Category: The Conversation – Canada

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Timothy Rodgers, Postdoctoral Fellow in Environmental Engineering, University of British Columbia

In the 1990s, scientists restoring streams around Seattle, Wash., noticed that returning coho salmon were dying after rainstorms. The effects were immediate: the fish swam in circles, gasping at the surface, then died in a few hours.

Over the next several decades, researchers chipped away at the problem until in 2020 they discovered the culprit: a chemical called 6PPD-quinone that forms when its parent compound, a tire additive called 6PPD, reacts with ozone.

6PPD-quinone kills coho salmon at extraordinarily low concentrations, making it one of the most toxic substances to an aquatic species that scientists have ever found.

Today, a growing body of evidence shows that tire additives and their transformation products, including 6PPD-quinone, are contaminating ecosystems and showing up in people.

Now, alongside the researchers who made that initial discovery, we’re calling for international regulation of these chemicals to protect people and the environment.

Our recently published research outlines the hazard posed by tire additives due to their demonstrated toxicity and high emissions near people and sensitive ecosystems, how current regulations don’t do enough to protect us, and how we can do better.

Tires are complex chemical products

Tires are far from simple rubber rings. They’re complex chemical products made to endure heat, friction and degradation. For example, 6PPD is in tires to protect them from ozone, which causes tires to crack.

Unfortunately, little attention was paid to these chemicals until scientists discovered the impacts of 6PPD-quinone and realized these chemicals could be hazardous.

Once they started looking, researchers found many tire additives, including 6PPD-quinone, in streams near roads, in dust and in the air — wherever there are roads, there is tire additive contamination.

Although 6PPD-quinone is most lethal to coho, it is also lethal to several other species of salmonids, and it may be toxic to aquatic plants and terrestrial invertebrates.

We know that exposure to tire wear particles and the chemicals that leach from them affect other aquatic species that are used as indicators of toxicological risk. This widespread contamination occurs because emissions of tire additives are high.

Every time we drive, we produce particles from tire wear, and those particles release additives into the environment. Tires lose 10-20 per cent of their mass over their lifetime. That means driving emits over one million tonnes of tire particles to the environment in both the United States and the European Union every year.

All those tire particle emissions represent a large source of chemicals to the environment and high human exposures, especially in cities. Researchers have started to find tire additives and their transformation products in people.

Although more research is needed on how tire additives affect people, 6PPD is classified as a reproductive toxin, and other tire additives and their transformation products have been associated with increased cancer risk in exposed populations.

Emerging research with mice indicates that some tire additives and their transformation products impact mammals, with studies showing neurotoxicity, damage to multiple organ systems and impaired fertility from 6PPD-quinone.

That’s why our team of environmental scientists is calling for urgent global action.

Plastics treaty

We’re not arguing that tires shouldn’t have additives, but those additives must be safer. That’s why we are calling for a process that replaces 6PPD and other tire additives with safer alternatives. Tire additives should be nonhazardous across their entire life cycle, and manufacturers should be transparent about what tire additives they are using and what their hazards are.

Next week, governments from around the world are meeting to negotiate a global treaty to end plastic pollution. We call for tires to be explicitly included in the treaty, and we want to see strong measures around plastic additives including tire additives.

We want to see:

• Deadlines for phasing out hazardous chemicals;
• The ability to mandate alternatives;
• Transparency around the chemicals used in tires;
• Independent panels for evaluating additive alternatives and for assessing additive effects;
• Dedicated working groups focused on tire additives due to their large emissions and demonstrated ecological impacts.

The good news is that we’ve done this before. After scientists found a hole in the ozone layer, the world banded together under the Montréal Protocol to phase out the most damaging chemicals to the ozone layer. Today, the ozone layer is recovering, averting millions of cases of skin cancer and helping combat climate change. We need the same level of ambition and urgency now.

Making tires nonhazardous for the environment would help safeguard coho salmon populations, restoring traditional foods to Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Northwest and protecting a species vital for aquatic ecosystems.

Since roads are built where people are, reducing the hazard from tire particle pollution would reduce one source of exposure to potentially toxic chemicals, and ensure a future where fewer people are impacted by chemical pollution. It’s time for global action on tire additives, before their impacts become even harder to ignore.

Timothy Rodgers receives funding from the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.

Rachel Scholes receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, the BC Knowledge Development Fund, and the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.

Simon Drew receives funding from the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.

– ref. Car tires are polluting the environment and killing salmon. A global plastics treaty could help – https://theconversation.com/car-tires-are-polluting-the-environment-and-killing-salmon-a-global-plastics-treaty-could-help-261832

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Ryan Clutterbuck, Assistant Professor in Sport Management, Brock University

WNBA all-star players, led by Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark and the Minnesota Lynx’s Naphessa Collier, recently made headlines by wearing “Pay Us What You Owe Us” T-shirts during the pregame warm-up.

The T-shirts, which are now available for purchase, were a demonstration of players’ frustrations with the WNBA owners and the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiation. The collective agreement sets out the terms and conditions of employment (like salaries and benefits) between the league and its players, and is set to expire Oct. 31, 2025.

Reportedly, players are asking for increased revenue sharing (the current agreement stipulates WNBA players receive only nine per cent of league revenue, relative to their NBA peers who receive 50 per cent), increased compensation (the average WNBA salary is US$147,745) and other benefits.

Central to these demands is the perception that, despite a surge in popularity, media attention and viewership, WNBA players are still being underpaid and are undervalued.

Negotiations for a new collective agreement are ongoing. But as the T-shirts and subsequent public statements from the players and the WNBA show, there is increasing frustration with how the process is unfolding.

What is ‘owed’ to WNBA players?

Debate over what is “owed” to WNBA players has intensified recently. ESPN commentator Pat McAfee, for example, has suggested the league should simply increase players’ salaries by US$30,000 per player, saying that contracts like Clark’s are “an embarrassment.”

But others argue this discussion should go beyond players’ salaries. Syracuse University sport management professor Lindsey Darvin writes:

“The question isn’t whether the WNBA can afford to pay players what they’re worth; it’s whether the league can afford not to make the investments necessary to realize its full potential.”

According to Darvin, because the WNBA is an economically inefficient — and arguably exploitative — business, its focus should be on increasing revenue, and not simply on reducing its labour costs. For example, with the goal to satisfy increasing market demands for the WNBA, strategies to increase revenue could include expanding the league to new markets, scheduling more games at the 3 p.m. Eastern time slot and increasing the number of regular season games from 44 to 60 or more.

