Martin Garcia Cartagena

Martin Garcia Cartagena has been a part of the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Massey University since 2016. First as a Ph.D. candidate, then as a post-doctoral fellow, and currently as a full-time Lecturer. Martin holds a BA in International Relations, a M.Sc. in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, both from Universidad de la Republica (Uruguay), and a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from Massey University.

Internationally, Martin has been involved in research and consultancy since 2011. He held a research officer position in a research centre at Universidad de la Republica (Centro Interdisciplinario de Respuesta al Cambio y a la Variabilidad Climatica) which focused on developing an interdisciplinary knowledge base to inform and enable climate adaptation and mitigation across different sectors and communities in the country. Martin has also worked as a policy advisor for the National System of Protected Areas (biodiversity conservation) in Uruguay, and the United Nations Development Programme. Martin's global environmental change research experience also spans across South, Central, and North America through his work with the Inter-American Institute for Global Change (IAI).

In Aotearoa-New Zealand Martin has worked in research and consultancy on community resilience and climate change adaptation since 2016. More specifically, his Ph.D. focused on community resilience to earthquakes with a specific focus on the case of the Waimakariri District, located north of Christchurch and severely affected after the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquake sequence. Martin's post-doctoral research focused on climate change adaptation and flood risk in Whanganui, where his work supported the co-design of a flood resilience strategy between iwi, regional and district governments, and residents. He currently teaches natural resource policy and planning courses in the Resource and Environmental Planning Program at Massey University.

In essence, Martin's profile and experience articulates science and policy in topics such as climate change, integrated coastal zone management, community resilience, disasters, environmental governance, international environmental policy, and inter & trans-disciplinary approaches to knowledge production processes in the context of global change. Through his work in these fields Martin aims to contribute to shaping community-based, equitable and transformative pathways towards sustainability based on collaborative and participatory approaches.

Latest work:
Garcia Cartagena, M., Alonso-Yanez, G., House-Peters, L., and Bonelli, S. (Editors). 2023. Converging Boundaries: Transdisciplinary Experiences from Biodiversity Conservation Practices in Colombia, Uruguay, and Chile. Dio Press, Delaware.