Dr. Jessica Dempsey is an associate professor in the UBC Department of Geography. Specializing in political ecology, her research program focuses on what she calls the Extinction Paradox, a term that refers to worsening biodiversity loss despite ever-increasing environmental domestic laws and international agreements. Through her work she has formed valuable partnerships with communities (including the West Moberly First Nations), civil society organizations (like Third World Network) and actively engages with policymakers.
Dr. Dempsey and her collaborator Dr. Rosemary Collard (Geography, SFU) study the extinction paradox in Canada, examining how and why governments continue to approve resource-extraction and land-use change projects that harm endangered species such as caribou. Through this research, Dr. Dempsey and Collard became aware of the crucial role that the West Moberly First Nations is playing in caribou conservation. Discussions with West Moberly First Nations staff led to a workshop focused on knowledge exchange between UBC researchers and the West Moberly First Nations, focused on climate justice and building collaborative research agendas. This workshop has led to several new research projects between the West Moberly and UBC researchers across several faculties.
Dr. Dempsey acknowledges how her position as an external partner enables her to offer fresh analysis and perspectives that can shed light on overlooked aspects of issues. She explains, “While there exists a tension between being an insider or outsider in certain contexts, I view it as a productive tension. Conflict may arise, but I believe it can foster productivity rather than being inherently negative."
By engaging in respectful dialogues and maintaining an open-minded approach, she navigates potential conflicts and strives for productive outcomes.
In her pursuit of knowledge mobilization, Dr. Dempsey actively contributes her expertise on scientific panels that aim to drive transformative change and address global challenges, such as the International Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Additionally, she is committed to establishing new community and policy engaged institutional structures at UBC, such as the Center for Climate Justice. By engaging with diverse communities and disciplines, Dr. Dempsey develops impactful research questions and shapes meaningful outcomes.
Dr. Dempsey's research on “the extinction paradox” and her engagement with communities and policymakers underscore the significance of integrating research with real-world impact. By embracing engagement and collaborating across disciplines, researchers can generate comprehensive and actionable insights to address biodiversity loss.
Kx takeaways
- Dr. Dempsey emphasizes the importance of ongoing community/policymaker dialogue and political engagement in research, because they enable researchers to ask relevant questions and shape impactful research.
- Engagement should be an integral part of the research process, not an add-on.
- Open-mindedness, flexibility and humility are key aspects of this work.