In sport management classrooms and negotiation workshops at Brock University, we call this “expanding the pie” — working collaboratively, as opposed to combatively, to grow the game and the business so that both players and owners benefit over the long term. But this is easier said than done.

Information shapes negotiation outcomes

While it’s still early in the negotiation process, there are lessons that can be learned from this round of collective bargaining. One of those lessons has to do with making and receiving first offers. In particular, two psychological concepts are at play: information asymmetry and the anchoring effect.

Information asymmetry occurs when one party holds more relevant knowledge than the other. For example, in a typical job negotiation, the employer knows the number of applicants for the position, how much the company is willing to pay and what compensation trends look like across the sector. The candidate, by contrast, lacks most if not all of this information and thus enters the negotiation at a distinct disadvantage.

The question is: who should make the first salary offer? The general rule is that when you lack critical information, it’s better to let the other side make the first move.

In the case of the WNBA’s negotiations, the information asymmetry problem is not so obvious. The owners likely have a certain perspective on what is acceptable in terms of sharing league revenue and improving working conditions. But the players possess their own kind of leverage, regarding their willingness to protest or walk out entirely.

The league made its initial proposal to the players in early July, but it was not well received.

The ‘anchoring effect’ can skew negotiations

Another problem influencing negotiations is the “anchoring effect.” This occurs when an initial offer influences subsequent offers and counteroffers, and ultimately has an impact on the final outcome.

Garage-sale aficionados may recognize this tendency, as buyers often negotiate with the seller’s sticker price in mind, haggling to earn a 25 or 50 per cent discount on an item without considering whether the item is actually worth the cost. Here, the sticker acts as the anchor.

While sticker prices and first offers are not inherently malicious, some sale prices and first offers are intended to manipulate buyers and negotiators representing the other side. Savvy negotiators deploy strategic anchors, but even they can sometimes miss.

In maritime terms, anchor scour occurs when a ship’s anchor fails to catch hold and instead drags across the seabed, destroying ecosystems caught in its path.

In negotiations, a similar process can unfold. When initial moves and first offers fail to catch hold because they are perceived to be unfair by the other side, it can damage relationships and can make subsequent negotiations even more difficult.

Now, the WNBA may face the consequences of a poorly received anchor. According to WNBA player representative, Satou Sabally, the WNBA’s initial offer was a “slap in the face”.

New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart called the players’ meeting with the league on July 17 to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement a “wasted opportunity” while Chicago Sky player Angel Reese called the negotiations “disrespectful.”

It’s time to right the ship

Though it’s still early days, we expect negotiations to heat up in the coming weeks as the Halloween deadline to reach a deal approaches.

There is still time to right the ship, so to speak, but to do so, WNBA players and owners must internalize the potentially disastrous impacts that can come from negotiating over an imagined “fixed pie” instead of expanding it, and dropping anchors that fail to address the other sides’ key interests.

WNBA players and WNBA team owners now have, in front of them, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform professional women’s sport in North America, through creatively and collaboratively expanding the pie and paying the players what they’re owed.

Michele K. Donnelly has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

Michael Van Bussel and Ryan Clutterbuck do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. ‘Pay us what you owe us:’ What the WNBA’s collective bargaining talks reveal about negotiation psychology – https://theconversation.com/pay-us-what-you-owe-us-what-the-wnbas-collective-bargaining-talks-reveal-about-negotiation-psychology-261731

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Spyros A. Sofos, Assistant Professor in Global Humanities, Simon Fraser University

A new round of violence recently erupted in southern Syria, where clashes between local Druze militias and Sunni fighters have left hundreds dead.

In response, Israel launched airstrikes in and around the province of Sweida on July 15, saying it was acting to protect the Druze minority and to deter attacks by Syrian government forces.

The strikes mark Israel’s most serious escalation in Syria since December 2024, and they underline a growing trend in its foreign policy: the use of minority protection as a tool of regional influence and power projection.

The Druze minority

The Druze, a small but strategically significant ethno-religious group, have historically occupied a precarious position in the politics of Syria, Israel and Lebanon.

With an estimated million members across the Levant — a sub-region of west Asia that forms the core of the Middle East — the Druze have often tried to preserve their autonomy amid broader sectarian and political upheavals. In Syria, they make up about three per cent of the population, concentrated largely in the southern province of Sweida.

Following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in late 2024 and the rise of a new Islamist-led government under Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Druze in southern Syria have resisted central authority.

Though not united in their stance, many Druze militias have rejected integration into the new Syrian army, preferring to rely on local defence networks. The latest wave of violence, sparked by the abduction of a Druze merchant, has been met with both brutality from pro-government forces and military retaliation by Israel.

Truly protecting Syrian minorities?

Israeli officials says they intervened to protect the Druze, which is not unprecedented. Over the past year, Israel has increasingly portrayed itself as a defender of threatened minorities in Syria — rhetoric that echoes past efforts to align with non-Arab or marginalized groups, such as the Kurds and certain Christian communities.

This strategy may be less about humanitarian goals and, in fact, much more deeply political.

By positioning itself as a regional protector of minorities, Israel could be seeking to craft a narrative of moral authority, particularly as it faces growing international outrage over its policies in the West Bank and Gaza. This is an example of what scholars refer to as strategic or nation branding by states to cultivate legitimacy and influence through selective interventions and symbolic gestures.

But Israel’s actions may not just concern image. They could also be part of a broader geopolitical strategy of containment and fragmentation.

The new authorities in Syria are seen as a significant threat, particularly because of the presence of Islamist factions operating near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. By creating what is in effect a buffer zone in southern Syria, Israel’s goal may be to prevent the entrenchment of hostile entities along its northern border while also capitalizing on Syria’s internal fragilities.

Strategic risks

With sectarian tensions resurfacing in Syria, the Israeli government probably sees an opportunity to build informal alliances with disaffected groups like the Druze, who may be skeptical of the new Syrian government. This reflects a shift in Israel’s foreign policy from reactive deterrence to proactive strategic disruption.

This approach is not without risks. While some Druze leaders have welcomed Israeli support, others — particularly in Syria and Lebanon — have accused Israel of stoking sectarian tensions to justify military intervention and advance territorial or security aims.

Such accusations echo longstanding criticisms that Israel’s involvement in regional conflicts is often guided less by humanitarian concern and more by cold strategic calculation.

This new phase in Israeli foreign policy also fits into a broader pattern I’ve previously written about — the increasing revisionism of Israel’s regional strategy under Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership. That strategy seemingly seeks to upend multilateral norms, bypass traditional diplomacy and pursue influence through direct engagement — often militarized — with non-state entities and marginalized communities.

