Yanjun Liang, a Master of Science in Rural Planning and Development student, will defend their thesis research titled “Adapting the Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction Model to Climate-Induced Planned Relocation in Coastal Communities: A Case Study in Seine Bight, Belize”. A brief description of their thesis research is listed below:  

Under the increasing climate threats, mass population migrations are gradually occurring in coastal communities along the South Pacific Ocean to Arctic Circle. Such migration can be legitimately planned by institutions as an adaptation policy response to climate change. Yet to date, little attention has been paid by policymakers or researchers to the development of a conceptual framework for the climate-induced planned relocation (CIPR) in coastal communities. The Impoverishment Risks and Reconstruction (IRR) Model, being the most widely used framework for displacement projects, can be applied in such contexts to fill the policy gap. My research identifies overemphasized and overlooked risks in the IRR Model and to adapt it to CIPR in coastal communities. Data were collected from literature of past coastal resettlement projects and a survey in Seine Bight, Belize. The thesis presents an adapted IRR Model with 20 risks, each given a magnitude of concerning level and demographic sensitivity. 

Members of the examination committee will include: Prof. Ryan Gibson (advisor, SEDRD), Prof. Silvia Sarpura (Graduate Faculty, SEDRD), Prof. Laurie Brinklow (University of Prince Edward Island), and Prof. Nic Brunet will serve as chair. The thesis is open to the public and instructions for joining the video conference can be requested from rpd@uoguelph.ca [1].