Nureen Anisha
Oregon State University
Title: Water Security among Riparian Communities in Dhaka: In the Lens of Gender, Class and Location Based Inequities
Abstract: Having piped water supply is one of the major components of city life, but less than 30% of residents living in Asian cities enjoy the privilege of having 24-hour water supply. In Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, where a significant population lives below the poverty line and dwells in slums and squatter settlements, the case is no exception. A spatial mapping found that approximately 7,600 households in slum settlements are within 50 meters of a river and are at the risk of being flooded. In fact, the communities living along the banks of the peripheral rivers in Dhaka are mostly very poor, migrated from rural areas and live in slums or in informal settlements. Like most other slum communities, the riparian communities not just lack access to sufficient amount of safe water for all their domestic purposes, they are also exposed to the high pollution in the peripheral rivers of Dhaka, which makes them even much more vulnerable. As the title of the research suggests, this research project would particularly address few components of urban water security in Dhaka. Water security will be assessed by four standards: water availability, water accessibility, water quality and water acceptability. The research will be focused on the marginalized low-income communities living on the banks on river Turag and Balu. In this study, the impacts of industrialization will be largely considered and impacts of agricultural runoff, waste landfills and climate change will not be predominantly considered. Lastly, the entire study would investigate how the social disparity between men and women, disparity among different social, religious, ethnic and economic classes define the accessibility to water and movement around the water for the members within the households inside the riparian communities.
Melinda Borgens
Portland State University
Title: Strategies for TMDL Development in the Willamette River Basin: Evaluation of Category 5 Toxic Pollutants & Identification of Pollutant Sources
Abstract: Portions of the Willamette River Basin have been added to Oregon’s 303d list as being impaired for 27 toxic pollutants for which Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) need to be developed that include: metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and organochlorine and organophosphorus insecticides. States are required to list waterbodies on the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 303d list when minimum point source treatment technologies have been implemented and the receiving waterbodies are still not meeting water quality standards. States are required to develop TMDLs for pollutant reductions, which are plans for the waterbody to meet water quality standards. These plans can take as long as three years to develop that include source assessment, fate and transport modeling, calculations of loading capacities, and allocations. A strategy that would allow the development of TMDLs for multiple listings could potentially reduce the amount of time needed for individual pollutant TMDL development, leading to quicker TMDL implementation and reduction of toxic pollutants in the Willamette River Basin. This Project will develop a strategy to evaluate basin-wide pollutant sources and group pollutants based on fate and transport characteristics, enabling the DEQ to develop TMDLs more efficiently.
Elizabeth Camarata
Oregon State University
Title: Native Aquatic Plant Community Response to Elodea canadensis on the Copper River Delta, Alaska
Abstract: Elodea is the first observed non-native aquatic plant in Alaska. Though its native range extends to coastal Northern British Columbia, it is considered invasive in the state. The first recorded occurrence was located on the Copper River Delta in Southcentral AK and dates to 1982 with increasing attention on nuisance populations since then. In 2015, the US Forest Service began conducting surveys to collect quantitative data on established populations in collaboration with a state-wide effort to mitigate invasion. The Copper River Delta is the largest contiguous wetland complex in North America with an area of approximately 700,000 encompassing various waterbody types and landscape conditions. The species E. canadensis is present in waterbodies that serve as integral habitat for rearing juvenile salmon. The local economy includes a lucrative fishing industry and subsistence harvest which are highly dependent on the health of the delta’s macrophyte rich aquatic ecosystems to support five species of Pacific salmon. Little is known about the ecological role of E. canadensis in subarctic environments. The response of native macrophtye communities to infestation is being evaluated using a variety of sampling approaches employing nested plot design within ponds and lakes to capture changes in abundance and species composition at multiple scales. Aquatic plant community data collected in 1992 prior to Elodea introduction is being compared with post-introduction data collected in 2017 to gain insight into shifts in community composition and habitat quality. Results from data are preliminary with final analysis including three growing seasons of data.
Erin Costello
Portland State University
Title: Development, testing and application of an effective shade model for water quality management in Oregon
Abstract: A unique method for predicting effective shade values at the watershed scale was developed using data inputs derived from aerial imagery instead of LIDAR. Unique sampling techniques were also developed for extracting variables of interest from remotely sensed datasets. The random forests machine learning algorithm was used to identify relationships between the predictor variables and effective shade. Preliminary results suggest that NDVI and topography are important indicators for effective shade within the Middle Fork Coquille Watershed.
