Channel Title: SciencexMedia at Global Development (Cornell University) Channel Description: SciencexMedia is a media production unit working within Global Development of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University. We produce non-fiction science-based films and videos for clients across the University who value the importance of visual media for science communication and education. SciencexMedia supports Cornell research projects through the production of science advocacy films and animations for use by the general public, donors, and project partners. Since 2011 our event recording and live streaming services have captured more than 400 Cornell events for archive and distribution to audiences worldwide. <video> Malini Ranganathan: Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City Description: Cornell University Seminar in Critical Development Studies hosted by Cornell Global Development, the Polson Institute for Global Development, the Department of City and Regional Planning, and the Graduate Field of Development Studies Abstract: The millennial city of the global South is a charged setting for allegations of corruption, with skyscrapers, land grabs, and slum evictions invoking outrage at deepening economic polarization. This talk, based on a newly published book Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City, rethinks commonsense notions that equate corruption with bribery. It illuminates instead how corruption is fundamental to a global storytelling practice about how states and elites abuse entrusted power both inside and outside the law. Drawing on ethnography in Bengaluru and Mumbai and a cross-section of literary and cinematic stories of corruption from cities around the world, Malini Ranganathan and coauthors David L. Pike and Sapana Doshi pay close attention to the racial, caste, class, and gender location of the narrators, spaces, and publics imagined to be harmed by corruption. Corruption Plots demonstrates how, in this moment of late capitalism and rightwing populism, corruption talk is leveraged to make sense of the unequal stakes of rapid urban change; it is equally used opportunistically by those who are themselves implicated in wrongdoing. Offering a wide-ranging analysis of urban worlds, the authors reveal the ethical, spatial, and political stakes of storytelling and how vital it is to examine the “corruption plot” in all its contradictions. About the speaker: Malini Ranganathan is Associate Professor in the School of International Service and a faculty affiliate of the Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies at American University. An urban geographer and political ecologist by training, her research in India and the U.S. studies land, labor, and environmental injustices animating urban social movements, as well as global histories of anticaste, abolitionist, and anticolonial thought. Her coauthored book, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics and Publics of the Late Capitalist City, will be out with Cornell University Press in April 2023. She is co-editor of Rethinking Difference in India through Racialization and has authored several journal articles, including in the journals Antipode, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and the Annals of the American Association of Geographers. Dr. Ranganathan is a 2017-2019 recipient of an Andrew Mellon-American Council of Learned Societies fellowship and a 2021 faculty awardee for outstanding contributions to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at American University. </video> <video> Distinguished Speaker in Global Development: Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted Description: Transforming Food Systems: Aquatic Foods for Nourishing People and Planet Distinguished speaker: Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, Director, Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform, CGIAR Abstract: Global hunger and malnutrition rates have been increasing, exacerbated by disruptions, including climate change, conflicts and COVID-19. Over the past three years, these disruptions have reversed the progress we have made towards achieving Agenda 2030, especially meeting the targets of SDG 2: Zero Hunger. There is growing recognition, backed by scientific data, on the potential and role of aquatic foods in transforming food systems to nourish people and planet. Aquatic food systems provide food and nutrition security and livelihood opportunities for over three billion people, globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Studies have shown that aquatic foods have lower economic and environmental costs, when compared to land-based foods. A paradigm shift, to diversify and build resilience in aquatic food systems, is necessary to optimize the reach of aquatic foods in nourishing people and planet. This requires strong commitments by food systems enablers, including governments and policymakers, research institutions, the private sector, and local communities. About the speaker: Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, native of Trinidad and Tobago and a citizen of Denmark, is the Director of the Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform at CGIAR. She received the 2021 World Food Prize for her groundbreaking research, critical insights and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture and food systems. By bringing together interdisciplinary and international collaborators, she drove transformations in aquatic food systems to deliver improved nutrition, resilient ecosystems and secure livelihoods for millions of vulnerable people across the globe. Prior to joining WorldFish in 2010, she worked as an Associate Professor in the human nutrition departments of the University of Copenhagen and The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark. She has more