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Request for expert input |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Request to input to the 3rd UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (International Dimensions Chapter) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Request for expert input: IPCC contributing author on gender, climate change and security |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Requested to join the IPCC sixth assessment report process as a contributing author on gender, climate change and security for chapter 7: Health and the Wellbeing of Communities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Workshop with the media on climate change and land rights reporting in Pakistan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | We held a training workshop in Karachi with the media, lawyers and civil society on the 12 september 2018. In partnership with the Pakistan Press Foundation, this workshop was called "climate change, land and media reporting in Pakistan". This was covered in 7 major publications (5 english language, 1 urdu and 1 sindhi) and sparked many follow up calls and conversations with media and policy stakeholders |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |