Eric Marr
PhD Student

Profile

Biography

Eric is a PhD student exploring the management of agricultural and environmental land uses through a comparison of England and his home country of Canada. Eric is interested in exploring this challenge at different levels of analysis, ranging from the broader policy context through to the preferences of organisational stakeholders, and finally to understand the interests and motivations of farmers as those ultimately responsible for the management of arable land.

Prior to commencing his PhD, Eric worked as a Policy Advisor, specialising in agricultural and rural land use policy, with the Government of Ontario in Canada. His academic background is in the social sciences and he is principally interested in the application of qualitative research methods.

Career

Research

Overview

Description of PhD

Thesis Title:  Food Production or Environmental Conservation: Competition for Land in the United Kingdom and Canada

Supervisor:  Dr. Peter Howley

Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship

Description of thesis:

With a growing global population projected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, and associated food demand anticipated to increase by between 70 to 100 per cent, food security has recently emerged as a land use challenge of critical importance. This has raised concerns regarding how increased agricultural production can be achieved without compromising the natural environment, as up to 1 billion hectares of natural area may need to be cleared in order to accommodate this growing global agricultural demand. This expansion of agriculture at the expense of natural habitat is anticipated to be the primary driver of biodiversity loss this century, and sets agriculture on a collision course with environmental conservation that may also have major implications for climate change and the provision of ecosystem services.

The challenge of balancing agriculture and environment will play out at a range of scales to be addressed by this research, beginning with high level policies and working down towards farmers, the actors ultimately responsible for the management of arable land. My study has three objectives to be completed in two regions of comparison, Ontario, Canada and England, United Kingdom:

(1) analysis of the current agri-environmental land use policy context, in each case, and identify lessons and approaches that may be transferrable,

(2) understand the land management preferences of stakeholder organisations and whether they are reflected accurately in policy design, and

(3) understand farmers’ views and motivations relating to the protection of environmental features as well as preferences for the balance of agricultural and environmental spaces on their farms.

Overall, the goal of my research is to support the creation of land use policies that achieve an optimal balance between agricultural and environmental land uses, while also aligning with the preferences and objectives of policymakers, interest groups, and farmers.

Publications

Selected publications

Full publications list

Marr, E., Howley, P., & Burns, C. (2016) Sparing or Sharing? Differing Approaches to Managing Agricultural and Environmental Spaces in England and Ontario. Journal of Rural Studies. (In Press)

Marr, E. (2015). Assessing transportation disadvantage in rural Ontario, Canada: A case study of Huron County. The Journal of Rural and Community Development, 10(2), 100-120. http://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/1171

Marr, E. (2015). Chapter 4: Increasing Energy Costs, Climate Change, and Personal Transportation in Rural Ontario. In W. Caldwell, & J. Ball, Planning for Rural Resilience: Coping with Climate Change and Changing Energy Futures. University of Manitoba Press. 

Caldwell, W., Ball, J., Marr, E., & Procter, K. (2013). Rural Community Economic Development. Municipal World Books. 

Caldwell, W., & Marr, E. (2013, September). Rural Community Economic Development and Agriculture: Lessons in Collaboration from Northeast Ontario. Municipal World.

Caldwell, W., & Marr, E. (2011). Strategic Directions for Agricultural Development in Northeastern Ontario. Northeast Community Network (NeCN) Agriculture Study. 

Veivåg Helseth, E., Kelrick, P., Marr, E., & Soltani, A. (2011). Chapter 5: Mitigation of Climate Emissions and New Policy Initiatives. In J. Bryden, K. Refsgaard, et al., Comparative Perspectives on Rural Development and Policy Challenges in Sogn og Fjordane (pp. 53-68). Oslo: Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute (NILF).