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Read more:
How Israel’s domestic crises and Netanyahu’s aim to project power are reshaping the Middle East

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Israel’s July 15 strikes, and an attack on Syria’s Ministry of Defence in Damascus the following day, have drawn strong condemnation from Arab states, Turkey and the United Nations.

While Israeli officials have justified the attacks as defensive and humanitarian, the intensity and symbolic targets suggest a deeper intention: to demonstrate operational reach, and, more importantly, actively engage in a redesign of the region with fragmentation and state weakness as the main objective.

Fragmentation of the Middle East

The United States, while expressing concern over the violence, has largely remained silent on Israel’s expanding role in Syria. This could further embolden Israeli actions in a region where international norms are being increasingly upended and traditional great power engagement is waning.

Sectarian clashes are likely to continue in Sweida and beyond as Syria’s central government struggles to reassert control. That means that for Israel, the opportunity to deepen its footprint in southern Syria under the guise of minority protection remains.

But despite its effort to present itself as a stable, moral presence in an otherwise chaotic neighbourhood, Israel could be undermining the very stability it says it wants to protect as it militarizes humanitarianism.

The world is not not just witnessing a series of airstrikes or another episode of sectarian violence in the Middle East. It’s watching a profound transformation in the regional order — one in which traditional borders, alliances and identities are being reshaped.

Amid this environment, Israel’s role could evolve not just as a military power, but as a revisionist nation navigating, and helping to bring about, the fragmentation of the Middle East.

Spyros A. Sofos does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Israel’s attack on Syria: Protecting the Druze minority or a regional power play? – https://theconversation.com/israels-attack-on-syria-protecting-the-druze-minority-or-a-regional-power-play-261648

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James (Jim) S. Cotton, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University

Buildings are the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. In many cities, including Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary, buildings are the single highest source of emissions.

The recently launched Infrastructure for Good barometer, released by consulting firm Deloitte, suggests that Canada’s infrastructure investments already top the global list in terms of positive societal, economic and environmental benefits.

In fact, over the past 150 years, Canada has built railways, roads, clean water systems, electrical grids, pipelines and communication networks to connect and serve people across the country.

Now, there’s an opportunity to build on Canada’s impressive tradition by creating a new form of infrastructure: capturing, storing and sharing the massive amounts of heat lost from industry, electricity generation and communities, even in summer.

Natural gas precedent

Indoor heating often comes from burning fossil fuels — three-quarters of Ontario homes, for example, are heated by natural gas. Until about 1966, homes across Canada were primarily heated by wood stoves, coal boilers, oil furnaces or heaters using electricity from coal-fired power plants.

After the oil crisis of the 1970s, many of those fuels were replaced by natural gas, delivered directly to individual homes. The cost of the natural gas infrastructure, including a national network of pipelines, was amortized over more than 50 years to make the cost more practical.

This reliable, low-cost energy source quickly proved to be popular. The change cut heating emissions across Ontario by roughly half throughout the 1970s and 1980s, long before climate change was the concern it is today.

Now, as the need to decarbonize becomes more pressing, recent studies not only emphasize the often-overstated emissions reductions benefits from using natural gas; they also indicate that burning this fuel source is still far from net-zero.

However, there’s no reason why Canadian governments can’t invest in new infrastructure-based alternative heating solutions. This time, they could replace natural gas with an alternative, net-zero source: the wasted heat already emitted by other energy uses.

Heat capture and storage

Depending on the source temperature, technology used and system design, heat can be captured throughout the year, stored and distributed as needed. A type of infrastructure called thermal networks could capture leftover heat from factories and nuclear and gas-fired power plants.

In essence, thermal networks take excess thermal energy from industrial processes (though thermal energy can theoretically be captured from a variety of different sources), and use it as a centralized heating source for a series of insulated underground pipelines connected to multiple other buildings. These pipelines, in turn, are used to heat or cool these connected buildings.

A substantial potential to capture heat similarly exists in every neighbourhood. Heat is produced by data centres, grocery stores, laundromats, restaurants, sewage systems and even hockey arenas.

In Ontario, the amount of energy we dump in the form of heat is greater than all the natural gas we use to heat our homes.

A restaurant, for example, can produce enough heat for seven family homes. To take advantage of the wasted heat, Canada needs to build thermal networks, corridors and storage to capture and distribute heat directly to consumers.

The effort demands substantial leadership from all levels of government. Creating these systems would be expensive, but the technology does exist, and the one-time cost would pay for itself many times over.

Such systems are already working in other cold countries. Thermal networks heat half the homes in Sweden and two-thirds of homes in Denmark.

The oil crisis of the 1970s motivated both countries to find new domestic heating sources. They financed their new infrastructure over 50 years and reduced their investment risks through low-interest bonds (loaned by public banks) and generous subsidies.

These were offered to utility companies looking to expand district energy operations, and to consumers by incentivizing connections to such systems. Additionally, in Denmark, controlled consumer prices served a similar function.

At least seven American states have established thermal energy networks, with New York being the first. The state’s Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act allows public utilities to own, operate and manage thermal networks.

They can supply thermal energy, but so can private producers such as data centres, all with public oversight. Such a strategy avoids monopolies and allows gas and electric utilities to deliver services through central networks.

An opportunity for Canada

Canada has a real opportunity to learn from the experiences of Sweden, Denmark and New York. In doing so, Canada can create a beneficial and truly national heating system in the process. Beginning with federal government leadership, thermal networks could be built across Canada, tailored to the unique and individual needs, strengths and opportunities of municipalities and provinces.

Such a shift would reduce emissions and generate greater energy sovereignty for Canada. It could drive a just energy strategy that could provide employment opportunities for those displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels, while simultaneously increasing Canada’s economic independence in the process.

Thermal networks could be built using pipelines made from Canadian steel. Oil-well drillers from Alberta could dig borehole heat-storage systems. A new market for heat-recovery pumps would create good advanced-manufacturing jobs in Canada.

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Read more:
How heat storage technologies could keep Canada’s roads and bridges ice-free all winter long

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Funding for the infrastructure could come through public-private partnerships, with major investments from public banks and pension funds, earning a solid and secure rate of return. A regulated approach and process could permit this infrastructure cost to be amortized over decades, similar to the way past governments have financed gas, electrical and water networks.

As researchers studying the engineering and policy potential of such an opportunity, we view such actions as essential if net-zero is to be achieved in the Canadian building sector. They are also a win-win solution for incumbent industry, various levels of government and citizens across Canada alike.

Yet efforts to install robust thermal networks remain stalled by institutional inertia, the strong influence of the oil industry, limited citizen awareness of the technology’s potential and a tendency for government to view the electrification of heating as the primary solution to building decarbonization.

