Fatima Denton
Fatima Denton in a 2016 interview with the International Institute for Environment and Development
BornAugust 1966
NationalityBritish, Gambian
Alma materUniversity of Birmingham
Awards2015 Barbara Ward Lecturer
Scientific career
InstitutionsUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
External videos
video icon “Fatima Denton calls for the narrative on climate change and Africa to be rewritten“, 2014 Barbara Ward Lecture
video icon “Exclusive Interview with Dr. Fatima Denton, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa“, The Times of Africa
video icon “Interview with Fatima Denton, African Climate Policy Centre, UNECA”, UNISDR

Fatima Denton (born August 1966) is a British-Gambian climatologist. She is the director at the Ghanaian branch of the United Nations University, at the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) in Accra. She focuses on innovation, science, technology and natural resource management.[1][2] She partners with countries such as Benin and Liberia to develop and implement country needs assessment missions.[3]

Fatima Denton writes about topics including renewable energy,[4] sustainable development,[5] climate change,[6] climate change and gender,[7] climate change adaptation,[8] vulnerability,[9] food security[10] and water and energy poverty.[11] She is a lead author for Working Group II's Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),[12] the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN),[13] as well as on the IPCC Working Group III’s Sixth Assessment Report,[14] and the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL).[15] She has served on a number of scientific committees including the Independent Science Panel (ISP) of the CGIAR Climate Change and Food Security Programme (CCAFS).[1][16]

Denton was the 2015 Barbara Ward Lecturer, challenging policy-makers, researchers, and academics in London to reexamine Africa and its relationship to climate change.[17] She is a speaker at the 2016 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium, one of several "Women Leaders Driving Agricultural Transformation in Africa".[18]

Early life and education

Fatima Denton was born August 1966[19] and raised in The Gambia. After primary and secondary schooling in Banjul, she completed a wide-ranging array of undergraduate studies at

Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal (humanities), the University of Besançon, France, (applied linguistics and interpreting), the University of Paris – la Sorbonne Paris IV (humanities) and the École des Hautes Études Internationales et Politiques (HEIP) (international relations).[1] She earned her PhD in political science and development studies from the University of Birmingham (UK).[1][20][21]

Career

Dr. Denton has published reports, books, and peer-reviewed articles that advocate for a multi-dimensional view of development that renders it more sustainable. Fatima Denton worked as a policy analyst and project coordinator with the energy program of Enda Tiers Monde in Senegal.[22]: 19  Her work addressed issues including sustainable development, climate and gender,[23] climate change vulnerability and adaptation, food security, local governance, water, and energy poverty[24] in the Sahel.[22]: 14 [25] Her expertise in Benin has contributed to establishing a framework that evaluates adaptive interventions across Africa.[26] "Transformational change"[26] demands local ownership of widespread initiatives that are supported by the higher-level stakeholders. She advocates for a new narrative on climate change in Africa by viewing it as an opportunity.[27] Instead of “standing knee-deep in the river and dying of thirst,”[27] she argues that climate change strategies and agricultural development can be united, or similarly, increased public engagement can elicit technological innovation. She specifically argues that the strategic use of African resources has the capacity to decrease African nations’ dependency on the international community for sustainable growth.[27]

Fatima Denton worked as a senior energy planner with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at Risø Centre in Denmark.[28] She was a member of UNEP's Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel. She has paid particular attention to the role of women, pointing out their absence from planning and development processes, the unequal impact of disasters and climate change given gendered labour roles and social status, and the need to include women in developing effective energy policies.[23][29] Solutions cannot solely focus on technology and infrastructure; they must also consider community-focused research and analysis of multiple socio-economic and political-institutional factors leading to vulnerability.[9] For example, she contributed to research that suggests the adoption of new agricultural strategies, are positively correlated with young workers (ages 6–14), and in female-headed households.[30]

Fatima Denton joined the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in 2006, where she has been a leader in strategies for climate change adaptation.[31] As Programme Leader at the IDCR, Denton was involved in the management of numerous high profile research initiatives and projects that promoted environmental sustainability across African countries.[32]

As coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre, Denton played a key role advocating for the impactful and decisive goals that African nations should strive for going into the COP 21 meetings for the development of the UN Paris Agreement. In the interest of Africa’s particular vulnerability to the effects of global warming, she outlined that an assertive and responsible approach should be adopted by all countries, regardless of the varying contribution to climate change.[33]

In 2017, Denton stated her advocacy for Climate Information Services (CIS) and its more enthusiastic implementation into the policies of African countries in an effort to counteract poverty and the negative effects of climate.[34]

She was the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Initiatives Division[35] and the Co-ordinator for the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2013 until 2018.[36]

On September 10, 2018, Denton was appointed as Director at the Ghanaian branch of the United Nations University, specifically, at the UNU Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA).[32]

She also contributed to the International Institute on Environment and Development (IIED) as a trustee and as a member in the international research program Future Earth advisory board.[37]

