POLIS Project on Ecological Governance

The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance is a centre for trans-disciplinary research that investigates and promotes sustainability. POLIS was established in 2000 by the Eco-Research Chair of Environmental Law and Policy at the University of Victoria in Canada and fills a unique niche on campus as a place where academic and policy research meets community action.

POLIS works to cultivate ecological governance through innovative research, policy analysis and strategic advocacy, law reform, education and community action. Ecological governance offers alternatives to linear, extractive, and unsustainable systems – alternatives that are circular, reflective and self-sustaining in ways that reduce urban demands on distant and local ecosystems.

Research areas and projects

  • Law and political ecology
  • Urban sustainability
  • Community-based ecosystem management
  • Cultural and ecological health
  • Collaborative research and learning
  • Property commons
  • Knowledge governance

POLIS Water Sustainability Project

The Water Sustainability Project (WSP) is a research group based at the University of Victoria led by political ecologist and water expert Oliver M Brandes.

Started in 2003, The Water Sustainability Project1 is an action-based research group that specializes in water conservation and is known for its work on the soft water path, water and energy and water law, policy and governance. The WSP approaches water scarcity as a crisis of governance and has been active in moving Canadian communities away from supply-side management towards long-term-integrated-comprehensive water conservation.

Key publications

  • [Thinking Beyond Pipes and Pumps] (2006)http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/22
  • [The Soft Path in a Nutshell] (2005)http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/23
  • [At a Watershed: Ecological Governance and Sustainable Water Management in Canada] (2005) http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/24
  • [The Future in Every Drop: The Benefits, Barriers and Practice of Urban Water Demand Management in Canada] (2004) http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/25
  • [What the Experts Think: Understanding Urban Water Demand Management in Canada] (2003)http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/26
  • [Flushing the Future? Examining Urban Water Use in Canada] (2003) http://www.poliswaterproject.org/publication/27
  • Planet U, R. Michael M'Gonigle, Justine Starke

See also

  • Ecological governance
  • Soft water path
  • Backcasting

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