In this time of environmental crisis and international uncertainty, pushing past these barriers, drawing on Canada’s lengthy history of constructing infrastructure and creating this new form thermal energy infrastructure would be a safe, beneficial and conscientious way to move Canada into a more climate-friendly future.

James (Jim) S. Cotton receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Caleb Duffield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Canada could use thermal infrastructure to turn wasted heat emissions into energy – https://theconversation.com/canada-could-use-thermal-infrastructure-to-turn-wasted-heat-emissions-into-energy-254972

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University

United States President Donald Trump has recently issued various threats towards Russia amid his apparent mounting frustration with Russian leader Vladmir Putin. These threats also occur at a time when Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine may have an end in sight.

Some experts have suggested that 2025 is Russia’s best chance to win its war against Ukraine in a decisive manner. Russia has material advantages over the Ukrainians, whose international backers have not matched the pace of Russian arms manufacturing.

Recent analyses emphasize that Russian advances in 2025 have been the most successful since its early efforts in 2022.

What such perspectives fail to note, however, is the amount of territory that Russia has seized in 2025 is, from a strategic standpoint, negligible. On the surface, this bodes well for Ukraine.

Nevertheless, long-term indicators for Ukraine’s success, notably external support and personnel issues, are unresolved.

Russia’s 2025 offensive

Russia has been involved in extensive offensive military operations since the spring of 2025, but it had been pursuing such a venture much earlier.

The year 2025 introduced a political variable into both Russia and Ukraine’s calculations that likely caused the Russians to accelerate their timetable: Trump. Trump has pushed for peace in Ukraine, no matter the terms.

Trump’s original 50-day deadline for Russia to conclude a peace deal is at the start of September. Given this time span is likely the limit of Russia’s operational capacity, it means that Putin is incentivized to seize as much territory as possible in the interim. There are too many unknowns in terms of Trump’s pivot to a 10-12 day deadline to warrant further analysis.

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Read more:
Sanctioning ghosts: Why US plans to hit Russia with fresh economic penalties will have little effect

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The role of North Korea

Nevertheless, Russian forces in 2025 have not achieved a decisive breakthrough or altered the war in a demonstrable manner. Russia’s failed efforts to make significant gains this year are best witnessed in two phenomena: its drone campaign against Ukrainian cities and its alliance with North Korea.

The North Korean alliance was designed to counter weaknesses in Russia’s personnel and industrial base. Despite Russia’s increased recruitment efforts and offering large sums to enlist, it still faces personnel shortages.

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Read more:
Amid the West’s wavering aid to Ukraine, North Korea backs Russia in a mutually beneficial move

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North Korean soldiers offer Russia an advantage since casualties are unlikely to affect Putin’s political base or to disrupt the alliance between the two authoritarian regimes. The fact that North Korea is sending additional soldiers after its first wave suffered significant casualties indicates how Russia and North Korea view those soldiers as dispensable.

Ukraine’s effective counter-strategy

Russia’s purpose in conducting drone strikes on Ukrainian cities is to make up for its weakness on the battlefield. But Russian drone strikes on civilian infrastructure have not demoralized the Ukrainian population; rather, the opposite has occurred.

Russian drone strikes seem aimed at demonstrating its capabilities to Russian citizens after Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web embarrassed the Russian leadership.

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Read more:
Ukraine’s Operation Spider Web destroyed more than aircraft – it tore apart the old idea that bases far behind the front lines are safe

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Ukrainian officials in 2025 recognized the challenges the year would bring for its armed forces. Any direct engagements between Ukraine and Russia were likely to result in either the significant loss of Ukrainian territory or — and even more critically — personnel. Ukraine has maintained its units at the front lines, and has so far succeeded in avoiding either of these dire outcomes.

Instead, Ukraine has launched asymmetric attacks to divert Russian resources and maintain the morale of Ukrainians. Operation Spider Web was the most successful of these operations, as the attacks garnered domestic and international support while exposing Russian vulnerabilities.

Ukrainian forces have conducted several other actions with the goal of inhibiting Russian operations and boosting the morale of their people.

Ukrainian asymmetric attacks are not a genuine strategy for victory. But they could position Ukraine for greater success in 2026 and beyond. First Ukraine needs to address several factors to achieve this goal, in particular the domestic and international challenges it’s facing.

Ukraine’s domestic challenges

Ukraine continues to face an ongoing personnel shortage. Ukrainians need to have faith in their leaders to make the sacrifices needed for victory in the conflict, but the government’s recent actions have dampened domestic enthusiasm.

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Read more:
Ukrainian protests: Zelensky faces biggest threat to his presidency since taking power

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Specifically, while many Ukrainians accept the necessity of a wartime government, recent legislation that removed the independence of the government’s anti-corruption agencies sparked an uproar.

Recent demonstrations, the first large-scale protests against the Ukrainian government since Russia’s invasion, speak to the dismay the legislation engendered. One Ukrainian soldier even called the new measures a “fatal mistake.”

For Ukrainians to make sacrifices for the state, they must possess faith in their government. The Ukrainian government’s move to repeal the law is an important first step, but it must continue to work to build trust among the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine’s international challenges

While Ukraine’s government can directly control the domestic challenges it faces, it cannot do so internationally. The shifts of American policy under Trump is an example.

Ukraine could, however, diversify its efforts away from the U.S. It’s already started to do so, but it’s a slow and ongoing process.

In the interim, Ukraine must manage a mercurial American president and administration that has a penchant for using international affairs to distract from domestic concerns.

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Read more:
Russia-Ukraine talks: both sides play for time and wait for Donald Trump’s 50 days to run out

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Ukrainian politicians have improved their ability to manage Trump since the infamous February Oval Office affair, evident by Trump’s recent announcement of sorely needed Patriot missiles being sent to Ukraine.

Ukraine is managing to survive what could be Russia’s last chance at decisive victory if Trump is serious about his ceasefire threats to the Russian regime. The future of the conflict, however, will depend on how Ukraine manages its domestic and international challenges.

James Horncastle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Summer has brought both hope and questions for Ukraine amid Donald Trump’s posturing – https://theconversation.com/summer-has-brought-both-hope-and-questions-for-ukraine-amid-donald-trumps-posturing-261646

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Junaid B. Jahangir, Associate Professor, Economics, MacEwan University

Disney celebrated the 75th anniversary of Cinderella in February this year, with the message that she didn’t just believe in dreams, but did something about them by going to the palace to get Prince Charming.