than 25 years’ experience in research and has published many refereed articles on food and nutrition security in low-income countries. Shakuntala holds a Ph.D from the The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark. </video> <video> A Fireside Chat with Phillip Polakoff Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Spring 2023 Seminar Series Speaker: Phillip Polakoff Phillip Polakoff, Founder and CEO of A Healthier We, will share how his 45-year career in health care has contributed to equity in rural health. The talk will explore a holistic definition of health, the core challenges that rural communities face in accessing health care, and how grassroots and government advocates can work together to provide sustainable solutions. Polakoff will also discuss how his degrees in rural sociology and public health impacted his career trajectory in rural health care and advocacy. The talk will be moderated by Lori Leonard, Chair of Global Development at Cornell University. About the speaker Dr. Polakoff’s distinguished career in health and health care spans forty-five years and includes clinical services, product innovation, network development, care management, organizational and business enhancement, policy formulation, communications and financing. He is a health transformation advisor, and previously has worked in product and network development, care management, organizational and business development, policy formulation, communications and financing. He serves as the founder and CEO of A Healthier We, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing critical issues of rural health. Dr. Polakoff’s previous positions have included being short listed for US Surgeon General, Senior Managing Director of publicly traded consulting firms, advisor to numerous payers, providers, investors, employers, labor organizations and public entities. Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Total Health Advocacy Partners (Thap!). He has produced numerous health-related media productions. Including videos being aired as Phil Polakoff MD-Thrive Global. For many years Dr. Polakoff and his wife, Nancy Pfund, have been integral advisors to the Center. About the seminar series The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series will be presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. </video> <video> Jacob Fox: Improving US Farm Viability by Tackling the Organic Waste Problem Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Spring 2023 Seminar Series Speaker: Jacob Fox US farmers have all the tools to take advantage of food waste diversion from landfills. They have the physical tools on the farm and the knowledge necessary to turn “waste” into a valuable product. They can use the replenished soil on farm or capitalize on the opportunity to sell it to the public through local garden stores and even box store locations. This is not a new concept, people for thousands of years have known the value of biodegradable waste, we have just lost sight of it for the last few decades, and in the US we end up landfilling most of our food waste. The current rates for garbage handling and disposal are very high and local farms can take advantage of the key alternative income streams. Contamination needs to be monitored as with all other farm inputs, but food waste offers a good opportunity to reduce the dependence on chemical fertilizers, improve farm viability, and support local resource resiliency. Policy-makers, legislators, and other decision makers need to see this opportunity and use a wide range of legislative tools to enable farmers to solve the food waste problem. One example could be: state legislators tax landfills or large food producers for accepting or generating food waste and use the proceeds to pay for farm scale implementation. Some farm scale improvements might be a dumping pad, road improvement, billing support, branding help, or other expenses that farmers might need to spend in order to maximize value out of the waste. Our policy makers and researchers have been pointing towards large centralized digesters as the solution to food waste. While this is a solution, it might not be the right solution. We need to engage farms of all different sizes to play a role in organic waste diversion so they can build their soil and improve their bottom line. About the speaker Jacob Fox has 6 years of experience working in the composting and vermicomposting industries. He secured grant funds and the development of a 2000-ton capacity vermicomposting operation in Geneva, NY. Fox managed that facility for 1 year, while also registering several farms with NYSDEC to accept food waste. Fox has a wide range of experience from the front end (food processors all the way to individuals) to the back end (hauling, contract negotiation, composting/vermicomposting, soil amendments sales, research, trade shows, FDA, and many more). Fox has also consulted with a wide range of companies and farmers in the regenerative agriculture space. He is also developing a 50-acre silvopasture operation that will involve agri-tourism, research, community tours, among other projects. Fox is very passionate about helping farms make more money for their products as well as their ecosystem services. About the seminar series The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series will be presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. </video> <video> Innovation for People and Planet: Reimagining Capitalism with Manoj Kumar Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series at Cornell University Abstract: Around the globe, 800m people spend more than 10% of their household budget on health care, and nearly 100m of these are pushed into extreme poverty every year by out-of-pocket health expenses. A big hairy question facing us is: How can we make healthcare more affordable, and