Evan Bowness

Evan Bowness, Canada Research Chair in Sustainability and EquityCanada Research Chair in Sustainability and Equity
Tier 2 - January 2025 - December 2029

Office: Room 1411, SSC
Tel: 519-661-2111, x. 82817
E-mail: ebowness@uwo.ca 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Bowness co-founded the Just Transitions in Food Systems Network in 2022, a Brazilian-based research network of community organizations and Indigenous communities resisting destructive ‘green energy’ development proposals and revitalizing their cultural connections to their lands. Dr. Bowness has a substantial publication record for their career stage on topics related to equitable land and food systems. This includes a co-written book published with Fernwood Publishing, 15 articles, one edited special journal issue, and 8 book chapters. Bowness has delivered 41 conference presentations in international venues, and their research has also been visible in the public sphere through several SSHRC-funded research-creation visual storytelling initiatives published online, featured in peer-reviewed books and articles, and appearing on the cover of a UN report by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security on the topic of youth and food systems transformation.

Dr. Bowness has a strong track record of securing external funding which has led to over $3 million CAD in successful funding proposals as project leader or PI. In addition, Dr. Bowness has secured funding from Genome Canada, Genome BC, and Mitacs for the research program they established while a postdoc and Acting Director of the Food and Agriculture Institute for the University of the Fraser Valley on the Just Transition and emerging agricultural technologies.

Dr. Bowness’ research is collaborative with substantial participation from community partners, including communities experiencing environmental injustices in the Global South and North, including Indigenous communities and social movement organizers based primarily in Brazil. Dr. Bowness regularly collaborates with Canadian researchers, with a growing network of academic collaborators in the UK, Germany, and the US. Dr. Bowness is also an active member in the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective.

Dr. Bowness is positioned as an emerging leading voice on “just sustainabilities”— a critical social science perspective that prioritizes both environmental sustainability and social justice.