Stipendiatinnen und Stipendiaten 2020/2021 Fellows 2020/2021

Stipendiatinnen und Stipendiaten 2020/2021

Internationales Klimaschutzstipendium

Fellows 2020/2021

International Climate Protection Fellowship

Exzellenz verbindet –

be part of a worldwide network.

Abdelgawad, Nadeem

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Economic and

Social Policy | Afliation at the time of application:

The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt

Host Institution in Germany: Foresight Intelligence

GbR, Berlin | Host: Dr Johannes Gabriel

Abdelsabour Mohamed,

Mahmoud Nady

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Animal Ecology,

Biodiversity, Ecosystem Research | Afliation at the

time of application: Beni-Suef University, Faculty of

postgraduate Studies for Advanced Sciences, Beni Suef,

Egypt

Host Institution in Germany: Rheinische Friedrich-

Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Zentrum für Entwicklungs-

forschung (ZEF), Bonn | Host: Dr Christine Schmitt

Reducing emissions and creating

job opportunities

Nadeem Abdelgawad establishes solar and

wind energy in Egypt through cooperation

with Germany.

Developing countries like Egypt often face

various economic challenges, such as high

youth unemployment rates. This is why they

mostly focus on improving their economic

growth by attracting direct foreign invest-

ment, for example. Egypt, for one, cannot

tackle the challenges caused by climate

change because it lacks the resources to

address several problems at the same time.

For his project, Nadeem Abdelgawad takes

the pragmatic stance of examining the big-

ger picture of economic hardship in a de-

veloping country to tackle climate change

issues. Despite having some of the world’s

best wind resources along the coastlines

and some of the highest inland solar radia-

tion anywhere, solar and wind energy only

account for less than two percent of Egypt’s

energy mix. So Nadeem’s idea is to create

green jobs in the renewable energy sector

that push forward climate change mitigation

and economic development at the same

time.

Overcoming the technical challenges in-

volved in this process requires close coop-

eration with a major industrial hub and lead-

er in climate protection like Germany. So,

Nadeem studies how to persuade German

companies to produce in Egypt in order to

increase the percentage of local production

in these technologies. He aims to draw up

a realistic set of policy recommendations

to intensify cooperation between German

manufacturers of solar and wind technolo-

gies and Egyptian policy makers and local

energy companies.

Sustainable improvement of

ecosystem services

Mahmoud Nady Abdelsabour Mohamed

assesses and quanties the ecosystem

services along the River Nile.

The changes caused by global warming

have an impact on ecosystem services,

which need to become more efcient and

more sustainable along the River Nile. Im-

proving the supply chains for ecosystem

services would improve the health of pop-

ulations living within the area.

Mahmoud Nady Abdelsabour Mohamed

therefore analyses existing ecosystem ser-

vices and their supply chains to discover

how they full society’s demands along the

Nile and its wetlands. His aim is to identify

disruptions and develop relevant solutions.

Mahmoud wants to improve the supply

chain to achieve systematic air quality reg-

ulation and carbon sequestration. He there-

fore investigates where the largest supply

of sources along the Nile is to be found and

where these resources are in greatest de-

mand. For this purpose, he uses advanced

models such as ARIES or CRAFTY that al-

low him to consider different scenarios and

thus reveals the impacts of different sets of

circumstances. Drawing on relevant liter-

ature and case studies from his research,

Mahmoud is constructing an empirical

database in his project in order to collect

as many different impacts on ecosystem

services as possible. Furthermore, he col-

lects data and expert opinions on chang-

es in different land management practices

as these changes also impact the supply

chain. In the long term, his results should

improve habitat quality within the area and

inform Egyptian environmental assessment

as well as a new research track at Egyptian

universities.

Economic agreements to

overcome borders

Dr Mona Agha Seyed Jafar Kash recom-

mends the transnationalisation of environ-

mental laws for climate change mitigation

in sea regions.

Climate change affects ecosystems across

national borders. International stretches of

water such as the Caspian Sea are espe-

cially vulnerable to climate-related environ-

mental impacts, while transboundary solu-

tions are hard to nd.

