Canada-IDRC Myanmar Research Fellowships
With funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, a research team will document traditional ecological knowledge and perceptions of climate change along the Myanmar-Nagaland border to facilitate the opening of channels for dialogue about climate justice and food security.
Based at the Highland Institute (India), the team, comprising a local coordinator and three postgraduate researchers with extensive local knowledge and networks, will conduct studies on the above over the course of 34 months (March 2023–Dec 2025).
The project will also research and develop a prototype communication vehicle to be used to inform farmers on the international border about global climate change and its local implications.
Wider context
This initiative joins a larger effort with IDRC support seeking to provide resources to partner institutions offering research fellowships, training, and fora for dialogue with junior and senior scholars, and policymakers from Myanmar currently contending with the challenging political situation in the country, which continues to adversely affect ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups, including children.
This project is one in a series of initiatives aimed at developing a more comprehensive mapping of social, economic, and environmental indicators, which can provide information for use in developing effective responses to climatic and social challenges.
Objectives
In particular, the Earthkeepers project will:
- Build local research capacity and mobility, working with local researchers through funded research fellowships.
- Foster local, regional, and international research collaboration and exchange.
- Produce several valuable ethnographic materials, including digital recordings, textual and visual resources, to be securely housed at the Highland Institute in Kohima, accessible in perpetuity, in multiple formats, for participating local communities, and all project stakeholders.