improve access to quality healthcare resources, for the people bordering the poverty line? Poverty remains our number one enemy, but increasingly and excitingly, we see opportunities to flip the situation and create mass prosperity. However, this requires a focus on agricultural innovations and allied livelihoods. So, the big question also morphs into: How can we improve productivity, reduce risk, increase income, and enhance access to essential goods and services for the poor? Global efforts to curb emissions and transition into a low-carbon economy can counterintuitively compromise economic progress in the Global South, leading to increased poverty and inequity. Another hairy question, then, is: How do we develop and deploy solutions to converge our development priorities with the overall emission reduction mission? The list is endless. Low and middle-income countries need breakthrough technologies to address some of these complex problems, but an innovation ecosystem is required to address market failure and support entrepreneurial risk-taking. Social Alpha has created a Multi-Stage Innovation Curation & Venture Development platform in India that supports high-impact innovations by making them deployment-ready and investible through a full-stack lab-to-market de-risking model. It has demonstrated that some of the most challenging problems in health, climate and livelihoods can be solved to achieve sustainable development goals. However, this requires a convergence of science and technology, public policy, markets, and communities. In this talk, Manoj Kumar will focus on addressing market failure by de-risking innovations, creating blended capital pools, and attracting mainstream business interest in the development sector. It will also highlight that aligning the incentives of society, state, and markets is necessary to attract entrepreneurial and investment risk-taking, the two most critical ingredients of the innovation economy. About the speaker: Manoj Kumar is the Founder of Social Alpha, a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups that aim to solve the most critical social, economic and environmental challenges. Social Alpha supports entrepreneurs through a network of innovation labs, venture accelerators, blended capital pools and market access mechanisms. Selected start-ups get access to R&D infrastructure, sandboxes for pilots and validations, product management guidance, technical, business and regulatory expertise, early-stage risk capital and entrepreneurial mentoring. Since its inception in 2016, Social Alpha has supported over 250 start-ups, including 60+ seed investments and 100+ innovation grants. Before founding Social Alpha, Manoj was an entrepreneur and an early-stage venture investor. Manoj serves on the boards of several companies, non-profits and research institutions. Manoj is also a Trustee of the Tata Institute for Genetics and Society and a Senior Advisor to Tata Trusts. Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> From Climate Coloniality to Climate Revolutions with Farhana Sultana Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series Abstract : The extremely uneven and inequitable impacts of climate change creates differential vulnerabilities, experiences, responses, and coping mechanisms across the world. Climate coloniality clarifies how to understand this in more nuanced ways. The coloniality of climate seeps through everyday life across space and time, weighing down and curtailing opportunities and possibilities through global racial capitalism, colonial dispossessions, and climate debts. Decolonizing climate needs to address the complexities of colonialism, imperialism, capitalism, international development, and geopolitics that contribute to the reproduction of ongoing colonialities through existing global governance structures, discursive framings, imagined solutions, and interventions. This requires addressing both epistemic violences and material outcomes to foster care-full resplendent climate revolutions. By weaving through such mediations, Farhana Sultana offers an understanding of climate coloniality and climate revolutions that are theorized and grounded in lived experiences. About the speaker Farhana Sultana is Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where she is also the Research Director for Environmental Collaboration and Conflicts at the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflicts and Collaboration (PARCC). Dr. Sultana is an internationally recognized and award-winning interdisciplinary scholar of political ecology, water governance, climate justice, post‐colonial development, social and environmental justice, decolonizing knowledge, and transnational feminisms. Author of several dozen publications, her research and scholar-activism draw from her experiences of having lived and worked on three continents as well as from her backgrounds in the natural sciences, social sciences, and policy experience. Prior to joining Syracuse, she taught at King’s College London and worked at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Dr. Sultana graduated Cum Laude from Princeton University (in Geosciences and Environmental Studies) and obtained her Masters and PhD (in Geography) from the University of Minnesota, where she was a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellow. She was awarded the Glenda Laws Award from the American Association of Geographers for “outstanding contributions to geographic research on social issues” in 2019. Perspectives in Global Development seminar series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> Our Changing Menu: Using the Power of Food to Confront Climate Change with Mike Hoffman Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series, Cornell University Abstract: Food is loved and needed, it is emotive, and it is deeply imbedded