The message emphasizes individual persistence for a happy ending, and projects popular ideas often entrenched in how undergraduate students learn about economics — that success is based on individual talent and hard work.

The anniversary allowed the Disney store another opportunity to sell its wares, including a US$7,000 diamond engagement ring.

Cinderella’s castle remains a signature feature of the Disney logo. Her story, along with other Disney classics, has been also used by academics and popular commentators alike to teach economics and finance lessons.

I teach economics using Disney and Cinderella. My approach is grounded in scholarly, popular and student critiques of how economics is taught and of the myth of meritocracy — that people get what they deserve.

The focus in my course “Economics for Everyone” aims to critique traditional tenets of economic theory to discuss issues with inequality and also to teach economics in a way that is accessible and interesting to students representing diverse abilities and identities.

‘Real-world’ economics

The idea of “real world” economics alludes to the push by student groups in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. They were concerned that while they were inundated with mathematical equations, their studies had not prepared them to address the state of the world.

As noted by Geoffrey Hodgson, a specialist in institutional and evolutionary economics, students created organizations and mounted demonstrations for alternative curricula.

In 2016, founding members of the Post-Crash Economics Society at the University of Manchester published The Econocracy: The Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts. A global network, Rethinking Economics, was formed.

Some economics faculty responded that the discipline ought to focus on issues of inequalities, climate change, concerns about the future of work and financial instability.

Economist John Komlos focuses on the need for diverse or “real-world” issues in economics education while economists Jack Reardon and Maria Alejandra Caporale Madi write about a new “pluralist” economics. Political economist and economic historian Robert Skidelsky discusses why economics should include philosophy, history, sociology and politics.

Economists Sam de Muijnck and Joris Tieleman argue that economics textbooks sideline topics pertaining to power, racism, colonialism, exploitation and unequal life chances.

All these critiques lie at the heart of what I think of as “real-world economics.”

Beginning with situations, not math

Traditionally, in the first year of economics programs, students become deeply familiar with economic theoretical ideas that are posited as scientifically neutral or “value-free” models. However, as scholars like James Kwak and Komlos note, these theories are value-laden and promote neoliberal ideas that rest upon assuming the benefits of privatization, deregulation and small governments.

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Read more:
What exactly is neoliberalism?

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To teach first-year economics, instead of beginning with mathematical theories, I begin with real-world situations students are familiar with that speak to economic realities. The approach is inspired by Komlos and by a former student, Declan Jensen-Joyce, who asked me to emphasize diverse perspectives and real-world content.

I de-emphasize math at the introductory level, as many first-year students from varied disciplines (like business students majoring in accounting) have to take an introductory economics course. I emphasize a critical evaluation of mathematical models, an approach I sustain in advanced economics classes. Students who advance in economics are critically prepared to consider the limits of mathematical models.

Economics for everyone

The course I designed, “Economics for Everyone,” is offered for undergraduate students and also for senior citizens as part of the Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association. The class centres issues of economic inequality, worker exploitation and systemic discrimination.

I draw on mainstream (neoclassical) economic theory that emphasizes rationality, equilibrium and markets. I also draw on critiques of the field of economics from thinkers both within economics and from disciplines like anthropology, philosophy and history.

Using popular stories to reinforce concepts and ideas when teaching economics isn’t new. Especially since a seminal critique of the “chalk and talk” method — lots of math on a blackboard combined with lecturing — there has been a surge of research involving the use of games, video clips, popular books and other creative media to engage students.

Such methods of instruction are based on the recognition that they make economic content more relatable and increase student interest, break up lectures
and reinforce learning.

Levelling the playing field

The Disney message on Cinderella’s 75th anniversary is just one perspective.

In my class, I show a video clip to discuss the role of both luck and the importance of equality of opportunity in Cinderella’s happy ending. On the one hand, Cinderella’s good looks gave her luck. On the other hand, her opportunities could have been thwarted had it not been for interventions from outsiders.

For example, students learn that a level playing field was created when the Grand Duke allows Cinderella to try the slipper despite the unfair tactics of her stepmother, Lady Tremaine.

Selected works of Komlos, as well as by philosopher Michael Sandel and political scientist Tom Malleson, accompany the message I endeavour to highlight to broach topics like democratizing the market system.

Economic freedom

Cinderella also allows us to recognize that people cannot exercise free choice unless they are economically free — as in the case of Cinderella, who must follow orders so she doesn’t end up on the streets.

This is specifically true in the case of racialized people, specifically, as I discuss, Black communities in the United States, who obtained freedom from legal bondage but continued to face economic constraints and hardship reinforced through many forms of white power, both violent and coercive.

Through The Princess and The Frog, a 2009 Disney musical, I consider the characters Tiana and Charlotte as children and as adults. I contrast the wealthy neighbourhood of Charlotte’s (white) family and Tiana’s neighbourhood of working-class Black families in order to teach the economics of racism.

This allows recognition of the systemic impact of neighbourhoods with poor schools and high unemployment on limiting upward social mobility. These themes also support discussing covert racism in the discipline of economics and how communities and systems of governance can mitigate inequalities.

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Read more:
Banking co-ops run by Black women have a longtime legacy of helping people

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How living standards emerge

Teaching about Pinocchio also helps me critique the economic principle that living standards are based on productivity.

For example, Stromboli enriches himself with gold coins by exploiting Pinocchio’s labour and keeping him in a cage. Examining this story allows an opportunity to broach the mistreatment of poor migrant workers in the Middle East with dismal living conditions.

Overall, various Disney animations allow me to broach real-world economic issues in a manner that captures the interest of students, young and old.

Junaid B. Jahangir does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. How Disney classics help me teach real-world economics – https://theconversation.com/how-disney-classics-help-me-teach-real-world-economics-259831

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Jay R. Malcolm, Professor Emeritus, Forestry, University of Toronto

Forest degradation is increasingly recognized as a major global threat. Such degradation refers to the gradual erosion of a forest’s ability to store carbon, support biodiversity and sustain livelihoods, including those of Indigenous Peoples.

International frameworks such as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change now address degradation alongside deforestation.

While tropical forests have long been the focus, attention is also turning to temperate and boreal forests, where forest management is widespread and the potential for degradation is growing.

Some scientists have argued that if forest management is designed to be “ecologically sustainable,” then there should be little concern about degradation. But is this principle being upheld in practice? Our recent study in Ontario suggests otherwise.

Emulating natural forest disturbances

A widely used strategy to support ecological sustainability is to emulate natural disturbances; that is, to design human-caused disturbances so they fall within the range of variation observed in nature.