Dr Mona Agha Seyed Jafar Kash investi-

gates whether multilateral economic agree-

ments are an appropriate tool to transna-

tionalise laws on climate change. To this

end, she examines how principles and

standards in these agreements construct

transnational environmental laws in sea

areas. She identies drawbacks and limita-

tions and how the process of transnational-

ising environmental law through multilateral

economic agreements could be improved.

Multilateral economic agreements assign

the tasks, obligations and risks to public

and private partners. The public partners

comprise government entities like minis-

tries, departments and municipalities, or

state-owned enterprises from countries

bordering the sea region. By contrast, the

private local or international partners in-

clude businesses and investors with techni-

cal and nancial expertise. In her research

project, Mona will also consider non-gov-

ernment and community-based organisa-

tions which are often overlooked as impor-

tant stakeholders.

Agha Seyed Jafar Kash,

Dr Mona

Degree: PhD | Field: Commercial Law, Trade Law |

Afliation at the time of application: Petroleum

University of Technology, Law Department, Tehran, Iran

Host Institution in Germany: Martin-Luther-Universität

Halle-Wittenberg, Halle | Host: Dr Christian Tietje

Alusiola, Rowan Alumasa

Degree: Bachelor of Education | Field: Basic Forest

Research Climatology | Afliation at the time of

application: CARE International Kenya, Nairobi, Kenia

Host Institution in Germany: Universität Koblenz-

Landau, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften, Landau |

Host: Prof. Dr Janpeter Schilling

From conict resource to

sustainability source

Rowan Alumasa Alusiola works on a re-

forestation programme that is sustainable

for communities as well as the environment.

Deforestation and forest degradation ac-

count for approximately 17 percent of an-

nual greenhouse gas emissions and are

most widely practised in developing coun-

tries like Kenya. REDD+ is a programme

that organises afforestation and reforest-

ation schemes in such areas in order to

compensate for these emissions. The pro-

gramme aims to establish comprehensively

sustainable development. With her project,

Rowan Alumasa Alusiola wants to reduce

REDD+’s negative impact on local com-

munities that are dependent on the forests

where the programme intervenes.

In these regions in Kenya, land tenure is

normally not clearly dened, which can lead

to conicts. Carbon traders, for instance,

are often able to force local communities to

sign away their land rights so they can sell

these areas to REDD+ for huge prots.

By re-designing the programme, Rowan

wants to prevent people from abandoning

their land to make way for reforestation

programmes without receiving any nan-

cial compensation. Her project aims at

establishing REDD+ in a way that benets

rather than harms local communities. She

is therefore conducting desktop research

on REDD+’s impact on Kenyan communi-

ties, on climate and biodiversity as well as

on governmental structures. She is also

compiling a record of conicts caused by

REDD+. Based on her results, she wants to

identify key conict factors and best prac-

tice examples. Finally, Rowan will publish

a stakeholder framework and an academic

paper that reveal how REDD+ can operate

more equitably.

Strengthening small farmers’

mental health

Generating sustainable energy

from residual biomass

Samuel Weniga Anuga investigates how

climate change jeopardises smallholders’

mental health in Ghana.

Since the IPCC report in 2014, the impact

of climate change on human mental health

has become a focus of interest. Climate-re-

lated disruptions most severely affect vul-

nerable groups of the population such as

smallholders. These events take a signi-

cant toll on mental health and well-being.

In Ghana, smallholders appear to be at a

higher risk of suffering from extreme weath-

er events due to the environmental chal-

lenges they face. The vast landscape of the

country is largely an arid zone with severe

droughts, and the rising impact of climate

change continually exposes smallholders to

adverse psychological strain. As more and

more cataclysmic environmental events are

expected, the impacts of climate change on

the mental health of smallholders urgently

need to be studied.

