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I specialize in research on the human dimensions of environmental change, with particular attention to the relationship between environment and human migration; community adaptation to climatic variability and change; and, fostering citizen participation in environmental science.
As a former Canadian foreign service officer, I worked at Canadian diplomatic missions in Belgrade, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Seattle and Vienna. In recent years I have advised UN agencies, the World Bank, and governments in Canada, the US, and Europe on issues related to climate change, migration, and security. I am currently a Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s working group on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation.
I hold a PhD in Geography from the University of Guelph (2005), a Master of Science in Environmental Management from the University of Hong Kong (1995), and a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of Western Ontario (1989).
My recent research projects include:
- Modelling drought impacts on population patterns on the North American Great Plains.
- Assessments of the impacts of climate change and drought on global migration patterns for the World Bank and the UN Convention on the Control of Desertification.
- Leading a multi-institution study of environmental impacts on migration to Canada.
- Coordinating a conference on environmental migration to North America, funded by the US Department of State.
- Co-directing the popular citizen science projects RinkWatch and NatureWatch.
- Laurier Residence Academic Partnership Award 2015
- University of Colorado FIRST Scholar 2015
- University of Ottawa Excellence in Education Prize 2011
- University of Guelph CSAHS John Vanderkamp Research Medal 2006
Graduate students interested in conducting research in my areas of expertise are welcome to contact me via email.
Undergraduate students looking to gain research experience are always welcome. Contact me via email to help with the RinkWatch citizen science project.
- McLeman, R., Greig. C., Heath, G., Robertson, R. "A machine learning analysis of drought and rural population change on the North American Great Plains since the 1970s". Population and Environment, 2022. Link to article
- Cisse, G., McLeman, R. et al. "Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities". In, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Working Group II Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Link to report
- Ebi, K. and McLeman, R. Climate related migration and displacement. The BMJ 2022:379 Link to article
- McLeman, R. et al. Conceptual framing to link climate risk assessments and climate-migration scholarship. Climatic Change 165(24), 2021 Link to article
- McLeman, R. et al. Population responses to the 1976 South Dakota drought: Insights for wider drought migration research. Population, Space and Place, 2021. Link to article
- Malik, K., McLeman, R. et al. Reconstruction of past backyard skating seasons in the Original Six NHL cities from citizen science data. The Canadian Geographer, 2020. Link to article
- McLeman, R. “Migration and displacement risks due to mean sea-level rise”. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 74(3), 2018. Link to article
- McLeman, R. International migration and climate adaptation in an era of hardening borders. Nature Climate Change 9:911-918, 2019. Link to article
- Mapedza, E., Tsegai, D., Bruentrup, M., McLeman, R. Drought Challenges: Policy options for developing countries. Elsevier Academic Press, 2019. Link to book
- McLeman, R. “Thresholds in climate migration”. Population and Environment, 39(4), 319-338, 2018. Link to article
- McLeman, R., & Gemenne, F. (eds). The Routledge Handbook on Environmental Migration and Displacement. New York: Routledge, 2018. Link to book
- McLeman, R., Schade, J. & Faist, T. (eds.) 2015. Environmental Migration and Social Inequality, Dordrecht: Springer. Link to book
- McLeman, R. 2014. Climate and Human Migration: Past Experiences, Future Challenges, New York: Cambridge University Press. Link to book
- Robertson, C., McLeman, R. & Lawrence, H. 2015. "Winters too warm to skate? Citizen-science reported variability in availability of outdoor skating in Canada." The Canadian Geographer, 59(4), pp.383–390. Link to article
- McLeman, R. et al., 2013. "What we learned from the Dust Bowl: Lessons in science, policy, and adaptation." Population and Environment, 35(4), pp.417–440. Link to article
- McLeman, R., 2013. "Developments in modelling of climate change-related migration." Climatic Change, 117(3), pp.599–611. Link to article
- McLeman, R. & Ploeger, S.K. 2012. "Soil and its influence on rural drought migration: insights from Depression-era Southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada." Population and Environment, 33(4), pp.304–332. Link to article
- McLeman, R. 2011. "Settlement abandonment in the context of global environmental change." Global Environmental Change, 21(S1), pp.S108–S120. Link to article
- McLeman, R. et al., 2010. "GIS-based modeling of drought and historical population change on the Canadian Prairies." Journal of Historical Geography, 36, pp.43–55. Link to article
- McLeman, R., 2010. "Impacts of population change on vulnerability and the capacity to adapt to climate change and variability: a typology based on lessons from a hard country." Population and Environment, 31(5), pp.286–316. Link to article
- McLeman, R. & Smit, B. 2006. "Migration as an adaptation to climate change." Climatic Change, 76(1–2), pp.31–53. Link to article
ES110: Environment, sustainability and society; ES296 Introduction to Sustainability; ES393: Environmental migration
- 2022-2028, Co-applicant, SSHRC Partnership Grant. Complex migration flows & multiple drivers in comparative perspective.