in cultures and family histories. However, not enough people know that climate change is changing everything from what crop plants depend on for life to the flavors, aromas, nutritional quality, availability, and prices of the foods we love and need. It is an ideal messenger for the climate change story and one that can make climate change relevant to everyone — we all eat. This story also resonates across the political divide with most people, regardless of political affiliation, being concerned about climate change impacts on their food choices and interested in learning more about climate change impacts on their food — an audience awaits. We also talk a lot about food but far less about climate change yet talking about climate change is the first step in tackling it. Can we meld these conversations? Everyone can tap the power of food to confront climate change and keep our favorites on the menu. And coincidentally, keep the planet livable. About the speaker: Mike Hoffmann is dedicating his life to confronting the grand challenge of climate change by helping people understand and appreciate what is happening through the foods we all love and need. We all eat, making this story relevant to everyone, every day. He has published climate change articles in the popular press, such as The Hill, Fortune, Medium, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Daily News, and USA Today, and is lead author of Our changing menu: Climate change and the foods we love and need (Cornell Press 2021). His TEDx Talk – Climate change: It’s time to raise our voices has been well received along with the over 150 climate change – related talks he has given. Mike’s life’s experiences include growing up on a one-cow dairy farm, serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War, and being a father and someone’s partner for 51 years. He held multiple leadership roles in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, including Executive Director of the Cornell Institute for Climate Change Solutions, Director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, and director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. He received his BS Degree from the University Wisconsin, MS from the University of Arizona, and PhD from the University of California, Davis. He now holds the title of Professor Emeritus. He will tell the climate change story, until he no longer can. Perspectives in Global Development Seminar Series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> Circular Bionutrient Economy for AgriFood System Transition with Chuan Liao, Cornell University Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Spring 2023 Seminar Series Speaker: Chuan Liao, assistant professor of global development, Cornell University Abstract: Achieving enhanced circularity in agrifood systems is essential to sustainably feed a growing global population. There is an urgent need to generate reliable conceptual and generalizable knowledge about a circular bionutrient economy, as well as to develop evidence-based policies that maximize resources dedicated to enhancing nutrient justice and agrifood system sustainability. It is also important to recognize the diversity of existing pathways towards a circular bionutrient economy that are already being adopted. By promoting a circular bionutrient economy through recognition, (re)distribution, and procedure, there is substantial potential to simultaneously improve the productivity and sustainability of agriculture while alleviating injustice in food production and mitigating its environmental impacts. With concerted efforts towards enhancing circularity, we can contribute towards a more just, equitable, and sustainable future. About the speaker: Chuan Liao is Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University. As an interdisciplinary sustainability and environmental social scientist, Chuan’s research interest lies at the intersection of environment, development, and justice. He develops and applies integrated approaches to study human-environment interactions by linking statistical, spatial, and other quantitative methods. He has worked on topics that include land tenure and land use change, food security, pastoralist mobility and livelihoods, community-based natural resources management, dryland sustainability, and sustainable energy transition. He was Editor-in-Chief of World Development, a multi-disciplinary monthly journal of development studies that seeks to explore ways of improving standards of living and human condition by examining potential solutions to problems such as poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, disease, gender and ethnic discrimination, and environmental degradation. Prior to Cornell, he was Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University for 4 years and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School for Environment and Sustainability at University of Michigan for 3 years. Chuan obtained his BS in Resource Science at Beijing Normal University, and his MS and PhD in Natural Resources at Cornell University. About the seminar series The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series will be presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. </video> <video> Socio-Eco Benefits of Collective Rice Certification in the Dominican Republic Description: 2023 Perspectives in Global Development Seminar, Cornell University Abstract: The industrialized practices of rice production in the Dominican Republic create extensive environmental and social costs through fertilizer and pesticide run-off, soil erosion, economic vulnerability, and low labor standards. Dr. Payton and Dr. Cox will discuss the challenges and promises of a sustainable rice certification scheme in the province of Montecristi in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Payton has led this