My name is Muhammad Arfan and recently completed my Ph.D. in Integrated Water Resources Management from US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water, Jamshoro, Pakistan. I’m part of the Center for Advanced Studies in Water, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology JamshoroI (Pakistan). I have an interdisciplinary research experience while working with the World-Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) and the International Institute of Social History (IISH). My research interest covers subjects related to water governance, political ecology, common pool resource management, climate change adaptation, and collective action. I received a competitive research grant for an interdisciplinary research project from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). During this research project, I studied participatory irrigation management reforms in Pakistan and explore how these reforms influenced performance of irrigation management in terms of equity and why collective action is failed to overcome this inequity.
Currently, I am working on a research project titled “Agrarian Extractivism and Climate Disaster in the Indus Water Basin” funded by Association of Asian Studies (AAS) grant initiative. In this research project, I am trying to understand what are the impacts of agrarian extractivism on the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and rural communities in the Indus Water Basin. Agrarian extractivism involves exploiting natural resources, such as land and water, for commercial purposes, often at the expense of local communities. Climate disasters, including droughts, floods, and sea-level rise, are exacerbating the impacts of extractivism on the region. The Indus Water Basin is particularly vulnerable to these processes, making it an important area of focus for my research.
Previous publications:
| Working Paper, “Exploring the Water Governance Policy Framework for Improving Participatory Irrigation Management Reforms” Published as Book Chapter Political Economy of Development Reform. Online Available: https://pide.org.pk/rasta/wp-content/uploads/RASTA-Local-Research-Local-Solutions-Political-Economy-of-Development-Reform-Volume-VI-compressed.pdf “Mapping impact of farmer’s organization on the equity of water and land productivity: evidence from Pakistan”, (with author order, Muhammad Arfan), The Pakistan Development Review, 61(2), https://thepdr.pk/index.php/pdr/article/view/3002 “Agenda Setting in Water and IWRM: Discourse Analysis of Water Policy Debate in Pakistan”, (with author order, Muhammad Arfan, Kamran Ansari, Asmat Ullah, Daniyal Hassan, Altaf Ali Siyal, Shaofeng Jia) Water (Switzerland), https://www.mdpi.com/20734441/12/6/1656 |
Carol Hernández
Carol Hernandez holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Portland State University, U.S., and is a professor/researcher at the University Program of Bioethics, National Autonomous University of Mexico. Her areas of interest focus on agriculture and climate change, seed sovereignty, and indigenous social movements.