The Transdisciplinary Group on Political Ecology has four conveners. All the conveners are either graduate students or post-docs at the faculty of Arts, University of Calgary. The following are the conveners:
- Sujoy Subroto
- Sammy Sanchez
- Saurabh Chowdhury
- Ana Watson
Sujoy Subroto is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary, Canada. He has conducted research on various aspects of forest governance and conservation politics, emerging nature-society relations, rural livelihoods, and climate justice in diverse settings, ranging from tropical forests to mangroves, including Bangladesh, India, Sweden, and Canada. He is a strong advocate for social justice and, as an activist and researcher, believes that research is a tool to actively engage with Indigenous and marginalized communities, amplify their voices, rights, and representation, and bring about transformative changes responsibly. He is a co-convenor of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) Working Group on Political Ecology. For more information, click here.
Sammy Sanchez is a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on small farmer communities in the Amazon region of Colombia. She investigates issues related to deforestation, socio-environmental conflicts in protected areas, and the impacts of green policies and land grabbing on social reproduction, with a particular emphasis on gender and generational dynamics. Additionally, she has explored topics such as militarization, counterinsurgency, and drug policies in Colombia. She is also a co-convenor of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) Working Group on Political Ecology.
Saurabh Chowdhury is a PhD Student at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary. He is specializing in forests and livelihoods with an interest in the impacts of climate change mitigation, especially nature conservation, on forest-based communities in central India. He has worked with rural communities both as a researcher-collaborator and a development sector professional allowed him to engage with various stakeholders including donors, government institutions and civil society organizations. The transdisciplinary nature of his research enables him to bring in different perspectives, including diverse voices and forging connections beyond academic disciplines/spaces. He is a co-convenor of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) Working Group on Political Ecology. For more information, click here.
Ana Watson is a postdoctoral associate at the Political Science department at the University of Calgary. Through her research, Ana aims to uncover the underlying conditions and power dynamics for a sustainable and equitable transition to low carbon futures. Ana’s expertise in political ecology and participatory environmental governance is grounded in her extensive experience as a biodiversity specialist, transdisciplinary researcher and her passion for environmental justice. With a PhD in Geography, and more than 10 years of professional experience as an engineer, she brings a unique blend of academic experience and practical knowledge to her work. She has been involved in international transdisciplinary research projects and networks that identify the conditions that enable participatory environmental governance in the Americas. Dr. Watson has developed transdisciplinary and science-policy skills in her role as a Science, Technology and Policy Fellow at the InterAmerican Institute for Global Change Research. Her goal is to bridge the gap between transdisciplinary knowledge production and decision-making to facilitate effective and equitable science-policy. For more information, click here.
