Michael Brklacich

Biography

Mike joined Carleton’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies (DGES) in 1992 and was the DGES Chair from 2006-2012.  His appointment as a Chancellor’s Professor in July 2014 was in recognition by his Carleton colleagues of the “outstanding merit with substantial international impact” of his long-term contributions to human dimensions of global environmental change.  He was educated at Trent University (BSc in Geography in 1976), University of Guelph (MA in Geography in 1980) and the University of Waterloo (PhD in Geography in 1986).  Prior to joining Carleton, Mike was a research scientist with Agriculture Canada. Mike’s teaching and research interests reflect his long-term interests in interdisciplinary approaches for assessing human – environment relationships, with specific interests in: Human Dimensions of Environmental Change including Coupled Human-Environment Systems, Global Environmental Change and Human Security, Agricultural Adaptation to Environmental Change), Food Security, Climatic Change Impacts and Adaptations, and Environmental Policy.

Research Interest

My research program is divided into three broad but related areas: Social Vulnerability, Human Security and Environment Change: This theme focuses on basic research on understanding human vulnerabilities to environmental change and the capacity of individuals, communities and institutions to adapt to change.  It recognizes the urgency to move beyond investigating environment in isolation and to simultaneously consider environmental stresses relative to human coping and adaptation capacities and the security of human livelihoods. Coupled Environment – Human Systems: This research theme focuses on the bi-directional relationships between the environment and human well-being, with a focus on rural environments, including farming, the agri-food sector and the long-term sustainability of rural communities in many settings ranging from peri-urban environments to remote communities.  This theme also recognizes that human systems seldom respond to a single stress and provides a framework to investigate how multiple stressors (e.g. climate change, trade agreements, etc) and future uncertainties alter a community’s capacity to secure its future well-being.