Daniela Lombardo is passionate about topics such as trade, economic development, agriculture, and sustainability.
This Fall, Daniela participated in TWU’s Laurentian Leadership program in Ottawa, and pursued an internship at the Inter-American Institute of Cooperation for Agriculture (IICA).
As part of her work at IICA, she wrote an article on PROCINORTE, an organization that facilitates cooperative research activities among Canada, Mexico and the United States, and their efforts in seeking ways to address the impacts of climate change on agriculture.
In particular, Daniela captured the outcomes of PROCINORTE’s inaugural workshop on Soil, Water, and Climate Change, which involved over 60 scientists from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.
Leadership in action
A 2021 graduate in the Honours International Studies program, with a specialization in Political Economy, Daniela served as President of the TWU Student Association (TWUSA) during the 2020-21 academic year. She proposed and developed university policies for the benefit of the student community and led a team of 21 students in supporting and advocating on behalf of TWU students.
An active leader throughout her time at TWU, Daniela mentored and supported students on campus as a Resident Assistant, engaged new students as a Visit Experience Assistant for the University’s Admissions office, and created content strategies for social media as a Marketing Associate.
Born and raised in Mexico, Daniela enjoys multicultural backgrounds and learning from diverse perspectives. Her work in fostering global community at TWU was highlighted in Love Is Moving magazine, a publication of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Daniela's recent work includes a thesis on the impact of past decades of neoliberalism on the economic development of Mexico.
Below is an excerpt from Daniela's article on tri-lateral research on climate change among Mexico, the U.S., and Canada, which is published on the IICA blog:
An excerpt from "PROCINORTE workshop unites scientists to combat climate change in North American agriculture," written by Daniela Lombardo:
PROCINORTE’s inaugural workshop on Soil, Water, and Climate Change attracted over 60 scientists from Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Even though the scientific strategies in these disciplines are distinct for each country, many of the challenges faced in these systems are of trilateral relevance and similar across borders. The solutions to climate change on soil, water, crops, and livestock are crucial to North America’s agricultural future.
"Scientists need to define the changes in rain and hydrology to communicate the impacts and adaptation strategies. ...Long-term collaboration models will be essential to understand the effects of water management, and collaboration can improve water forecasts for farmers and advance water quality, not just water quantity."
New topics came to light in the April workshop. Researchers across the three countries acknowledged the influence of food system transformation on farm-level decisions and community-level outcomes. On this, social sciences can contribute to a "deeper understanding of the effects of climate change on decision-making in the food system and their dependence and impact on agricultural landscapes and communities," highlighted Dr. Peck.
Recommending collaboration between scientists and farmers
Social scientists can help the agricultural research community become more aware of equity in climate adaptation, given that climate change increases agriculture vulnerability. Alternative agroecological approaches can also empower farmers, including women, youth, and indigenous peoples, although there are barriers to adopting technology, such as financial and cultural constraints. Farmers often do not read scientific papers and academic publishing takes time. But scientists and farmers should collaborate further to increase adoption. Researchers can participate as observers as they learn how farmers solve problems in different ways. In the U.S., a Peer-to-Peer Program fosters cooperation between farmers and scientists.
Increasing temperatures are impacting soils and soil carbon storage is a vital ecosystem service. Altering the carbon composition in the ground will likely lead to soil erosion and leak dissolved carbon into groundwater. To address this, the scientists agreed on researching the carbon sequestration outcomes of practices. It was recommended to harmonize and simplify metrics when it comes to carbon. Scientists emphasized developing measures that assess products instead of practices, since many different practices deliver the same desired result.
Addressing future challenges
Workshop participants also recognized the challenges in quality, availability, and access to water. There are gaps in our understanding and lack of predictive tools, and countries lack much data. Scientists still do not know where the water recharge is or what the impacts of underground water sources are, and researchers cannot predict or understand pesticide use and soil fertility. To meet these challenges, researchers proposed developing a shared space to share relevant publications, datasets, tools, and funded research to further collaborate, connect and share knowledge, know-how, best practices, lessons learned and solutions.
Scientists need to define the changes in rain and hydrology to communicate the impacts and adaptation strategies. Countries must create syntheses across regions on topics like water retention and flood farmland to increase water recharge and reduce downstream peaks. Long-term collaboration models will be essential to understand the effects of water management, and collaboration can improve water forecasts for farmers and advance water quality, not just water quantity.
Read Daniela Lombardo’s full article on the IICA blog.
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About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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