Samuel Weniga Anuga aims to reach out

to policy makers, health practitioners and

small farmers. Comprehensive reports and

participatory forums for policy makers will

promote collaborative efforts to address

climate-induced mental health risks. Based

on his results, health practitioners can be

trained to understand climate-related men-

tal illnesses and treat them effectively. At

local level, farmers will be told about the

phenomenon and how they can deal with

it in their own language, taking account of

their particular socio-cultural environment.

Dr Kelechi Ezenwa Anyaoha investigates

how Nigerian smallholder palm oil process-

ing can increase the use of biomass in heat

and power generation.

Future demand for energy in developing

countries is set to increase. Nigeria’s contri-

bution to greenhouse gas emissions (CO

and N

O) from energy production is

growing steadily: It is projected that the total

emissions from Nigeria’s energy sector

will rise from 108,000 gigagrams in 1995 to

359,000 gigagrams in 2050. One way to re-

duce emissions is to use bioenergy instead

of fossil fuel. Large-scale producers of

palm oil in Nigeria make use of palm kernel

shell, mesocarp bre and sometimes empty

fruit bunch for heat and power generation.

The smallholder sector, however, still relies

heavily on diesel power.

In his research project, Kelechi Ezenwa An-

yaoha investigates the technical feasibility,

environmental impact as well as economic

viability of two energy options for Nigerian

smallholder palm oil mills: the full biomass

option and the diesel power option. In addi-

tion to his techno-economic analysis of the

two energy options, Kelechi is carrying out

a life cycle assessment of the energy op-

tions in order to compare the greenhouse

gas emissions. Since most of the prelimi-

nary studies are focused on large-scale

plants with little regard to the local condi-

tions and sustainable supply of feedstock,

it is, now, crucial to investigate different

energy scenarios at the smallholder level in

Nigeria.

Anuga, Samuel Weniga

Degree: Master of Philosophy | Field: Public Health,

Health Services Research and Social Medicine |

Afliation at the time of application: International

Center for Enterprise and Sustainable Development

(ICED), Accra, Ghana

Host Institution in Germany: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Universität Hannover, Institut für Umweltökonomik und

Welthandel, Hannover | Host: Prof. Dr Ulrike Grote

Anyaoha, Dr Kelechi

Ezenwa

Degree: PhD | Field: Agricultural and Food Process

Engineering | Afliation at the time of application:

Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Nigeria

Host Institution in Germany: United Nations University,

Dresden | Host: Dr Lulu Zhang

Beltran Sinani,

Magaly Ines

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Biological Process

Engineering | Afliation at the time of application: Pluri-

national Authority of Mother Earth (APMT), La Paz, Bolivia

Host Institution in Germany: Technische Universität

Dresden, Institut für Abfall- und Kreislaufwirtschaft, Pirna |

Host: Prof. Dr Christina Dornack

Burgos, Natalia Andrea

Degree: Master of Arts | Field: Political Science |

Afliation at the time of application: National Planning

Department, Bogota, Colombia

Host Institution in Germany: Ecologic Institute: Science

and Policy for a Sustainable World, Berlin | Host: Katriona

McGlade

Improving Bolivia’s waste

management

Magaly Ines Beltran Sinani strives to re-

duce Bolivia’s greenhouse gas emissions

by improving the country’s waste manage-

ment system.

Being a developing country, Bolivia is not in

a good position to deal easily with its envi-

ronmental problems, including waste man-

agement. The annual release of methane

from Bolivian solid waste disposal sites,

for example, accounts for approximately

ten percent of annual global greenhouse

gas emissions. Moreover, such problematic

waste management has a negative impact

on the health of Bolivian citizens and ad-

versely affects the country’s economy.

Magaly Ines Beltran Sinani is therefore

working on two tools for transparent and

comprehensive environmental and cost

analysis, which should improve the whole

waste management system. The rst tool

is called “life cycle assessment (LCA)” and

is one of the most highly developed envi-

ronmental assessment tools for evaluating

the performance of technologies. Maga-

ly uses it to dene and analyse the goals,

improvements and impacts of existing ser-

vices in order to develop a cyclical waste

management system. The second tool is a

“cost analysis (CA)”. CA enables the user

to predict future costs in order to make

existing waste services more economical.