David Demaree
Oregon State University
Title: Vadoze Zone Nitrogen Transport and Stakeholder Engagement in La Pine, Oregon
Abstract: Nitrate contamination in groundwater has been a controversial political issue in La Pine, OR, and contamination has been attributed to septic systems. Nitrogen in the vadose zone was studied to gain a better understanding of nitrogen fate and transport above the water table. Soil samples were taken from 4 sites, 1 site was at a residence in a subdivision and remaining 3 site were in the undeveloped BLM land surrounding the subdivision. Soil samples were taken at 5 depths from each site and analyzed for moisture, pH, conductivity, nitrate, ammonia, total nitrogen, organic matter, texture, and infiltration. Results from the site in the subdivision (<28 ppm nitrate) were different from results outside the subdivision (<1.22 ppm nitrate).
Stakeholders were engaged and participated in this study, in order to increase stakeholder legitimacy of the study. Stakeholders were educated about the study, gave feedback on the planning of the study during focus groups, and participated in sample collection in the field. Surveys were given to stakeholders at the start of the study and will be given again to stakeholder at the end of the study to determine changes in stakeholder legitimacy.
André Faria
Oregon State University
Title: Beyond Carrots and Sticks in REDD+: How Institutions, People and Power Shape Benefit-Sharing and Adaptability
Abstract: In 2015, with the Paris Climate Agreement, the world agreed that mitigating the negative effects of climate change must include tropical forests. Deforestation and forest degradation account for about 10% of net global greenhouse gas emissions. Many tropical countries have adopted Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) as a strategy to enhance carbon stocks in their nationally determined contributions toward keeping global temperature rise below 2.0/1.5 °C. Furthermore, over 300 subnational REDD+ initiatives have been implemented across the tropics, many in community forestry systems in tropical countries. As part of the financing aspect of REDD+, which is results-based, countries have put into place rigorous measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems for assessing forest losses and gains. In parallel, there is growing attention to establishing systems for monitoring the social impacts of REDD+. This culminated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Cancun Agreement, which stipulated seven REDD+ safeguards to provide guidance on monitoring and evaluating the potential social and environmental impacts of REDD+. To be eligible for financing through the UN and for certification, REDD+ countries should develop these safeguard information systems to monitor and regularly report on the social and environmental impacts of REDD+. REDD+ performance can be achieved in different ways. Implementers of subnational REDD+ initiatives are applying intervention portfolios that combine strategies characterized as incentives (carrots) and disincentives (sticks) to achieve better protection and enhancement of forests. Disincentives focus on strengthening compliance with existing laws or norms and include restriction to access and/or conversion of forests. Incentives include non-conditional or occasionally conditional livelihood enhancements (e.g., direct payments, technical assistance, etc.) to compensate landholders for expected losses, or even make them better off. Even though much has been done to ensure participation and equal access to REDD+ benefits, evaluations of on-the-ground REDD+ projects have shown contrasting results on how interventions might yield benefits. Moreover, it is not clear how REDD+ affects the resilience of these communities. Therefore, an in-depth look at local context and interventions within REDD+ cannot be effective unless they are based on a careful analysis of the local social, institutional, cultural, and economic situation. Given the importance of institutions, formal and informal, and the trade-offs between incentives and disincentives in REDD+, this research will focus on understanding how institutions, actors, and power shape access to the benefits of REDD+. Moreover, this research will attempt to model local social networks in order to infer about communities’ adaptability under REDD+ schemes.
Cystal Garcia
Oregon State University
Title: Small town adaptation to State mandated environmental policy in Oregon.
Abstract: This poster presentation will represent an internship that is being developed in Brownsville Oregon with the purpose of addressing State environmental policy and legislation that poses a significant compliance challenge to the town and community because of its size and available resources. The goal of the internship is to develop relationships and coordination between Brownsville and other small towns in Benton, Lane and Linn counties who are experiencing similar challenges with the purpose of uniting communities to find a solution that meets the unique needs of small towns.
*Please note that the internship is still in the developmental phase and may change before the poster presentation in May.
