Transforming lives and landscapes through gender sensitive sustainable land restoration and livelihoods
Irene Ojuok is an Environmentalist with over 10 years’ experience working with rural communities in Kenya. She is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree at the University of Bonn where her research focuses on Land Degradation and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) in Kenya.
She is passionate about transforming lives and landscapes through gender sensitive sustainable land restoration and livelihood strengthening efforts. She believes investing in smallholder farmers is the most successful and sustainable approach to halting land degradation.
Her efforts towards this cause has seen her honored as Global Evergreening Ambassador, Tree Ambassador by Total Eco Challenge Kenya in 2016, Climate Champion by Homabay County Government and Global Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) champion through the FMNR Hub. In the recent COP 26, she participated in a private round table meeting with former US President Barack Obama where she championed the need for concerted efforts around making carbon markets work for the poor farmers involved in restoration and the need for the private sector to exploit nature based enterprises that incentivize these farmers to adopt sustainable land management practices. Irene also supported the development of the Kenya National Agroforestry Strategy playing a key role in the gender and social inclusion component.
She believes in the Mahatma Ghandi quote “I am the source of change I want to become”.