certification effort for several years, largely through his leadership of AgroFrontera, a local Dominican NGO, with assistance from Dr. Cox as an academic partner and consultant. About the speakers: As Executive Director of AgroFrontera, Frederick Payton leads programs that enhance biodiversity conservation and improve the economic performance and social responsibility of local, national and international food systems, with particular focus on improving livelihoods of small-scale farmers and artisanal fishers. Dr. Payton has worked at the Institute of Community and Area Development and the Office of International Agriculture at the University of Georgia and was a senior scientist and interim director of the International Potato Center’s Central American and Caribbean regional office. Dr. Payton has served on the board of directors of Organic Farming Research Foundation, Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and Georgia Organics. He holds a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Cornell University. Michael Cox is an environmental social scientist who studies environmental policy and governance with a focus on community-based natural resource management and a socio-ecological systems research consultant with AgroFrontera. He has conducted empirical fieldwork-based analyses of irrigation systems in the Southwest United States, Peru and Kenya. His current empirical work is focused on community-based fisheries and rice farming systems in the Dominican Republic, where he collaborates with AgroFrontera, a local Dominican NGO. He is the co-founder and co-host of the In Common Podcast, which is the official podcast of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. He is finishing a book project on environmental property rights, to be published in 2023. This seminar was co-hosted by Perspectives in Global Development and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Seminar Series. </video> <video> The Paradigm Shift Needed to Achieve Economic Justice and Rights for Women with Jemimah Njuki Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series at Cornell University Abstract: There is a sense of intensified polarization on gender equality around the world and within multilateral spaces, although gender equality remains an urgent and an under-actioned global priority. Tensions between human rights and development are at the center of this polarization. Ahead of the Beijing +30 being marked in 2025, how do we foster a global movement for urgent action and accountability for gender equality and ensure we do not compromise on the systemic changes that are needed to guarantee human rights for all women and girls in all their diversity. In this seminar, Jemimah Njuki will talk about the tensions, the vision for a gender equal world, how we can galvanize global action and the role of the UN system. About the speaker: Dr. Jemimah Njuki is the Chief of the Economic Empowerment section at UN Women. She is a recognized leader on gender equality and women's empowerment, having directed global initiatives promoting women's economic empowerment. Jemimah previously worked at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) as the Director for Africa, where she worked with African governments and key stakeholders to develop evidence for transformative policy change. She has spent the last two years leading the UN Food Systems Summit's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Lever of Change and was instrumental in establishing the Coalition to Make Food Systems Work for Women and Girls. Additionally, she led the design and deployment of the Global Food 5050, an indicator and mechanism for gender responsibility for organizations engaged in global food systems. She has led the gender equality work with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) including the design of the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GRoW), the Women in Agriculture programme at CARE USA, and the Poverty, Gender and Impact programme at the International Livestock Research Institute. Perspectives in Global Development: The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:20-1:20 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series is presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> Development Through Inclusive Agriculture & Food Systems - Our Shared Futures with Purvi Mehta Description: Perspectives in Global Development Seminar at Cornell University Abstract: This talk will highlight agriculture and food systems as a continued lever for development — as a key source of food and nutrition, livelihoods, economic and social security in many parts of the world. While highlighting some key achievements of agriculture to bridge the gaps, the talk will also focus on the need for transformative and inclusive growth with a focus on two key challenges: COVID-19 and the climate crisis. The talk will use real life examples, evidence and perspectives from the speaker’s close association with the development sector in Africa and Asia, with a focus on shared solutions rather than further diagnosis of the problems. About the speaker: Dr. Purvi Mehta is the Deputy Director for Agriculture Development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where she also leads the Foundation’s climate adaptation programs globally. She has her formal education, up to PhD, from M.S. University (India), Tokyo University (Japan) and North Carolina State University (USA). Dr. Mehta has worked with the CGIAR, as head of Asia for the International Livestock Research Institute and as head of South Asia Biosafety program (IFPRI, USAID), and brings a blend of Asia and Africa experience. She is on the board of several organizations, including International Alliance for Ecology and Health, International Centre for Rural Agriculture, Independent Director on Board of