Katja Phutaraksa Neef

Katja Phutaraksa Neef is a Global Studies student majoring in Sustainable Development and the Global Environment with a regional focus on Asia and the Pacific. She grew up in Thailand and Japan and has participated in field research and workshops in Fiji, Vanuatu, Thailand, Cambodia, Tanzania, Peru, Indonesia, and West Papua. Her research and advocacy interests include issues concerning land governance and dispossession, social inclusion, Indigenous rights, forced migration, and climate justice.

As a summer research scholar supervised by Associate Professor Jay Marlowe and hosted through the Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, she will be analyzing current data related to conflict and climate-induced displacement to potentially link these phenomena with human mobility.

This is aided by having access to primary data related to disaster risk reduction and refugees and opportunities to engage with international experts working in these spaces. A second component is assisting in creating a general education course at the university level concerning climate-induced refugees through a comparative analysis of online courses that focus on delivering content related to these focus areas.