Climate Women Grants

Anushiya Shrestha | Research Director, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies, Nepal

Nepalese social and environmental scientist Anushiya Shrestha will lead a project on addressing climate change through strengthened literacy, hands-on knowledge and awareness in Nepal, a least-developed country (LDC). Her team will include environmental expert Samjhana Bista, women’s rights activist Sabitra Ghimire, and environmental expert Bhumika Sunuwar.

Lydie-Stella Koutika | Director and Founder, Soil Care and Environmental Studies (SCES), Republic of the Congo

Congolese Soil scientist Lydie-Stella Koutika will lead a project on agroforestry systems to enable climate change mitigation, soil fertility improvement and staple food security in rural communities of the Congolese coastal plains in the Republic of Congo. Her team will include technician and scientist Viviane Sogni Tchichelle, experienced nursery establisher Mélanie Toto, socio-economic analyst Ella Banzouzi, and field and nursery worker Prudence Ndoki.

Sara Nowreen | Assistant Professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Bangladeshi hydrologist Sara Nowreen will lead a project on enhancing climate-resilient groundwater supply and food security using aquifer storage and recovery techniques in Bangladesh, an LDC. She will work with agricultural engineer Afroza Sharmin, who will set-up instrumentation, disseminate knowledge and serve as a link to evaluate the methodological transferability to equivalent pilot sites.

Irene Bayiyana | Senior Research Officer, National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), Uganda

Ugandan socio-economist Irene Bayiyana will lead a project on empowering local women for climate resilient food sovereignty in the Iganga and Kamuli districts in Uganda, an LDC. Her team will include gender expert and agronomist Paula Iragaba, gender and post-harvest handling expert Ann Ritah Nanyonjo, and agronomist and breeder Agnes Alajo.

Esther Gathoni Kanduma | Senior Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Kenyan biochemist Esther Gathoni Kanduma will lead a project on climate-smart pastoralism in Kenya. Her team will include sustainable beekeeping specialist Fiona Mumoki, probiotics and animal-monitoring specialist Catherine Taracha, forage tree specialist Virginia Wangondu, and drought-tolerant fodder grass specialist Beatrice Tuei.

Sarita Bassil | Researcher, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala

Lebanese agricultural scientist Sarita Bassil will lead a project on improving food security and resilience to climate change by restoring traditional home-gardens with an all-woman group in San Andrés Semetabaj, Sololá, Guatemala. Her team will include social component specialist Dancin Urizar Ruiz and technical assistant Brenda Maria Noriega.

Nuria Majaliwa | Lecturer, Department of Food Science and Agro-Processing Engineering, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Tanzania

Tanzanian food processing engineer Nuria Majaliwa will lead a project on harvesting technologies for climate change resilience and gender equity among small-holder farmers in rural Tanzania, an LDC. Her team will include trainer and network developer Lilian Mulamula, trainer and network developer Rita Alex, and field worker and gender-inclusive network builder Frida Nyamete.

Zviemurwi Johnny Chihambakwe | Lecturer & Researcher, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean industrial engineer Zviemurwi Johnny Chihambakwe will lead a project to build climate resilience through knowledge sharing and sustainable-energy systems for women in areas of Zimbabwe that transition between urban and rural.

Albertina Alage | Environmental Scientist, Mozambique

Mozambican environmental scientist Albertina Alage will lead a community-based reforestation project focused on mangrove and other coastal and river-based vegetation at Macaneta in Mozambique. The goal is to reduce the impact of climate change and contribute to the plants’ ecological, social, economic, and environmental functions.

Gisele Koupamba Sinasson Sanni | Researcher in Environmental Science, Laboratory of Applied Ecology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin

Beninese agricultural scientist Gisele Koupamba Sinasson Sanni will lead an environmental restoration project to create livelihoods in the Manigri District of Benin through tree planting.

Emelder M. Tagutanazvo | Social scientist, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean social scientist Emelder M. Tagutanazvo will lead a project on how women can drive permaculture, which is a means to integrate land management and natural ecosystems, in urban Zimbabwe. It will focus on action-oriented research.

Trinity Tagbor | Principal Research Scientist, CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research, Ghana

Ghanaian chemist Trinity Tagbor will lead a project on using biomass pellets as an alternative fuel source for the conservation and restoration of mangroves in the Kodzi community of the Anlo District of Ghana.

Vania Wendy Torrez Flores | Postdoctoral Fellow, Agua Sustentable, Bolivia

Bolivian ecologist Vania Wendy Torrez Flores will lead a project using participatory land-use planning and climate change adaptation training as a strategy to empower women in the Sajama region of the Bolivian highlands.

Chipo Mudavanhu | Head Climate Change, Higherlife Foundation, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean disaster risk management specialist Chipo Mudavanhu will lead a project on women in leadership and gender-responsive climate change adaptation and food security in Zimbabwe. (This project is supported by the Elsevier Energy Economics journal).