Amanda Goddard
Oregon State University
Title: Effects of salinity regimes on coastal breeding amphibians in Oregon
Abstract: Over 70% of the world’s amphibian populations are in decline, in part due to decreased recruitment rates to the mating population (2). Future saltwater intrusion into near-coast freshwater breeding sites from sea level rise is likely to contribute to population declines, as increased salinity has been seen to delay metamorphosis and limit size in adults (1,3). This thesis is investigating how increasing frequency and intensity of saltwater intrusion in freshwater tidal wetlands of the Oregon coast will affect three native amphibians. The main question examined by this thesis is “To what degree does salinity impact breeding site selection of the Pacific treefrog, Northern red-legged frog, and Roughskin newt?” Additional questions for investigation include “How are these species developmentally affected by differing salinities that are found in their natural habitats?” and “Do these species have any tolerance to salt in their larval stages given their coastal breeding habitats?” Investigations are being performed at 6 wetlands including 11 sites on the Oregon Coast from January-May of 2018. Field methods are adapted from Sampling Amphibians in Lentic Habitats (5) for partial surveys collecting abundance data. Laboratory experiments exposing study species to 3 experimental salinity treatments of environmentally relevant concentrations were conducted in Spring of 2017. We are ascertaining the ways increasing intensity and frequency of salinity gradients in the study species’ natural breeding grounds may affect these species, and the degree to which these species have the natural variation and potential to adapt to changing salinity regimes.
Ben Hinde
University of Oregon
Title: Environmental Impacts of Cannabis Production in the State of Oregon
Abstract: The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis predicts the newly legalized (July 1, 2015) cannabis industry in the State of Oregon will top sales of 75 million by 2020. As a point of comparison, (when controlling for population) Oregon has already outpaced Washington State in annual sales within its first two years of legalization and is predicted to out sell Colorado by 2022. The average selling price for an ounce of usable marijuana has dropped from $220 to $75. What are the environmental impacts from cannabis production, or overproduction in this case, within the state of Oregon? By taking air, soil and noise quality samples I infer future outcomes based on studies done recently in Colorado’s legal market and the Emerald Triangle in northern California, which has produced an estimated 80% of the worlds cannabis for many decades. I then use an environmental justice framework to analyze production and retail spaces which seem to implicate the cannabis industry, at a minimum, as unwitting accomplices having a direct impact on the reproduction of racialized and class-based spaces. Lastly, through qualitative interviews I measure and compare perceptions and practices by producers, sellers and consumers. By conceptualizing and linking environmental justice with cannabis production this data will provide a foundation for future researchers, policy makers and to further social justice initiatives.
Laura Johnson
University of Oregon
Title: Freshwater Mussel Surveys in the Umpqua Basin, OR to Establish Baseline Population Parameters
Abstract: Attention to native mussel species has increased alongside the growing awareness that this faunal group is one of the most threatened in the world. Declining mussel populations have been linked to drivers such as land-use change, increased sedimentation, altered hydrologic flow regimes, and declines in host-fish species. Land managers and scientists often lack basic information regarding mussel distribution, abundance, and biology that are necessary to effectively manage, conserve, and restore mussel populations. Within the Umpqua Basin there are 133 occurrence records documenting the location of freshwater mussels between the years of 1841 to 2017 (Western Freshwater Mussel Database). Of these records, 62% were recorded in the year 1990 or after. Records made prior to 1990 are generally attributed vaguely to water bodies or municipalities, and therefore of little use for re-locating and monitoring the status of populations over time. None of these records includes population level information regarding mussel density or reproductive status, even though population-level parameters are required for effective management of populations. In absentia of this baseline data, it is impossible to assess whether populations are declining, growing, or staying the same over time. This research project aims to provide baseline population data and relevant mussel-associated habitat information for key mussel populations identified between 1990- 2017 in the main stem Umpqua and South Umpqua basins, Oregon, by resurveying sites identified in the Western Freshwater Mussel Database using snorkel survey methodologies.
Yimeng Ju
Oregon State University
Title: Environmental awareness in China
Abstract: In my poster, I want to show that what is a situation of Chinese environmental awareness.