National Commodity Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX), and World Food Prize. She is an honorary professor at Amity University (India) and visiting faculty at Cornell University (USA). She has been closely associated with several agriculture and nutrition policy platforms in India, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, and serves on several committees and advisory panels. She has over fifty publications and two books to her credit. About the seminar series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> Food Security, Water Quality, and Climate Change: Global Challenges Requiring Local Empowerment Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series with David Wolfe, Emeritus Professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science (Horticulture Section) at Cornell University Abstract When a community is facing one of our global challenges, perspectives and knowledge from those with experience beyond the locale can of course be beneficial. This can provide scientific expertise that might not be available locally, and also examples of how other communities have dealt with similar challenges. In the case of climate change, there often is considerable uncertainty as to whether unusual weather patterns and/or extreme events being observed at the local level reflect “normal” variability, or are part of a well-documented climate trend that warrants a change in behavior and/or significant infrastructure investment. That being said, if we learned anything about addressing these challenges in the past 50 years it is that for many reasons what works as a solution in one region, does not guarantee success in another. While this has led to some humility on the part of global challenge “experts” today, gathering local perspectives and expertise is still sometimes approached superficially. In this presentation we will examine several case studies from projects in the US, East Africa, and Asia that illustrate the full suite of benefits that can be gained by more seriously pursuing local knowledge and community engagement. This requires digging deep into a public dialogue that builds trust, respect, and significant new knowledge among all participants. The end result can be a community that is more resilient, unified, and empowered to take on food security and environmental challenges long after the experts have moved on. About the speaker Dr. David Wolfe is Emeritus Professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science (Horticulture Section) at Cornell University. His research has focused primarily on soil health and water management, and climate change solutions for managed and natural ecosystems. Soon after joining the Cornell faculty in 1984, his projects expanded beyond a US focus, to also address environmental and food security challenges in East Africa and Asia. In addition to peer-reviewed research publications, Dr. Wolfe has maintained a significant outreach program focused on producing resources for farmers in the US and abroad. Other science communication efforts include news media interviews, writing commentary for the popular press, and an award-winning soil ecology book for general audiences, Tales From the Underground: A Natural History of Subterranean Life. Interactions with policy-makers include co-authoring the 2008 and 2014 National Climate Assessments sponsored by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and providing oral and written testimony at state and national government hearings. Teaching contributions have included courses such as “Climate Change and Food Security” and “Cropping Systems Ecology”, and serving on the Curriculum Committee for the Environment & Sustainability major. Dr. Wolfe retired from Cornell in 2021, and currently is Board Chair for the local non-profit Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, and a member of the Tompkins County Environmental Management and Water Resource Councils, and the Town of Lansing Conservation Advisory Council. More about the Perspectives in Global Development seminar series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video> <video> David McDonald: What’s Public About Public Services? Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Spring 2023 Seminar Series Speaker: David McDonald What is the meaning of ‘public’ and how does it shape our understanding of public services? This talk examines the history of this question, highlighting the limits of publicness in market economies while also exploring opportunities for non-marketized public alternatives and the potential for building a robust ‘pro-public’ movement. Learn more about David McDonald's work in his new book, Meanings of Public and the Future of Public Services. About the speaker David McDonald is a Professor of Global Development Studies at Queen’s University, Canada, and Director of the Municipal Services Project. His research revolves around debates over public versus private service delivery (with a focus on water, electricity and health care), but encompasses a broad spectrum of related questions on urbanization, environmental justice and uneven development. Much of this research has been conducted through the Municipal Services Project, which McDonald founded and has been co-director of since 2000. The focus of this project is 'alternatives to privatization', with research partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. The project works with academics, social movements, labour unions and community groups in an effort to deepen our grassroots engagement and create research products that are relevant and useful to the communities and organizations most affected by these debates. About the seminar series The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series will be presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Polson Institute for Global