Magaly is conducting her case study on

La Paz, based on German experience in

waste management. In addition to the data

obtained from LCA and CA, she interviews

directors and technicians involved in the

solid waste management of La Paz and the

Ministry of the Environment and Water as

well as German project partners.

Investigating climate change and

migration

Natalia Andrea Burgos analyses the re-

lationship between migration and climate

change in Colombia.

Colombia has some of the highest rates of

lifetime internal migration in South Ameri-

ca and these migration movements are

increasingly inuenced by climate change.

Climate disasters endanger populations in

certain areas of the country and thus trig-

ger internal migration. Also, Colombia is a

destination for political refugees. Migration

ows like these make it difcult for the coun-

try to plan its development; Natalia Andrea

Burgos is helping to nd a solution.

For this purpose, she is conducting a case

study of the Catatumbo region in Colombia,

investigating how the link between climate

change and migration inuences the re-

gion’s development and how the situation

can be improved. She therefore reviews the

relevant scientic literature as well as policy

and regulatory documents on the relation-

ship between climate change and migra-

tion. Furthermore, she analyses the capaci-

ty of different policy frameworks to continue

addressing the issue by interviewing key

experts, practitioners and local leaders in

the Catatumbo region about the concrete

interaction between climate change and

migration. Natalia also tries to increase the

level of government funding available for

projects like hers and wants to strengthen

partnerships between German and Co-

lombian organisations in order to expand

knowledge and develop supportive policy

frameworks.

Castro-Prieto, Emily

Montserrat

Degree: Master of Arts | Field: Political Science |

Afliation at the time of application: Deutsche

Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

GmbH, Mexico City, Mexico

Host Institution in Germany: Öko-Institut e.V., Berlin |

Host: Jakob Graichen

Cuevas Flores, Melissa

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Economic and

Social Policy | Afliation at the time of application:

Eco Valores, Mexico City, Mexico

Host Institution in Germany: Adelphi, Berlin |

Host: Cosima Stahr

Achieving climate goals through

local action

Emily Montserrat Castro-Prieto wants to en-

sure that local actors participate in reaching

global climate protection targets.

Mexican government is structured on sev-

eral different levels, which makes it dif-

cult to implement a nationwide policy to

achieve global climate targets. National

government depends on local governments

to act because they are responsible for im-

plementing many of the mitigation actions

and adaptation measures. Emily Montser-

rat Castro-Prieto’s aim is to improve co-

operation between national and regional

governments to overcome the gap between

national goals and local action arising from

insufcient information sharing. Although

the country has agreed on Nationally De-

termined Contributions, their implementa-

tion has not yet been systematised. The na-

tional government is therefore developing

tracking and evaluation systems in order

to register climate actions, including those

taking place at local level. For her project,

Emily is elaborating evaluation designs that

help record subnational mitigation actions

within these systems and improve the co-

herence of actions on climate protection at

national level. She is drawing on German

experience and studying and comparing

German and Mexican climate protection

policies and evaluation instruments. Fur-

thermore, Emily documents the process of

her project in webinars, one pagers, reports

and presentations in order to reach stake-

holders who might want to use the results

of her analysis for their work.

Financing climate protection in

Mexico

Melissa Cuevas Flores aims to raise aware-

ness for the need to invest in climate pro-

tection in order to prevent its effects.

Due to its location between two oceans and

its diverse topography, Mexico is a country

that is frequently affected by climate haz-

ards. Socio-economic factors like high pov-

erty levels increase the country’s vulner-

ability to such catastrophes because, for

instance, poor residential areas are more

prone to destruction.

As rebuilding such destroyed areas is -

nancially more costly than investing in pre-

vention, Melissa Cuevas Flores is examin-

ing different funding schemes to increase

adaptation investments. In recent years,

the average annual costs associated with

climate change have grown signicantly

and, with predictions of frequent and severe

weather events, are expected to continue

increasing. However, there are political and

institutional barriers that hinder investment

in preventive measures. Melissa thus ex-

amines existing strategies to nd out how

adaptation investments could be increased.