Adriana Messyasz
Oregon State University
Title: Metagenomic Analysis of Viral Communities in Bleached and Healthy Coral and the Discovery of a Coral Megavirus
Abstract: This study examined differences in viral community and abundance in both non-bleached (NB) and bleached (B) coral tissue using metagenomic sequencing and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). While certain viruses have been linked to healthy, bleached, and diseased corals, researchers have yet to confirm viral infection as the cause of coral disease and as a contributor to coral health and/or decline. We sequenced coral metagenomes from DNA extractions of NB and B Pocillopora coral tissue samples. We hypothesized that viral communities and abundances will differ between the B and NB corals. After quality filtering (fqtrim), host read removal (Bowtie2), and contig assembly (Megahit), contigs were run through an Open Reading Frame (ORF) finder (Prodigal). ORFs were aligned to the Viral RefSeq Protein database (BLASTp). Average read coverage for each sample against B and NB viral contigs (Bowtie2) was used as a proxy for viral abundance. Statistical analysis of viral abundance showed no significant differences between B and NB tissue at the viral family, genus, or species level (ANOSIM significance level over 5%). Clustering of samples based on viral abundances produced B and NB sample outliers that may be at transitional stages of coral bleaching and therefore have different viral abundance signatures. Previous studies have found genomic evidence of double-stranded DNA viruses from the proposed Megavirales order infecting the coral-algal symbiont Symbiodinium. The abundance of hits to Nucleocytoplasmic Large DNA Viruses (NCLDV) and the characteristic Megavirus-like particles from TEM imagery indicate the presence of a coral Megavirus that may be linked to coral bleaching. We have begun the assembly of this novel coral Megavirus. There are currently no coral DNA virus genomes sequenced. Identifying and sequencing a coral Megavirus will aid further studies on NCLDV involvement in coral bleaching during thermal stress.
Surbhi Nahata
Oregon State University
Title: Genetic sterility in transgenic plants using CRISPR/cas-9 gene editing technology
Abstract: I’ll be talking about how CRISPR gene-editing technology can be used to attain plant sterility in transgenic trees. This might help in commercialization of transgenic trees and relaxation in USDA regulation.
Christine Nguyen
Oregon State University
Title: Inactivation of Cryptosporidium by Ultraviolet Radiation within a Microfluidic Channel
Abstract: Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite encased in a calcium shell found in surface, ground and drinking waters. Cryptosporidium and its corresponding genus species are responsible for over 500,000 cases of waterborne illness in the US. Due to its natural calcium shell, typical disinfection methods like chlorination are ineffective at removing Cryptosporidium during drinking water treatment. Application of UV treatment has been shown to inactivate Cryptosporidium at doses much higher than typical applications in water treatment. In this research project, we will utilize microfluidic channels and UV light to mitigate Cryptosporidium inactivation efficacy. By utilizing microfluidic channels, increased surface area to volume ratio requires lower dosages of UV radiation to achieve irreversible inactivation of Cryptosporidium. Additionally, studies have shown high temperature as an important factor influencing rate of inactivation for Cryptosporidium. In our research, we will identify optimum temperature and UV dosage to inactivate Cryptosporidium in drinking water using microfluidic channels.
Cody Piscitelli
Oregon State University
Title: A Time-Series Analysis of Nitrate in the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (GWMA)
Abstract: The geomorphology and land cover of the Southern Willamette Valley creates a potential for high levels of nitrate in the shallow aquifer. Nitrogen inputs to farmland from fertilizer is thought to be the primary source of nitrogen to the Southern Willamette Valley (SWV) landscape. With 93% of the valley being agricultural, as well as the unique confining properties of the area’s hydrogeologic unit known as Willamette Silt, elevated levels of nitrate above the drinking water standard in the shallow drinking water wells, many of which are private, is an important human health concern. In 2004, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) designated a portion of the Southern Willamette Valley as a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) where well data have been collected since 2005. Ranging from the northern boundary of Corvallis to the Springfield/Eugene region, sources of nitrate include agriculture, home septic systems, and several concentrated animal feeding operations. This project is oriented around understanding how the groundwater and drinking water nitrate levels have changed since 2005, using statistical techniques to analyze these changes to find trends in the data, and working with local land cover and source water information to identify the drivers behind these trends.
