Her research focuses on the role of more participatory decision-making in renewable energy planning and adaptation to infrastructure-related disasters. Her recent work examines energy sector planning and climate impacts in the Greater Mekong subregion and community engagement processes to support water allocation decision-making in California.
Project Abstract: I propose a multimedia project which includes imagery and audio recorded narratives and aims to archive life histories related to fish capture in central Laos. Traditional fishing and fish farming practices have supported subsistence in river-adjacent communities across countless generations and are critical within the cosmologies and livelihood practices of Lao fishing communities. In exploring how rapidly changing fish capture practices are impacting cultural practices related to fishing and river use, this project will record and archive traditional fishing practices as the fishermen population declines due to emigration or moves to different industries.
Interviews of two fishers involved in co-managed fisheries projects in central Laos will focus on 1 current fishing and fisheries management practices and 2 the intergenerational nature of fisheries management, including how personal knowledge of fishing practices has been passed down and changed given emerging economic trends and river-related changes.
Bio: My name is Ribka Bhagchandani. My academic interests lie in the intersection of governance, economics, history, and law in influencing development structures, with a particular focus on economic recovery and democratic transitions in post-crisis societies in Eastern Asia. Growing up in Indonesia, I developed a deep interest in understanding and contributing to the development of my country and region.
Furthermore, my background as an ethnic Chinese and Indian Indonesian provides me with a unique perspective on the historical marginalization of minority communities and the complexities of a minority-driven economy. These experiences have shaped my desire to explore how political regimes influence economic recovery and development structures in transitioning states.
