Alex Latta’s research is focused in the field of political ecology, with particular interests related to indigenous rights and natural resources, environmental justice, ecological citizenship, and sustainable local economies.
With a background of research focussed in Latin America, especially Chile, his recent work has shifted to Canada’s North. He has worked broadly on water governance, socio-environmental conflict and megaprojects (especially hydroelectricity and mining), and Indigenous-led environmental stewardship. As part of this work he has been involved with the WATERLAT network for a decade, five of those as coordinator of a working group on water and megaprojects. Through Laurier’s Cold Regions Research Centre and Institute for Water Science, he is involved in several research projects in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Northern Ontario, with a focus on water, infrastructure-environment interactions, climate change, and Indigenous environmental stewardship. Among these engagements, he is currently PI on a SSHRC-Funded project on Indigenous Guardians programs, working in partnership with Dehcho First Nations and, in collaboration with Co-PI Miguel Sioui, the Eeyou Istchee Cree Nation (Northern Quebec).