Devisscher, Tahia

I am interested in how urban forests and other greenspaces foster human wellbeing and social-ecological resilience to climate change. I also study how ecosystem health and people-nature connection can be strengthened through hyper-local greening actions and city-level transformations. Overall, the research coming from my team aims to support equitable nature-based solutions that can contribute to more resilient and healthier futures.

In most of my research projects, I apply interdisciplinary approaches by combining methods from quantitative modelling, remote sensing, and spatial analysis with participatory visioning, action-research, and arts-based qualitative assessment. I value the integration of different forms of knowledge, and actively promote the incorporation of local traditional knowledge in my projects. To present, I have collaborated with Indigenous groups, local communities and associations, national and municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, and several research institutes in more than 20 countries across the world.

I completed my PhD at Oxford University as part of the Ecosystems Lab at the Environmental Change Institute after working for eight years with the Stockholm Environment Institute and three agencies of the United Nations. At the UBC Urban Forestry program, I coordinate the Urban Forests Research Hub, and have been instructor of UFOR 220 Urban Forest Inventory and Assessment, UFOR 200 Urban Forest and Wellbeing, and UFOR 402 Urban Forest Governance.