She was elected vice-chair of working group II of the IPCC in July 2023.[38]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Fatima Denton". International Institute for Environment and Development. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Contacts". United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Benin and Senegal in quest to strengthen resilience to climate change impacts". ClimDev-Africa.
  4. ↑ Denton, Fatima, ed. (2011). Should Africa take the renewable energy path? Joto Afrika 8. Arid Lands Information Network.
  5. ↑ Sathaye, J., O. Lucon, A. Rahman, J. Christensen, F. Denton, J. Fujino, G. Heath, S. Kadner, M. Mirza, H. Rudnick, A. Schlaepfer, A. Shmakin, 2011: "Renewable Energy in the Context of Sustainable Development." In IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
  6. ↑ Sokona, Youba; Denton, Fatma (15 June 2011). "Climate change impacts: can Africa cope with the challenges?". Climate Policy. 1 (1): 117–123. doi:10.3763/cpol.2001.0110. S2CID 154020901.
  7. ↑ Tirado, Cristina (2012). "Chapter 7: Gender sensitive strategies to address the challenges of climate change on health and nutrition security". Powerful synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability. United Nations Development Programme. pp. 119–127.
  8. ↑ Klein, R.J.T., S. Huq, F. Denton, T.E. Downing, R.G. Richels, J.B. Robinson, F.L. Toth, 2007: "Inter-relationships between adaptation and mitigation." In Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, M.L. Parry, O.F. Canziani, J.P. Palutikof, P.J. van der Linden and C.E. Hanson, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 745-777.
  9. 1 2 Tschakert, Petra (August 2007). "Views from the vulnerable: Understanding climatic and other stressors in the Sahel". Global Environmental Change. 17 (3–4): 381–396. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.11.008. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Loss and damage from climate change is already happening, says UNU report". United Nations University. 2013-11-07.
  11. ↑ Cervigni, Raffaello; Liden, Rikard; Neumann, James E.; Strzepek, Kenneth M., eds. (2015). Enhancing the Climate Resilience of Africa's Infrastructure: The Power and Water Sectors. Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. pp. 155–160. ISBN 9781464804670. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  12. ↑ "Working Group II — IPCC". Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  13. ↑ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, ed. (2011). Renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation Special report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 707. ISBN 9781107607101.
  14. ↑ "Working Group III — IPCC". Retrieved 2021-05-21.
  15. ↑ "United Nations University Appoints Dr Fatima Denton as Director of Its Ghana Institute - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  16. ↑ Change, CGIAR Research Program on Climate; Security, Agriculture and Food (2016-06-09). "9th Independent Science Panel Meeting". hdl:10568/75663. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ↑ "The Barbara Ward Lectures". International Institute for Environment and Development. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "The World Food Prize" (PDF). 2016 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  19. ↑ "Fatima DENTON personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-08-17.
  20. ↑ "News: Keynote speaker bio: Fatima Denton". Africa Adapt. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  21. ↑ "Berlin Summer Dialogue 2011 Adaptation to Climate Change New Structures of International Cooperation - an expression of global responsibility 27-28 September 2011 Berlin Town Hall" (PDF). Stiftung Entwicklung und Frieden. German Development Institute (DIE), Bonn. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  22. 1 2 Masika, Rachel (2002). Gender, development, and climate change. Oxford: Oxfam. p. 19. ISBN 9780855984793. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  23. 1 2 "Networking Around the World Report on Gender and Climate Change Event at COP8" (PDF). Energia News. 5 (4): 6–7, 13. 2002. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  24. ↑ Figart, Deborah M.; Warnecke, Tonia L., eds. (2013). Handbook of research on gender and economic life. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Ltd. p. 141. ISBN 9780857930941. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Otter, Luanne; Olago, Daniel O.; Niang, Isabelle, eds. (2007). Global change processes and impacts in Africa : a synthesis. Nairobi : Washington, D.C: East African Educational Publishers ; START. pp. 245=246. ISBN 9789966255266.
  26. 1 2 Mapfumo, Paul; Onyango, Mary; Honkponou, Saïd K.; El Mzouri, El Houssine; Githeko, Andrew; Rabeharisoa, Lilia; Obando, Joy; Omolo, Nancy; Majule, Amos; Denton, Fatima; Ayers, Jessica (2017-07-29). "Pathways to transformational change in the face of climate impacts: an analytical framework". Climate and Development. 9 (5): 439–451. doi:10.1080/17565529.2015.1040365. ISSN 1756-5529. S2CID 154082103.
  27. 1 2 3 "2014 Barbara Ward Lecture: Fatima Denton calls for a "new paradigm" for African development". International Institute for Environment and Development. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  28. ↑ "Former staff". UNEP Risoe Centre. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  29. ↑ Global Gender and Environment Outlook The Critical Issues. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya (PDF). UNEP. 2016. p. 6. ISBN 978-92-807-3550-5. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  30. ↑ Kpadonou, Rivaldo A. B.; Barbier, Bruno; Owiyo, Tom; Denton, Fatima; Rutabingwa, Franck (2019). "Manure and adoption of modern seeds in cereal-based systems in West African drylands: linkages and (non)complementarities". Natural Resources Forum. 43 (1): 41–55. doi:10.1111/1477-8947.12163. ISSN 1477-8947.
  31. ↑ Kararach, George; Besada, Hany; Shaw, Timothy M. (2016). Development in Africa: Refocusing the Lens after the Millennium Development Goals. Bristol: Policy Press at the University of Bristol. ISBN 9781447328544.
  32. 1 2 "United Nations University Appoints Dr Fatima Denton as Director of Its Ghana Institute - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  33. ↑ "Denton outlines the climate agreement Africa should seek in Paris | ClimDev-Africa". www.climdev-africa.org. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  34. ↑ "ECA's Denton urges Africa to enhance uptake of Climate Information Services | ClimDev-Africa". www.climdev-africa.org. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  35. ↑ "Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  36. ↑ "Fatima Denton. PhD" (PDF).
  37. ↑ "Dr Fatima Denton Appointed as UNU-INRA Director - United Nations University". unu.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  38. ↑ "IPCC wraps up elections in Nairobi — IPCC". Retrieved 2023-08-17.
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