Canada Research Chair Catherine Potvin is a tropical forest ecologist and professor at McGill University in the Department of Biology.
[2][3] She was the first woman to receive the Miroslaw Romanowski Medal from the Royal Society of Canada, in recognition of her "significant contributions to the resolution of scientific aspects of environmental problems".
[1] Her motivation to pursue biology stemmed from her fascination and desire to better understand the biodiversity of the Earth and a concern for its degradation.
[7] In the mid-1990s, Potvin laid the foundation for a long and deep partnership with the Ipeti-Embera indigenous community in the Bayano region of eastern Panama.
[7] She has paved the way for more collaborative scientist-indigenous community partnerships to promote land conservation, resilient livelihoods, and preservation of cultural traditions.
[7] Her work has encouraged Embera leaders to continue forest carbon measuring campaigns with support from the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Bank.
[7] In addition to her capacity building work with indigenous communities, she is also a negotiator of the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative on behalf of Panama in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2005-2009).
[3][1] In addition to her research, she is a scientist-activist that has gained experience in national and international climate change and conservation policy.
[6] Sustainable Canada Dialogues emphasizes the importance of an energy transition that improves human livelihoods and the environment by opening opportunities for innovation and employment.
[6] The scholars come from diverse academic backgrounds, including sociology, business, biology, and engineering, to provide interdisciplinary and evidence-based solutions relevant to all regions of Canada.
[6][11][12] Their most recent report was sponsored by the Department of Natural Resources Canada which proposed 10 policy orientations to achieve 100% low-carbon electricity by 2035.