- 2022-2025, Co-applicant, Canada-Inuit Nunangat-UK Arctic Research Grant. NUNA: Effective mitigation & adaptation to changing ground conditions for resilient futures.
- 2019-2021, Co-applicant, Irish Research Council grant. Irish droughts: environmental and cultural memories of a neglected hazard.
- 2016-2020, Principal investigator, SSHRC Insight Grant. Project title: Drought, community adaptation, and migration on the Great Plains.
- 2016, Principal investigator, World Bank study on Climate Change, Migration, and Securing Resilience.
- 2016, Principal investigator, UN Convention to Combat Desertification research paper "Land degradation and governance as a contributing factor to human migration" for the Global Land Outlook.
- 2015-2016, Principal investigator, US Embassy/Department of State grant, Establishment of North American environmental migration research network.
- 2013-2016, Principal investigator, SSHRC Partnership Development Grant. Project title: NatureWatch 2.0: Reconnecting Canadians with nature in a digital age.
- 2011-2016, Principal investigator, SSHRC Standard Research Grant. Project title: Environment and International Migration to Canada.
- 2009-2013, Principal investigator, SSHRC Strategic Research Grant (Environment). Project title: Integrated assessment of population and critical resource vulnerabilities to climate risks, in support of community and regional adaptation policy-making and planning.
- 2007-2010, Principal investigator, SSHRC Standard Research Grant. Project title: Impacts of climate change on migration in Canada.
- 2010, Principal investigator, SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grant on the Digital Economy. Project title: Adaptive capacity building and sustainable development in rural and remote communities: The role of Information and communication technology.
- 2010, Principal investigator, UK Government Office for Science, Foresight Project on Environmental Migration. Project title: Modern Settlement Abandonment.
- 2007-2008, Principal investigator, Natural Resources Canada Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Program. Project title: Adaptation to climate change in seasonal-economy communities.
- RinkWatch features on The Nature of Things with David Suzuki: Bye bye backyard rinks
- Sports Illustrated, 22 April 2019: Winter Is Going: How Climate Change Is Imperiling Outdoor Sporting Heritage.
- New York Times, 20 March 2018: Canada’s Outdoor Rinks Are Melting. So Is a Way of Life.
- TEDx talk, Beyond Environmental Refuge.
- CBC News, 17 December 2015: Number of annual outdoor skating days to shrink up to 30% by end of century.
- Toronto Star, 11 March 2016: Environmental migrants breathing easier in Canada.
- The Globe and Mail, 17 November 2013: Who will become the world’s first climate change refugee?
- The Globe and Mail, 8 February 2013: How backyard rinks can change the world.
Contact Info:
Office location: Arts 3C10C
Office hours:
Tuesdays, 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. or by appointment.
Languages spoken: English, French
RinkWatch project website: rinkwatch.org
Watch "What do backyard rinks have to do with climate change?" Video