The ecological theory behind this approach is that species are adapted to cope with, or even benefit from, natural disturbances. In Canada’s managed boreal forests, for example, harvesting is explicitly designed to mimic natural fires, both in individual cutblocks and across the broader landscape.

In fact, this principle is enshrined in Ontario’s 1994 Crown Forest Sustainability Act that states:

“The long-term health and vigour of Crown forests should be provided for by using forest practice…that emulates natural disturbances and landscape patterns…”

The ecological sustainability of forest management is not a given: it is a hypothesis, and like any hypothesis, it must be tested. Are we actually managing forests in ecologically sustainable ways, or are we witnessing gradual forest degradation?

Our study examined the state of a 7.9 million hectare area of boreal forest in northeastern Ontario from 2012 to 2021 to test whether the provincial management regime was emulating natural disturbances, as required by law, or was instead prioritizing timber harvesting.

We used three indicators:

1) The rate at which forest was disturbed (including harvesting and fire).

2) The amount of relatively old forest (greater than 100 years old).

3) Modelled habitat for two species that have been used as indicators of sustainability: America marten and boreal caribou.

Our research did not find evidence that current practices in northeastern Ontario are emulating natural disturbances across the boreal landscape. Rather, the observed disturbance patterns appear to reflect strategies primarily focused on timber harvesting priorities.

What we found

A particular risk for boreal forests is a focus on timber production and economic returns over ecological goals. Such an approach is fundamentally at odds with the idea of emulating nature.

In particular, forests older than 100 years old have high ecological value in natural systems. They keep large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere and provide habitat for myriad species. But if one is prioritizing timber, they are viewed as wasteful because they do not produce timber as rapidly as younger forests and are often targeted for removal. In that perspective, they are labelled “decadent.”

We found that the amount of forest disturbed per year was often higher than expected under natural fire regimes and, in some coniferous forest types, even exceeded the rates expected under a strategy that prioritized timber harvesting.

Relatively old forests were also much rarer than in natural landscapes: only 22 per cent of the forest in the study area was more than 100 years old compared to an average of 54 per cent in natural landscapes.

This amount was lower than even the most conservative threshold of natural variability.

Habitats for marten and caribou were similarly degraded and fragmented. Marten habitat covered just 36 per cent of the study landscape, compared to 76 per cent in a reconstructed natural landscape. For boreal caribou, habitat was even more compromised, covering only four per cent of the study area compared to 53 per cent in the natural landscape.

Strikingly, for caribou, levels of habitat disturbance — including disturbances from harvesting, fire and roads — exceeded 70 per cent of the landscape, jeopardizing the sustainability of the two caribou populations.

Surprisingly, the clearest evidence of forest management prioritizing timber occurred within zones meant explicitly to sustain caribou. Our modelling showed that such areas will contain even less caribou habitat in the future than they do today.

A path to an ecologically sustainable future

The Ontario government is currently revisiting its boreal management strategy — a welcome and timely development. But rather than relying solely on a virtual reality model (Boreal Forest Landscape Disturbance Simulator) to define natural landscapes as is currently the case, it is evident that policy must be grounded in empirical data from real, unmanaged forests.

Scientific research over the past several decades has identified forest management approaches that can deliver timber while also sustaining ecological services within natural bounds.

These strategies, however, rely on tools the province has yet to embrace, including longer harvest rotations, increased use of partial harvesting instead of over-relying on clearcutting, expanded areas set aside from logging, and explicit targets for amounts of forest up to 200 years of age or older.

Our findings indicate that forest degradation is already underway in the boreal forests of Ontario. Substantial changes to forest management are required to reverse this trend and safeguard the ecosystem services on which people and wildlife depend.

Jay R. Malcolm has received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc. (WDGP). The research also benefited from research on American marten habitat funded by Mitacs
and WDGP. WDGP played a role in defining the study area, but otherwise funders were not involved in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

Justina C. Ray is President and Senior Scientist of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.

– ref. Ontario’s forest management is falling short on key sustainability test – https://theconversation.com/ontarios-forest-management-is-falling-short-on-key-sustainability-test-261054

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Soroush Sabbaghan, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary

Scroll through social media and you’ll find numerous videos such as “How to Use AI to write your essay in 5 minutes” or “How to skip the readings with ChatGPT.”

The discourse surrounding AI in education is deafening and it’s almost entirely consumed by the question: How? How do we write the perfect prompt? How should educators integrate ChatGPT into academic work or detect its use?

This obsession with methods and mechanics is a dangerous distraction. By racing to master the “how,” we have skipped the two far more critical, foundational questions: why should we use these tools in the first place, and when is it appropriate to do so?

Answering the “how” is a technical challenge. Answering the “why” and “when” is a philosophical one. Until educators and educational leaders ground their approaches in a coherent philosophical and theoretical foundation for learning, integrating AI will be aimless, driven by novelty and efficiency rather than human development.

Two frameworks provide the essential lens we need to move beyond the hype and engage with AI responsibly: “virtue epistemology,” which argues that knowledge is not merely a collection of correct facts or a well-assembled product, but the outcome of practising intellectual virtues; and a care-based approach that prioritizes relationships.

Virtue over volume

The current “how-to” culture implicitly defines the goal of learning as the production of a polished output (like a a comprehensive report or a functional piece of code). From this perspective, AI is a miracle of efficiency. But is the output the point of learning?

Virtue epistemology, as championed by philosophers like Linda Zagzebski, suggests the real goal of an assignment is not just writing the essay itself — but the cultivation of curiosity, intellectual perseverance, humility and critical thinking that the process is meant to instil.

This reframes the “why” of using AI. From this perspective, the only justification for integrating AI into a learning process should be to support and sustain intellectual labour.

If a student uses AI to brainstorm counterarguments for a debate, they are practising intellectual flexibility as part of that labour. If another student uses AI to map connections between theoretical frameworks for a research paper, they are deepening conceptual understanding through guided synthesis.

When AI undermines ‘why’

However, when the “how” of AI is used to bypass the very struggle that builds virtue (by exercising intellectual labour, including analysis, deliberation and judgment), it directly undermines the “why” of the assignment. A graduate student who generates a descriptive list of pertinent research about a topic without engaging with the sources skips the valuable process of synthesis and critical engagement.

This stands in direct contrast to philosopher and educator John Dewey’s view of learning as an active, experiential process.

For Dewey, learning happens through doing, questioning and grappling with complexity, not by acquiring information passively. Assignments that reward perfection and correctness over process and growth further incentivize the use of AI as a shortcut, reducing learning to prompting and receiving rather than engaging in the intellectual labour of constructing meaning.

