Received Sylff fellowship in 2008
Current Affiliation: The Evergreen State College
Academic supervisor: Dr. Shaul Cohen
SLI2019: Climate Justice and REDD+: Voices of Community Forest Users
SLI2024: The Significance of the Machchhindranath Jatra and the Newa Guthi for Climate Adaptation in Nepal
I am a Newa American, and a Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College. My research and teaching interests include climate and environmental justice, political ecology, and critical development studies. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu University, a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Ohio University, and a doctorate in Environmental Science, Studies and Policy, with Geography as the focal discipline, from the University of Oregon. I was born in Patan, Nepal, where I spent most of my formative years. I have also lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Kabul, Afghanistan as a child in the 1980s. My current home is in Olympia, Washington in the United States of America.
Academic Achievements, Social Engagement Initiatives:
Following the SYLFF dissertation fellowship which supported field work in Delhi and Copenhagen, I received a Wayne Morse Dissertation Fellowship to complete dissertation writing at the University of Oregon. Upon earning my Ph.D. degree, I taught in the Environmental Studies program at two liberal arts colleges, Denison University, and Colgate University, and in the Geography and Urban Studies program at Temple University, before landing at my current institution, The Evergreen State College to teach in the Master of Environmental Studies program as well as to teach Climate Justice and related subjects in the undergraduate curriculum. Since joining Evergreen, I have worked with colleagues to organize two Indigenous Climate Justice symposia bringing together Native American and international perspectives on climate mitigation and adaptation. In 2019 I undertook a Sylff Leadership Initiative in the form of a multi-day forum project titled 'Climate Justice and REDD+: Voices of Community Forest Users' where I brought diverse representatives of community forestry user groups from 12 districts in the Terai to discuss issues of representation, access, equity, and consent pertaining to carbon sequestration and sustainability in Nepal's community forests.
Since the completion of my doctoral program, I have continued to pursue research on the human dimensions of climate change at a steady pace. I published my first book in 2021. This book, titled 'Climate Change Justice and Global Resource Commons' brought together a decade of field work (doctoral and post-doctoral) on various aspects of climate change, including North-South politics and a critical examination of climate mitigation solutions. The latter was focused on two specific projects, the Clean Development Mechanism and REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), as they have been implemented in Nepal, with an eye towards understanding how they are transforming social relations in the local context, particularly as they relate to the forest commons. My published work has appeared in peer reviewed journals such as Global Environmental Politics, and in edited volumes including The International Handbook of Political Ecology, and Climate, Science, and Society. I have shared insights from this work at various academic conferences and universities in North America, Europe, and South Asia.
I am currently working on a book project focused on understanding the contemporary relevance of a centuries old annual tradition for climate resilience. This ancient Newa tradition is practiced in the Kathmandu Valley. It is widely known as Machchhindranath Jatra, named after a deity (also known as Karunamaya, Avalokiteswor, and Bungdya) responsible for bringing monsoon rains to the valley's agricultural residents and protecting them from catastrophes. About a dozen different social groups have niche roles to play in sustaining this important procession tradition. I argue that an Indigenous governance institution called the Guthi is integral to the continuity of the work of these groups and therefore of this culturally and ecologically significant tradition. Beyond my work on this book project, I am pleased to have an opportunity to organize my second Sylff Leadership Initiative to draw the attention of Nepalese decisionmakers to the relevance of this historical Jatra tradition and the Guthi institution for contemporary climate adaptation and resilience.
Summary of Support Program Activities:
The 2008-09 SYLFF graduate fellowship enabled me to conduct dissertation fieldwork in Delhi and at the 15th Conference of Parties in Copenhagen. My dissertation "Justice, Development, and India's Claim to Environmental Space: A Postcolonial Political Ecology of the Atmospheric Commons" examined North-South climate politics leading up to the Copenhagen climate negotiations with a focus on India's negotiating position.
A 2019 SLI forum project: 'Climate Justice and REDD+: Voices of Community Forest Users' enabled me to create a space for discussion, exchange, and learning among community leaders involved in sustaining Nepal's community forests.
The 2025 forum project: 'The Significance of the Machchhindranath Jatra and the Newa Guthi for Climate Adaptation in Nepal' will similarly enable me to create a space for discussion, learning, and exchange among community leaders involved in sustaining the Jatra, associated Guthis, and government and non-government officials involved in climate adaptation and compliance with UNDRIP and ILO-169.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shangrila.rajbhandari.joshi/
