Inaugural Bruce Postdoctoral Fellowship highlights urgent need for freshwater policy

This summer, Sima Saadi will join Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) as the first recipient of the new Geoffrey F. Bruce Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environment and Freshwater Policy.

Since childhood, Saadi has felt a strong connection to the environment. Growing up in Mariwan, Iran, she witnessed the degradation of Lake Zrebar’s freshwater due to climate change, human activity and neglect.

“In Kurdistan province, seeing the degradation of this beautiful lake inspired me to work towards finding solutions to environmental problems and ecosystem protections,” says Saadi. 

“There is a lack of awareness and understanding about the impact of human actions on the environment, and this must change,” adds Saadi. “I have a sense of responsibility towards future generations, and I feel it is my duty to take action to ensure that we leave behind a healthy and sustainable planet for them. Additionally, in order to undertake significant measures towards safeguarding the environment and natural resources like water, it is imperative that we address educational campaigns, raise awareness, and implement policy and regulatory changes. These actions can play a crucial role in creating incentives for more sustainable behaviour, thereby reducing the adverse environmental impact of industrial and commercial activities.”

The Geoffrey F. Bruce Postdoctoral Fellowship offers an emerging scholar the coveted opportunity to focus on environmental and freshwater policy in Canada, conduct research on important policy issues, and engage in several policy communications projects and initiatives. The prestigious appointment is funded through the generosity of Dr. Erika v.C. Bruce, in honour of her late husband, Geoffrey F. Bruce, who served as a Canadian federal public service leader and diplomat.

“Freshwater is the most fundamental natural resource. Being a human right and a common good, we need a strategy for the development of public policies to manage, preserve and safeguard it,” says Bruce. “The world is approaching a water crisis closely connected with climate change, which has manifested itself in droughts, floods, pollution, erosion, loss of biodiversity, destruction of healthy ecosystems and increased greenhouse gas emissions.”

Geoffrey F. Bruce “advocated decades ago for a vigorous government-wide approach to addressing this issue in Canada,” she adds. “I shared his views and decided to honour his memory by establishing the Bruce Fellowships in Canadian Freshwater Policy [at the graduate level]. They have been a success, and to that has now been added this postdoctoral position.”

Prior to the start of her fellowship, Saadi will complete her PhD in Environment, Regional and Urban Planning at the University of Bourgogne/Burgundy in Dijon, France and her PhD Cotutelle with the Department of Planning and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tabriz in Iran. Her PhD research is focused on sustainability and explores how both urban and rural residents can adapt to the challenges presented by climate change through the adoption of sustainable lifestyle practices and new technologies.  

“Sima was top ranked among all the highly qualified candidates who applied,” says Dr. Pam Sugiman, dean of the Faculty of Arts. “She will be an asset to TMU’s new School of Public Policy and Democratic Innovation, and strengthen our leadership and influence in implementing meaningful change to water policy that has both local and global impact.”

In addition to conducting leading research and policy communications projects, Saadi will help mentor and enhance the experience of the Geoffrey F. Bruce Graduate Fellows. The Geoffrey F. Bruce Postdoctoral and Graduate Fellowships are overseen by TMU professor Dr. Carolyn Johns, a leading scholar on water policy in Canada and the Great Lakes region who has a passion for applied policy research and mentoring Canada’s next generation of water policy leaders.

“The additional investment by Dr. Erika Bruce in this position will contribute to TMU’s growing expertise and research focused on the environment and Canada’s freshwater resources. It is a critical and timely investment given the federal government’s establishment of a new Canada Water Agency and many pressing policy research needs at the interface of climate change and water policy,” says Johns. “I am honoured that she has placed her faith in me to supervise the inaugural postdoctoral fellow and bring Sima on board as part of our Bruce Fellowship team. This is also critical as we work on planning for a Next Generation Water Governance and Policy conference that we will be hosting at TMU in May 2024.”

Many of the alumni of the Geoffrey F. Bruce Fellowship “have quickly landed positions in their field, which attests to the quality of their work,” says Bruce. For the postdoctoral fellowship, “I trust that the interdisciplinary character of water research will in future draw candidates from law, economics, business, trade policy, political science, etc. — putting water on a sustainable trajectory. Indeed, a mission-driven approach must encompass all the central roles water plays in human life.”