Development. </video> <video> Balancing Conservation and Development in Rural New York – the Role of the Finger Lakes Land Trust Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Spring 2023 Seminar Series Speaker: Andy Zepp Since it was established in 1989, the Finger Lakes Land Trust has worked cooperatively with landowners and local communities to conserve more than 29,000 acres of the region’s undeveloped shoreline, rugged gorges, mature forests, and scenic farmland. The organization today owns and manages a network of 50 nature preserves that are open to the public and holds more than 150 perpetual conservation easements on lands that remain in private ownership. As the organization increased its capacity in recent years, it has also increased the scope of its activities – collaborating with a variety of public and private sector partners to address a range of issues including harmful algal blooms, sustainable economic development, and the siting of renewable energy facilities. This presentation will highlight pressing issues facing the region, in terms of balancing conservation and economic development, as well as possible solutions. It will also show how land and water conservation efforts can serve as a meaningful contributor to sustainable economic growth. About the speaker Andy Zepp is Executive Director of the Finger Lakes Land Trust, an Ithaca-based non-profit conservation organization that works cooperatively with landowners and local communities within the 12 counties of the Finger Lakes Region. The organization owns and manages a network of nature preserves while holding conservation easements on privately owned lands and facilitating the acquisition of land by public conservation agencies and other non-profit organizations. Andy has worked in the conservation field for more than 30 years, including service as Vice President for Programs for the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, DC and as Associate Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Central & Western NY Chapter. He has also served on a number of planning, conservation, and grant making boards in the public sector. Andy is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a B.S. in Industrial & Labor Relations and an M.P.S. in Natural Resources. About the seminar series The Perspectives in Global Development seminars are held Wednesdays from 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. eastern time during the semester. The series will be presented in a hybrid format with some speakers on campus and others appearing via Zoom. All seminars are shown in Emerson Hall 135. Students, faculty and the general public are welcome to attend. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Global Development, the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Integrative Plant Science as part of courses GDEV 4961, AEM 4961, NTRES 4961, GDEV 6960, AEM 6960, and NTRES 6960. </video> <video> The State Orchestrated Regional Cooperation and Regional Inequalities with Yuanshuo Xu Description: Perspectives in Global Development: Fall 2023 Seminar Series at Cornell University Abstract Local governments in China are increasingly seeking regional cooperation amidst competition. This shift in local development is spurred by state rescaling efforts to reduce regional inequalities, complemented by bottom-up responses to seek resources and empowerment at regional scale. But how can the left-behind places engage in this regional cooperation? This talk delves into the state-orchestrated regional cooperation within the Yangtze River Delta, highlighting its emerging patterns, diverse fields and innovative forms. Special attention is given to the cooperation between the well-developed places and the left-behind areas. It will explore how the state constructs narratives, shapes institutions and motivates different actors to collaborate for its developmental objectives, such as poverty reduction, balanced regional development, ecological civilization and common prosperity. The divergent impacts of cooperation will be also discussed, revealing both the spillover benefits for underdeveloped areas and risks of draining population and economic activities from these areas during collaboration. About the speaker Yuanshuo Xu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Development and Management at Zhejiang University. Dr. Xu’s research focuses on how governments can promote inclusive development and sustainable growth within the context of devolution, regionalization and globalization. He studies state rescaling in both the US and China and how it shapes local development and regional inequalities. Currently, Dr. Xu is leading several projects in China funded by the NSF, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Zhejiang province. These projects examine the regional cooperation of Chinese cities on development, governance and sustainable transformation. His work has been published in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Environment and Planning A, Science of the Total Environment, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, Landscape and Urban Planning etc., and has been covered by media outlets such as Science Daily and The Paper. Dr. Xu received his B.E. degree in land resource management from China University of Mining and Technology, and he obtained his M.R.P a Ph.D degrees in City and Regional Panning from Cornell University. Dr. Xu is also the Deputy Director of the Institute of Urban Governance, Deputy Director of the Research Center for Urbanization and Spatial Governance, and Assistant Director of the China Institute of Urbanization, Zhejiang University. More about the Perspectives in Global Development seminar series: https://cals.cornell.edu/global-development/perspectives-global-development </video>

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