Kaelyn Polick-Kirkpatrick
University of Oregon
Title: Government Participation in REDD+: Precedents for Women’s Participation in Forest Management
Abstract: REDD+ (Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries) was negotiated under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2005. Its objective is to mitigate climate change by reducing GHG emissions through forest management and carbon trading. While attempting to mitigate climate change and its effects, REDD+ actors are often criticized for reallocating land, trading carbon credits, and implementing top-down strategies that do not source Indigenous knowledge, prohibiting communities from accessing the important resources on which they depend. Further, Indigenous women in forest dwelling communities confront regional gendered tensions and institutional obstacles such as language barriers and a lack of land ownership. Women, however, possess special ecological knowledge as a result of their unique, material relationships with forests, but despite the UN establishing gender equity as a central tenant of REDD+ implementation, the effectiveness and standardization of this measure has yet to be studied in its entirety. In order to study the ways in which government implementation of REDD+ has (or has not) set equitable precedents for women’s meaningful participation in forest management, this proposed thesis will explore two cases via content analysis of relevant documents and a hybrid ‘ethnographic-interview’ approach. The first case, the Madre de Dios REDD+ project in Perú, sheds light upon the processes by which forests are managed under this paradigm in South America. The second will explore la Reserva de Vida Silvestre Amazónica Manuripi protected area in Bolivia. It is governed under their climate change mitigation framework, MCMA (Joint Mitigation and Adaptation Mechanism for Holistic and Sustainable Management of Forests and Mother Earth; El Mecanismo Conjunto de Mitigación y Adaptación para el Manejo Integral y Sustentable de los Bosques y la Madre Tierra), which emerged in order to combat the aforementioned criticisms of REDD+. These cases allow for a comparative analysis due to their close physical proximity and regional similarities. Ultimately my questions are: how does government participation in REDD+ affect the ways in which local women participate in decision making processes around forestry? And how might women’s meaningful participation serve to benefit these projects?
Kimberley Preston
Oregon State University
Title: An Exploration of How Emerging Scuba Divers Make Meaning of the Scuba Dive Experience
Abstract: Scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) diving is a popular sport and is one of the fastest growing recreational activities in the world (Thapa, Graefe, & Meyer, 2005). The Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) alone certifies approximately 900,000 divers every year (PADI, 2017). Considering this influx of new divers every year and widespread and growing concern about the health of the marine environment, it is important for dive certification organizations, such as PADI, to encourage marine environmental awareness, and through experiential learning change attitudes and behavior in and out of the water. In November 2016, PADI launched a social responsibility program comprised of four-pillars of change: Ocean Health Pillar, Marine Animal Health Pillar, People and Community, and Healing and Wellness. Two of these pillars directly address marine themes. In conjunction with these pillars, PADI’s most basic level of certification (Open Water Diver) includes lessons on safe and appropriate encounters with marine life and addresses ocean conservation issues. Understanding how divers are making meaning of their relationship to the marine environment and how that might be shaped by both the certification process and dive experiences can help inform PADI and other dive certification organizations, about how to further develop their learn-to-dive curriculum and further incorporate environmental responsibility goals of promoting ocean-conservation aware divers.
Colin Rosemont
University of Oregon
Title: Landscapes Tell Stories: Temporal Imagination & Living Memory on an Archaeological Field Site
Abstract: Lying at the convergence of the Southern Californian Transverse Ranges, Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, western Mojave Desert and San Joaquin Valley lies the Wind Wolves Preserve, the West Coast’s largest non-profit preserve. Within this preserve lie a host of archaeological sites, many with a history of excavation and documentation dating back to the mid 20th century. Ongoing investigations and excavations have been underway in the past decade across the preserve, managed by lead archaeologists from the University of Central Lancashire. Joining the archaeological team last summer, my work focuses on the digital archiving and documentation of the material resources produced from the summer work. I trace the pathways of these artifacts from their in situ unearthing, employing ‘reality capture’ photogrammetry models, to their subsequent housing in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. With recent partnerships with the Tejon Indian Tribe, this archaeological site has the potential to foster collaborative knowledge production and dissemination through the re-framing of the excavation process and the further circulation of the material artifacts produced through the findings. A history of archaeology (and anthropology) as extractive practices, erasing contemporary indigenous claims to the management of cultural resources, means current practitioners must reflect and contend with the meaning and methods of their field work. This specific context at the Wind Wolves Preserve raises specific, yet generalizable ethical questions surrounding the management of cultural resources: by whom, for whom, and to what end? My principle work will focus on exploring these questions through an ethnographic film, focusing on both the material process of excavation, and the stories and histories produced through the digging up of the past. Through collaborative work with professional archaeologists, Tejon Tribal members, and land conservationists alike, my work will probe the possibility and extent of collaborative, co-constitutive knowledge production of the past. The film will contribute to ongoing efforts to decolonize methodologies and re-inscribe social histories into the landscape, questioning further how temporal constructions of history and memory configure our relations to these very landscapes.
