Doctoral Researcher
Laura Betancur Alarcón joined IRI THESys in August 2021 as a PhD Researcher in the ‘Water for Whom’ project. She is researching everyday water use practices and adaptation strategies in communities affected by hydro dams through a multi-sited ethnographic study in Colombia.
Laura holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University (Sweden). She has a background in social sciences and journalism from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Colombia). In the last seven years, she has worked in the environmental sector in various roles as research assistant, writer, lecturer, and journalist for different organizations in academia, media, and international NGOs. Laura has researched socio-environmental conflicts in violent contexts and has a special interest in understating how information and knowledge flows shape those tensions.
Research Interests
- Socio-ecological conflicts (with a special focus on water issues)
- Human-environment interactions in violent contexts
- Environmental narratives, public opinion, and information flows
Selected Publications
Betancur-Alarcón, L., & Krause, T. (2020). Reaching for the Mountains at the End of a Rebelocracy: Changes in Land and Water Access in Colombia’s Highlands During the Post-peace Agreement Phase. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.546821
Betancur-Alarcón, L (2016). Medellín la ciudad del pasado violento que ganó el premio ‘Nobel’. In Endara and Monroy. Hábitats justos, diversos y sustentables. Contribuciones ciudadanas a solucionar desafíos urbanos. Frederich Ebert-Stiftung FES (Fundación Friedrich Ebert) Ecuador. ISBN 978 -9978-94 -162-1. 2016. Quito, Ecuador.
Betancur-Alarcón, L. (2015). Agua y territorio: paisajes desvanecidos. Análisis del discurso sobre el agua en el conflicto socioambiental generado por la construcción de la hidroeléctrica Ituango EPM en Antioquia. In Macassi and Acevedo. Confrontación y diálogo. Medios y conflictos en los países andinos. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung FES (Fundación Friedrich Ebert). ISBN: 978-612-47099. 2015. Lima, Perú.
Social Media
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