Joachim Stassart

A Public Scholar recognizes the importance of going beyond academic obligations by putting their research at the service of society and remaining accountable to the communities they engage with. Public Scholars step outside the coziness of academic debates to identify pressing questions and make small but significant contributions to address the many challenges our societies face. Being a Public Scholar is not only about improving communication; it also involves developing collaborative research designs and outputs that are meaningful and relevant to non-academic partners.

Public Scholars Initiative
Faculty
Faculty of Forestry
Program
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Research supervisor(s)
JULIET LU
Home Town
Habay-la-vieille
Country
Belgium
Selected Award(s)
UBC Public Scholars Award
Vanier Scholarship

Research description

My research project examines how digital transformation is reconfiguring land governance. More specifically, I focus on conflicts over access to land in Brazil’s resource frontiers, where agricultural expansion, the energy transition, conservation goals and the struggle for the land rights of smallholders, Indigenous peoples and traditional communities intersect. Both academics and development actors often attribute land conflicts to “weak” land administration, criticizing its inability to control disputes, to produce authoritative maps that clarify who owns what and to regulate how land can be used. Digital systems are frequently presented as a solution, promising clear, transparent and open platforms that identify ownership and land use, thereby “improving” land governance and solving the so-called “land chaos.” They also claim to enhance participation by enabling non-state actors to access, process and use data to generate knowledge and contribute to land administration. Yet, while digital transformation is often framed as a technical and neutral process, its impacts on the power dynamics of land governance, at the heart of many conflicts, are frequently overlooked. My project examines precisely these politics by asking: how is the digitalization of land governance changing the power dynamics surrounding land access in resource frontiers? Digitalizing land administration necessarily involves political choices: what kinds of land data are produced, for what purposes transparency is pursued, and from which perspectives information is presented. These choices shape what actions are possible, fostering or hindering particular forms of accountability. How such issues are resolved can determine whether land data reproduces existing forms of exploitation, fosters inclusion or is repurposed into counter-mapping strategies that empower groups at risk of dispossession.

What does being a Public Scholar mean?

A Public Scholar recognizes the importance of going beyond academic obligations by putting their research at the service of society and remaining accountable to the communities they engage with. Public Scholars step outside the coziness of academic debates to identify pressing questions and make small but significant contributions to address the many challenges our societies face. Being a Public Scholar is not only about improving communication; it also involves developing collaborative research designs and outputs that are meaningful and relevant to non-academic partners.

In what ways do you think the PhD experience can be re-imagined with this Initiative?

I see the Public Scholars Initiative as an incubator to experiment with what more meaningful and impact-oriented PhDs can look like. It invites us to rethink what can be done with the significant resources and time we invest in our research to develop creative forms of research and outputs that can be more meaningful for society. For me, it serves as an opportunity to learn how to develop more collaborative research projects that meet community needs in addition to academic goals. It means doing research together with local partners who see opportunities to advance social and environmental justice in the questions we explore together. It also includes collaboration with NGOs to develop outputs that circulate beyond academic circles to reach global policy debates on land governance. The Public Scholars Initiative allows me to integrate these efforts into my PhD project and to recognize them as an innovative forms of (co-)producing knowledge.

How do you envision connecting your PhD work with broader career possibilities?

I see my PhD as a unique chance to innovate in what research is and what it can achieve. I am grateful for the freedom to test ideas, methodologies and partnerships that I wouldn't be able to explore elsewhere. I believe there is no other place where you can experiment as freely as during a PhD. I aim to carry these lessons forward to develop new ways of conducting more accountable, thoughtful and effective research wherever I work in the future.

How does your research engage with the larger community and social partners?

There are two levels of engagement in my research. On one hand, I am working to build lasting partnerships with the people who contribute to my research by exploring how my work can also solve their problems. Specifically, I collaborate with land activists and a public defender in Brazil to better understand how digitalization can be leveraged to address land conflicts and forest degradation. On the other hand, I work with global NGOs to ensure that lessons learned from my collaborations in Brazil are shared on a larger scale and can contribute to the global policy debate on the opportunities and challenges of digitalization in promoting land rights.

Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?

Prior to my PhD at UBC, I worked as a researcher for an anti-corruption NGO in Brazil, where I investigated land grabs. This sparked my passion for the politics of land governance, a topic that connects decolonization, inequality, rural development, violence and forest degradation — all critical issues in Brazil. However, my civil society work raised questions about the assumptions behind the policy recommendations we promoted. As we advocated for increased accountability through digitalization and transparency of land records, I began to question how various groups, including Indigenous peoples, local communities, smallholders and Afro-descendants, were represented in these data and how this information was used in land conflicts. This motivated me to pursue a PhD at UBC to explore these unanswered questions. I also wanted to step back from the fast pace of civil society to reflect on how to conduct better research that serves the communities I engage with. The PhD provides me with the time to consider the ethical and methodological challenges involved in conducting robust and accountable research.

Why did you choose to come to British Columbia and study at UBC?

I was inspired by my supervisor's work and by many other scholars at UBC who focus on the political ecology of natural resource governance, which aligns with my interests. I found a community here that constantly motivates me and provides a healthy environment for growth, where I feel supported in developing my own research style. The Faculty of Forestry, where I am pursuing my PhD, is also a unique place not only for cutting-edge research but also where interdisciplinary approaches to natural resource governance are truly valued, offering opportunities to learn from other disciplines and try new approaches. Much of the research conducted within the faculty also emphasizes social issues related to natural resource governance, such as reconciliation and environmental justice. Last but not least, the Salish Coast is a wonderful learning environment where many social and environmental experiments are happening, many in collaboration with First Nations.