Matt Rovero
Oregon State University
Title: Phytoremediation of chloride from landfill leachate using Lolium rigidum
Abstract: Phytoremediation is a growing trend in landfill leachate treatment, typically consisting of a plantation of willow or poplar trees irrigated with leachate. While these systems are quite adept at removing major nutrients, heavy metals, and reducing pathogen loads, they are largely unable to manage chloride concentrations that contribute to soil salination. Annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) has been shown to accumulate salts within its shoots, and is being evaluated as a component of landfill leachate phytoremediation systems. Simulated landfill leachate representative of before and after treatment by a poplar phytoremediation system will be produced and used to irrigate containers of annual ryegrass. Chloride concentration of container influent and effluent will be measured by ion chromatography to assess chloride removal and determine the overall viability of the ryegrass, and the preferred point in the phytoremediation system it should be employed.
Alexandra Spahr
Oregon State University
Title: Policy Perspective on the Emergence and Fate of the Rockfish Conservation Areas
Absract: Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) are a series of large-scale areas closed to fishing in federal waters off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts (Region, NFWC). The Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC) is responsible for the creation and regulation of the RCAs. The RCAs boundaries were put into place in 2002 to rebuild the overfished rockfish species. The RCAs encompasses a variety of closure policies intended to restore the rockfish species to appropriate fishable levels based on the best scientific data. In 2006, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designated approximately 12,620 square miles of the preexisting RCAs as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) on the west coast. The addition of the EFH was met with backlash from frustrated stakeholders who already saw the RCAs as an imposition of their commercial abilities.
Questions for this research focus on the decisions leading up to the implementation of the RCAs and the groundfish EFH and whether it was it beneficial to the fishery and fishery management. The study will look at the current decision process of the PFMC; which will be voting in the April 2018 meeting on proposals to decide the future of the trawl RCA and groundfish EFHs. This is a policy piece and answers if the RCAs are moving in the direction consistent with the application of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management (EBFM). This research will also establish a succinct visual timeline of the policy decisions that created the RCAs and subsequently areas of ocean designated as EFH.
Marisa Specht
Oregon State University
Title: Distribution and habitat associations of Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti), Pacific marten (Martes carina), and Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) in the Klamath Network Parks
Abstract: We conducted surveys for Pacific marten (Martes caurina), Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti), and Sierra Nevada red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) in three of the Klamath Network Parks between 2016 and 2017. We used remote-camera and environmental habitat sampling methods to identify potential environmental habitat covariates that influenced detection and will estimate occupancy in relation to vegetation and high human-use areas.
Froggi VanRiper
Oregon State University
Title: Sustainable Sanitation Interventions in Displaced-Persons Settlements
Abstract: In the face of extreme environmental events and social conflict, the past decade has seen an increase in mass migrations, creating the need to develop extemporaneous settlements for large groups of displaced persons. At the moment, 65.6 million people are displaced and living in temporary settlements within their country of origin or abroad. When a dense population of people settle a site without pre-existing functional infrastructure, the most critical immediate health concern is the management of human excreta. Produced daily by every resident, excreta can proliferate disease if not properly sealed or treated. Despite risk associated with improperly handled excreta, human waste is also rich in valuable agricultural nutrients. In a sustainable closed-loop system, excreta is collected and stabilized safely, while being managed for recovery of nutrient or energy value.
Typical humanitarian aid responses employ unsustainable temporary sanitation systems based on water for flushing, and on vehicle transport of untreated human excreta off site, for treatment or even untreated environmental release. In recent years, interdisciplinary innovators have introduced a range of sustainable sanitation solutions suitable for rapid deployment and scalability. These solutions, instead of leaving residents dependent on external infrastructure and resource provision, can achieve health objectives while protecting environmental resources, contributing to community wellbeing, and building local economic capacity. This presentation will introduce specific examples of sustainable sanitation systems in refugee and IDP camps, and describe the health, economic, environmental, and social implications of these innovations.
Sara Worl
University of Oregon
Title: Restoring to what? (In)Justices of Ecological Restoration in the Pacific Northwest
Abstract: An under-theorized area in the field of environmental studies is an analysis of settler colonialism in the discourse and practice of ecological restoration projects. My research will examine ways in which settler colonial violence is manifested through ecological restoration projects, specifically in the Klamath-Siskiyou region of Northern California and Southern Oregon. As a case study and counter-narrative, I will work with the Karuk Tribe and the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership to highlight collaborative restoration projects that support Indigenous eco-cultural objectives. Proposed methods include a content analysis of ecological restoration projects in the Klamath-Siskiyou region; interviews with the Karuk Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources staff; and interviews with individuals involved in the Western Klamath Restoration Partnership.