Care over compliance

If the “why” is about supporting human intellectual labour and fostering intellectual virtue, the “when” is about the specific, contextual and human needs of the learner.

This is where an “ethics of care” becomes indispensable. As philosopher Nel Noddings proposed, a care-based approach prioritizes relationships and the needs of the individual over rigid, universal rules. It moves away from a one-size-fits-all policy and toward discretionary judgment.

The question: “When is it appropriate to use AI?” cannot be answered with a simple rubric. For a student with a learning disability or severe anxiety, using AI to help structure their initial thoughts might be a compassionate and enabling act, allowing them to engage with the intellectual labour of the task without being paralyzed by the mechanics of writing. In this context, the “when” is when the tool removes a barrier to deeper learning.

Conversely, for a student who needs to develop foundational writing skills, relying on that same tool for the same task would be irresponsible. Deciding the “when” requires educators to know their learner, understand the learning goal and act with compassion and wisdom. It is a relational act, not a technical one.

Educators must ensure that AI supports rather than displaces the development of core capabilities.

AI as mediator

This is also where we must confront historian and philosopher Michel Foucault’s challenge to the idea of the lone, autonomous author. Foucault argued that the concept of the author functions to make discourse controllable and to have a name that can be held accountable. Our obsession with policing students’ authorship — a “how” problem focused on originality and plagiarism — is rooted in this system of control.

It rests on the convenient fiction of the unmediated creator, ignoring that all creation is an act of synthesis, mediated by language, culture and the texts that came before. AI is simply a new, more powerful mediator that makes this truth impossible to ignore.

This perspective reframes an educator’s task away from policing a fragile notion of originality. The more crucial questions become when and why to use a mediator like AI. Does the tool enable deeper intellectual labour, or does it supplant the struggle that builds virtue? The focus shifts from controlling the student to intentionally shaping the learning experience.

Reorienting AI through values and virtue

The rush to adopt AI tools without a philosophical framework is already leading us toward a more surveilled, less trusting and pedagogically shallow future.

Some educational systems are investing money in AI detection software when what’s needed is investing in redesigning assessment.

Policy is emerging that requires students to declare their use of AI. But it’s essential to understand that disclosure isn’t the same as meaningful conversations about intellectual virtue.

Answering the questions of why and when to use AI requires us to be architects of learning. It demands that we engage with thinking about learning and what it means to produce knowledge through the works of people like Dewey, Noddings, Zagzebski and others as urgently as we do with the latest tech blogs.

For educators, the responsible integration of AI into our learning environments depends on our commitments to cultivating a culture that values intellectual labour and understands it as inseparable from the knowledge and culture it helps generate.

It is time to stop defaulting to “how” and instead lead the conversation about the values that define when and why AI fits within meaningful and effective learning.

Soroush Sabbaghan receives funding from SSHRC.

– ref. AI can be responsibly integrated into classrooms by answering the ‘why’ and ‘when’ – https://theconversation.com/ai-can-be-responsibly-integrated-into-classrooms-by-answering-the-why-and-when-261496

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Fateme Ejaredar, PhD candidate in Sociology, University of Calgary

The recent war waged by Israel and the United States on Iran killed at least 935 people and wounded another 5,332. There’s currently a ceasefire, but the conflict shocked the world and has had unique impacts on Iranians in the diaspora.

Many Iranians in Canada were glued to their media feeds to stay close to Iran and their friends and families.

Based on preliminary interviews with 30 Iranian activists in Canada, many in the diaspora have experienced what they call “survivor’s guilt.”

The interviews are part of a PhD study conducted online or in person by one of the authors of this story, Fateme Ejaredar, and supervised by co-author Pallavi Banerjee. The information from these interviews helps to untangle the roots of political tensions and evolving solidarities in the Iranian diaspora in Canada. For this research, 30 interviews were conducted, with seven followups after the conflict began on June 13, 2025.

A large share of the Iranian diaspora in Canada is comprised of activists who disavow the Islamic Republic. According to The New York Times, the Iranian diaspora includes “exiled leftists, nationalists, secular democrats, former prisoners, journalists, human rights advocates and artists.” This population of diasporic Iranians has been supporting progressive change in Iran.

There are also those who oppose the Islamic Republic in support of the deposed shah, a movement currently swayed by Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah. They see the U.S. and Israel as liberators of the Iranian people. The current war resurfaced many of these tensions that continue to divide the diaspora.

The war has left Iranian activists in the diaspora contending with contradictions about both their standing as activists while mourning the assaults on their country, both from within and outside.

Living in between homeland and hostland

Canada has the second largest Iranian diaspora in the world. Iran’s tumultuous political climate has kept the diaspora on edge and divided since the 1979 revolution that deposed the shahs.

After the revolution, many left-wing and other opposition activists who resisted both the pre- and post-revolutionary regimes went into exile. Continued political repression and economic hardship later forced even more Iranians, including activists, to leave the country. Strife peaked again in 2022 during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests which deeply impacted the diaspora.

Matin, a participant in her 30s from Alberta (all names of interviewees are pseudonyms), said:

“I’m sad that my home is being bombed. And you don’t have the energy to argue in this situation. For a soul that’s already tired, its wounds from 2022 aren’t healed yet, it can’t go into this again. It’s a dead end.”

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Read more:
Iranian women risk arrest: Daughters of the revolution

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Sociological research on migration and transnationalism has explained how those exiled from their homelands and living in diaspora reside in the “in-between lands.”

This is heightened when the homeland is in a state of political disarray, producing what sociologists have called “exogenous shocks” for the diaspora.

This is the unsettled feeling Iranians in the diaspora have been contending with for the last 45 years. They are constantly navigating life in between the homeland and hostland.

Fragmented nationalism

People’s fragmented sense of nationalism can shape responses to upheavals in the homeland.

Many we spoke with struggle with their own interpretations of Iranian nationalism that clash with their disdain for the Islamic Republic. Their disdain is rooted in their own lived experiences under the regime — ranging from the loss of basic rights and freedoms, to harsh repression including imprisonment and torture for some, or simply an unfulfilled desire of living in a peaceful and free society.

Vida, an interviewee in her 30s who lives in Saskatchewan, said even though she despised the politics of the Islamic Republic and in the past had celebrated the death of key officials like Qasem Soleimani, the recent war has invoked some conflicting feelings about the death of military leaders.

She took pride in solidarities forged among the diaspora due to the war and interpreted it as nationalism. Vida said:

“I never was a nationalist, and I hate nationalism. But there were moments these days that I felt proud. Seeing all the solidarity between people, seeing how they helped each other…”

Even as the activists feel protective of their country because of the war, they also experience a deep sense of loss and guilt they have always felt in exile.

