Lily Stanton

Originally from Seattle, I completed my undergraduate degree in International Studies at the University of Washington. Currently, I am a second-year master’s candidate at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs with a focus on international development and marine sustainability goals.

I am currently working with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations as part of my capstone project. My capstone focuses on ‘Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures’ (OECM), which is a definition developed by the FAO to identify systems which conserve biodiversity but are not considered official Marine Protected Areas. One of the goals of identifying an OECM is to be more inclusive of conservation measures carried out by Indigenous groups, sustainable fisheries sectors, and more. This is especially relevant to Canada, which has a large Indigenous community and many coastal areas that could be potential OECMs. Canada has a culture of sustainability and care for international development and is consistently ranked as one of the most environmentally conscious countries in the world. They are an active player in this arena, and the region provides invaluable scientific research and innovations in regard to the environmental crisis. I am deeply interested in international development, especially as it relates to the climate crisis and other environmental challenges. I am interested in Canada’s role specifically, as it is a huge player in this field, and arguably the United States’ biggest ally in tackling these issues due to our shared border and therefore shared concerns and interests.

French is an official language of Canada and continuing my study of French will allow me to be able to read more environmental research papers written in French and governmental policies in French. French is also the working language of the UN other than English and one of the working languages of the European Union, of which Canada is a strategic partner. Thus, French is extremely relevant to my study of Canada and international development organizations.