Melanie Zurba, Dalhousie University

Research

intergenerational guiding frameworks Indigenous participation protected areas boudary work Indigenous governance Indigenous-led

Latest papers

From waste to sustainable development: Evaluating Canada's waste management policies and Sustainable Development Goals progress.
Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA · 2026
Characterizing Non-governmental Organizations And Local Government Collaborations In Urban Forest Management Across Canada.
Environmental management · 2024 · senior author
Gaps and Challenges in Harnessing the Benefits and Opportunities of Indigenous Certification for a Sustainable Communal Commercial Lobster Fishery.
Environmental management · 2023

All 6 publications

Latest funding

Kimeechiminan (Our Food): Enhancing Anisininew food language and practices
SSHRC · 2025 · Principal investigator
$400,000
CANSTOREnergy: Seasonal storage of renewable energy
SSHRC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$8,000,000
Jiksitatulti'kw: "listening to each other"
SSHRC · 2021 · Principal investigator
$160,000

All 11 grants and awards

6 publications.

01

From waste to sustainable development: Evaluating Canada's waste management policies and Sustainable Development Goals progress.

Ram M, Zurba M, Nizamani B

Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA2026

DOI: 10.1177/0734242x251364676 PMID: 40931926

02

Characterizing Non-governmental Organizations And Local Government Collaborations In Urban Forest Management Across Canada.

Doucet TC, Duinker PN, Charles JD, Steenberg JWN, Zurba M

Environmental management2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01889-8 PMID: 37775672

03

Gaps and Challenges in Harnessing the Benefits and Opportunities of Indigenous Certification for a Sustainable Communal Commercial Lobster Fishery.

Elegbede I, Zurba M, Hameed A, Campbell C

Environmental management2023

DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01852-7 PMID: 37474777

04

Indigenous Participation and the Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge and Perspectives in Global Environmental Governance Forums: a Systematic Review.

Zurba M, Papadopoulos A

Environmental management2023First author

DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01566-8 PMID: 34859265

05

Integrating Social Learning, Adaptive Capacity and Climate Adaptation for Regional Scale Analysis: A Conceptual Framework.

Bullock RCL, Diduck A, Luedee J, Zurba M

Environmental management2022Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s00267-022-01630-x PMID: 35378601

06

Bioenergy development and the implications for the social wellbeing of Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Zurba M, Bullock R

Ambio2020First author

DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01166-1 PMID: 30900080

Kimeechiminan (Our Food): Enhancing Anisininew food language and practices

Principal investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

$400,000

CANSTOREnergy: Seasonal storage of renewable energy

Co-investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Transformation

Principal investigators: Sinton, David

$8,000,000

Jiksitatulti'kw: "listening to each other"

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

Keywords: boudary work; Indigenous governance; Indigenous-led; Indigenous research methods; intergenerational

$160,000

Jiksitatulti’kw: "listening to each other"

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

Keywords: boudary work; Indigenous governance; Indigenous-led; Indigenous research methods; intergenerational

$290,000

Community wellbeing and the environment: engaged research and practice

Principal investigatorSSHRC2021Connection Grants

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

Keywords: community wellbeing; natural environment; community-engaged research; interdisciplinary collaboration

$23,700

Designing governance frameworks for protected areas with meaningful Indigenous participation

Principal investigatorSSHRC2020Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

Keywords: guiding frameworks; Indigenous; intergenerational; participation; protected areas

$70,822

Designing governance frameworks for protected areas with meaningful Indigenous participation

Principal investigatorSSHRC2020Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

Keywords: guiding frameworks; Indigenous; intergenerational; participation; protected areas

$28,924

The Wabanaki-Labrador Indigenous Health Research Network

Co-investigatorCIHR2019Operating Grant: NEIHR - Atlantic Region

Principal investigators: Martin, Debbie H; Brooks, Eileen; Marshall, Albert; Musqua-Leblanc, Geri; Prosper, Kerry; Sark, Roseanne; Cunsolo, Ashlee; Latimer, Margot A; McMillan, Leslie Jane; Sylliboy, John R

Keywords: Co-Learning; Co-Mentorship; Community-Based Research; Indigenous Health; Relational Ethics; Two-Eyed Seeing

$3,499,065

Creating vocabularies and rituals for climate grief through multiple knowledge systems and the artistic process

Principal investigatorSSHRC2019New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Zurba, Melanie

$273,126

Conservation as Reconciliation: supporting the transformation of conservation in Canada

Co-investigatorSSHRC2019Partnership Grants

Keywords: Indigenous protected conserved areas; reconciliation; re-narrating conservation; aichi targets; building capacity for Indigenous conservation; building understanding of Indigenous conservation

$1,809,051

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Ryan Bullock

Human geography

1 shared papers, latest 2020

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their SSHRC grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: intergenerational Dear Professor Zurba, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "From waste to sustainable development: Evaluating Canada's waste management policies and Sustainable Development Goals progress." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "Kimeechiminan (Our Food): Enhancing Anisininew food language and practices" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]