Yvette baninla
Dr. Yvette Baninla is a lecturer from Cameroon who works at the University of Bamenda’s Department of Geology, Mining, and Environmental Science. She holds a BSc degree in Geography from the University of Yaoundé 1, Cameroon, an MSc in Natural Science (Marine Affairs), from Xiamen University, China, and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China. Dr. Baninla has been the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Chinese Government Scholarship (2013–2015), a fellowship from the World Academy of Sciences (2015–2019), and the Queen’s Postdoctoral Fund (2023–2025). From 2023 to 2024, she was appointed as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queen’s University, where she taught multiple courses in the Faculty of Arts and Science.Her contributions to international research and policy engagement include serving as a lead author on the 2021 IRP–UNEP report “Governing Coastal Resources: Implications for a Sustainable Blue Economy.” She is also a Fellow of the Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN) for the period 2025–2027, reflecting her growing influence in sustainability and policy dialogues across Africa.In addition, Dr. Baninla has served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Current Research in Environmental Sustainability (CRUST) (2023–2025), where she contributed to advancing scholarly publications in the field. She also participates in the Climate-focused Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool (CO-CAT) project, implemented by the Association of African Universities, which seeks to strengthen institutional capacity for climate adaptation research in Africa. Her research interests are broadly focused on global and regional patterns and drivers of mineral production and consumption, with a particular emphasis on the African context. She also investigates the progress of climate change adaptation and mitigation in Africa and its implications for peace and sustainability. Broadly, her work investigates sustainability and transition strategies as solutions to human-driven environmental crises in order to inform policies for a more just, peaceful, and sustainable future.
NERPS Research Project: MAPS (Mapping Adaptation for Peace and Stability), maps climate adaptation strategies in politically unstable regions to understand which foster peace and which risk instability.
JOSHUA FISHER
Dr. Joshua Fisher is a Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Climate School and Earth Institute. He is also the Director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, a research center focused on science and practice to enhance peace, conflict resolution, and environmental sustainability. Dr. Fisher’s current work focuses on natural resource management and governance as tools for conflict prevention. He received his Ph.D. from George Mason University and completed his postdoctoral studies at Columbia University. Dr. Fisher has over two decades of experience using interdisciplinary science to support policy and environmental management around the world. Aside from his academic experience, he has worked with conservation organizations, private sector firms, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on natural resource governance and biodiversity conservation issues.
NERPS Research Project: Drivers of peace, conflict, and environmental sustainability associated with natural resources and protected areas
Somya joshi
Dr. Somya Joshi is Research Director and chairs the AI Task Force at Stockholm Environment Institute. She is a Docent (Associate Professor) at Stockholm University in Technology & Governance.
Somya’s research has been situated at the intersection of cognitive sciences and technology design, particularly in how data & systems translate into transparency and accountability in governance. She has over fifteen years of experience bridging science and policy for sustainable development and challenging entrenched narratives of extractivism within the context of technology disruption. Somya has held leadership roles at the forefront of science-policy, with a strong focus on decarbonization, industry transition, climate governance, and using futures thinking to bring about systemic change aligned with planetary limits. After being awarded her doctoral degree in decision science from Manchester, UK, Somya was offered a postdoctoral position at Cambridge University, UK, in Information Systems, where she applied a critical lens to the efficacy of Global Development Organisations. This experience allowed her to participate in international development cooperation and methods development related to multi-level governance, with a particular focus on global goals. Today, Somya leads global voices in the field of Sustainable AI, delivering keynote talks at international forums, while also leading academic research, supervision, and mentoring of PhD and postdoctoral researchers.
NERPS Research Project: AI Environment Observatory: Addressing Global Governance & Sustainability Challenges
HEIKE SCHROEDER
Dr. Heike Schroeder is Professor of Environmental Governance at the School of Global Development, University of East Anglia. Her work focuses global (environmental) politics, the politics of the international climate negotiations and critiques of current climate policies, indigenous peoples/knowledge and decolonisation, trust, food and nutrition, planetary health and sustainable agriculture. She previously held positions at Oxford University and the University of California, Santa Barbara and obtained her PhD in political science from the Free University of Berlin.
NERPS Research Project: Farming for Sustainability, Peace and Planetary Health: A Case Study of Japan
You must be logged in to post a comment.