Tensions in the diaspora

Iran’s relationship with the West has continued to be fraught.

The West, particularly the U.S., has leveraged Iran’s repression of women to economically disable Iran through sanctions, breaking down possibilities of diplomacy between Iran and the U.S. But feminist scholars have argued this stance has only further empowered the authoritarian and patriarchal political forces in Iran..

Iranian activists in the diaspora contend with both resisting the Islamic Republic’s role in oppression of Iranians in Iran and the American role in marginalizing Iranians in Iran.

The ‘Iran of our dreams’

The in-between spaces are precarious and unpredictable. But they also bring new possibilities and in this case, as many interviewees have indicated, acts of resistance from afar.

This can be further activated in moments of upheaval. And those living in the in-between spaces can often form new alliances and solidarities.

For many activist Iranians, the resistance in Palestine has been a source of inspiration since before the revolution of 1979. Many participants in this study mentioned in their interviews how they have long felt solidarity with Palestinians, but they say since June 13, they have an even deeper understanding of their situation.

Zara, in her 40s from Ontario, said she now understands more deeply how the world could be indifferent towards those critiquing the actions of Israel, saying she feels:

“… a sense of helplessness and desperation against all that illogical violent power.”

Despite the desolation expressed by our interviewees about the war, many activists also expressed faith in resistance for freedom and justice that allows them to envision a different future.

Jamshid, in his 60s in British Columbia, shared his future vision of Iran. It is:

“ … an Iran that lives in peace. There is social justice in it and no one is injured. It takes care of itself. It’s very kind, immensely kind… Maybe one day it will happen and we’re not here to see it.”

Pallavi Banerjee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Fateme Ejaredar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Iranian Canadians watch the Israel-U.S. attacks on Iran from afar – https://theconversation.com/iranian-canadians-watch-the-israel-u-s-attacks-on-iran-from-afar-259866

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Pedro C. González Espinosa, Postdoctoral Reserach Fellow, The School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

Coral reefs are vital ecosystems that sustain millions of people, yet they face a growing crisis. Rising ocean temperatures are causing coral bleaching, a process where heat disrupts the relationship between corals and the microalgae living inside them. If the stress continues, the corals may die.

Since the 1980s, bleaching events have increased significantly, posing a major threat to reefs and the coastal communities that rely on them for food, income and protection.

Scientists rely on data-monitoring tools to predict where and when bleaching is most likely to occur. These tools help inform conservation decisions made by the reef managers in charge of preserving the reefs, like temporarily pausing tourism or fishing to allow corals to recover.

But important questions are often overlooked in the process: Are these decisions fair? And who bears the cost of protecting coral reefs?

Managing reefs

Predicting bleaching events is crucial for managing reefs. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coral Reef Watch uses satellite data to issue real-time bleaching alerts. These alerts guide managers to act before reefs reach dangerous thresholds.

However, the science isn’t perfect. Our research shows that about one-third of bleaching alerts worldwide are false alarms or missed events. If fishing or tourism sites are closed based on a false alarm, it can cause unnecessary economic hardship to local communities. On the other hand, failing to act when bleaching happens risks long-term ecological damage.

Not all reefs are affected equally. The challenges are especially severe in developing countries, where coastal communities depend heavily on reefs for their livelihoods. Many coastal communities do not have the money, government support or backup options they need to protect reefs or cope with the damage.

As a result, coastal communities in developing countries bear the greatest ecological and economic risks. This highlights the need for a rethink of how reef-protection strategies are designed and implemented.

Equity matters

Reef management must be fair, not just to the reefs but also to the people who depend on them. This is where equity comes in. Equity means not only sharing the benefits of healthy reefs, but also ensuring that the costs, such as fishing bans or tourism closures, do not disproportionately fall on those least able to handle them.

There are three key principles that help bring equity to the heart of coral-reef management and the fair sharing of reef resources:

1. Recognizing equity: Different groups relate to the reef in different ways. For some, it is a source of food; for others, it has cultural or spiritual meaning. Understanding and respecting these different connections — whether scientific, economic or traditional — is essential.

2. Fair decision-making: Managing the reef should be a collective undertaking. It is important that those who depend on it, like fishing communities, tourism operators and Indigenous groups, have a real say in how the reef is used, and not just more powerful or rich interest groups, like commercial fishers.

3. Fair sharing of benefits and costs: The benefits of healthy reefs, like fish, tourism income or coastal protection, should be distributed fairly. Likewise, the costs, such as fishing bans or tourism restrictions, should not fall unfairly on those who can least afford it.

These ideas may sound like common sense, but they are often missing in practice. In developing countries, decisions made in the interest of reef conservation can unintentionally harm local communities.

Sustainable and local solutions

Without alternative sources of income or food, restricting fishing or access to reefs can worsen poverty, exacerbate gender inequity or push unsustainable practices to other areas.

In the Solomon Islands, for example, coral reefs are crucial for both food and economic well-being.

In some communities, the food and materials people harvest from reefs, like fish, shells and corals, are worth more than what they earn from other sources. But heavy reliance on reef resources, especially for cash income, has led to over-extraction in some areas, putting both the reefs and local livelihoods at risk.

A community-led planning project in the small island nation of Tuvalu has fostered support for low-impact tourism that balances conservation with livelihoods. Villages identified key sites to protect and developed visitor guidelines to support tourism in a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable manner, balancing reef conservation with local livelihoods.

These examples show that conservation solutions must be co-designed, flexible and tailored to each context. Decisions to close areas or create protected zones should consult with and include local communities.

Toward a just future

Strategies to protect coral reefs need to evolve to include impacted communities. This means reshaping decision-making processes, who is involved and how risks and benefits are shared. It also means addressing global imbalances in conservation leadership.

Many reef initiatives are still led by institutions from wealthy nations, even though the reefs most at risk are in developing countries. In many cases, local communities are invited to participate, but participation alone may not guarantee equity. True equity is about shifting power in leadership and making space for local communities and institutions, providing them with real authority to manage their own resources.

Integrating equity into every stage of coral-bleaching management — including warning systems, impact assessments, stress reduction and policy decisions — not only boosts conservation outcomes, but also ensures that efforts to save the reefs do not come at the expense of the people most dependent on them.

Pedro C. González Espinosa receives funding from the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus, School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM), Simon Fraser University (SFU).

– ref. To protect coral reefs, we must also protect the people who depend on them – https://theconversation.com/to-protect-coral-reefs-we-must-also-protect-the-people-who-depend-on-them-252546