Initially, she is therefore identifying the ma-

jor barriers to climate change adaptation

funding. By reviewing the relevant literature,

she then tries to pinpoint criteria to evaluate

the suitability of different nancing mecha-

nisms. She also collects information about

existing innovative mechanisms like climate

funds and bonds in Mexico and Germany

in order to identify suitable methods. Based

on her literature review and expert inter-

views, she then chooses the most appro-

priate mechanisms and conducts in-depth

analyses on them. For this purpose, a fea-

sibility study and a risk assessment will be

performed, along with a stakeholder analy-

sis and an operative requirement check. Fi-

nally, she intends to identify potential ways

to increase the funding for climate change

prevention measures in Mexico.

Predicting extreme weather

events to save lives

Shingirai Shepard Nangombe works on im-

proving the predictions of meteorological

extremes in Southern Africa and Zimbabwe.

In Southern Africa, temperatures are rising

faster than the global average. Extreme

weather events in this region are therefore

increasing and intensifying. Economically

developing regions are more vulnerable to

such events while disasters are harder to

manage with their existing adaptation and

mitigation techniques. Being able to attri-

bute and predict meteorological extremes

is thus very important for Southern Africa

and, especially, Zimbabwe.

Shingirai Shepard Nangombe uses

high-resolution regional climate models to

identify extreme weather hotspots where

disasters occur with greater frequency and

severity in order to pinpoint areas where

more resources need to be channeled.

To make his predictions more accurate, he

combines simulations and projections from

the Africa sub-group of the Coordinated Re-

gional Downscaling Experiment framework

using reanalysis data from the European

Centre for Medium-Range Weather Fore-

casts. He aims to identify precursor con-

ditions of extreme meteorological events

so that he can provide communities and

decision makers with early and accurate

information about impending extreme

weather. Shingirai will help to develop ro-

bust mitigation and adaptation strategies

based on efcient early warning systems.

These should help to prevent damage to to

infrastructure and population from extreme

weather events.

Nangombe, Dr Shingirai

Shepard

Degree: PhD | Field: Atmospheric Science | Afliation

at the time of application: Government of Zimbabwe

Meteorological Services Department, Harare, Zimbabwe

Host Institution in Germany: Deutscher Wetterdienst

(DWD), Niederlassung Potsdam, Stahnsdorf | Host: Prof.

Dr Gerhard Adrian

Nguyen, Minh Anh

Degree: Master of Arts | Field: Economic and Social

Policy | Afliation at the time of application: Deutsche

Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

GmbH, Hanoi, Vietnam

Host Institution in Germany: Institute for Advanced

Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS), Potsdam | Host: Dr

Sebastian Helgenberger

Transforming energy supply and

security

Minh Anh Nguyen creates a vision of how to

minimise the environmental impact of Viet-

nam’s fast-growing energy sector.

Since Vietnam is expected to have limited

domestic coal or gas resources in the com-

ing years and its renewable energies are

still at an early stage of development, the

Vietnamese economy depends heavily on

the import of fossil fuel. In the last 25 years,

energy demand has increased almost twice

as fast as the gross domestic product. Con-

sequently, Vietnam’s Nationally Determined

Contributions (NDC) focus on energy-relat-

ed mitigation efforts, as negotiated under

the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change.

In order for the process of prioritising the

NDC to be effective, Minh Anh Nguyen

claims that climate protection must be seen

as transformational change. This term re-

ects the insight that in complex, sluggish

systems sustainable development requires

fundamental change. As a scholar of eco-

nomic and social policy, Minh identies

the transformational impacts, potentials

and barriers of climate change mitigation

in Vietnam. In her research project at her

host institution, the Institute for Advanced

Sustainability Studies, she is implementing

a comprehensive, in-depth analysis of pro-

jected impacts on different (transformative)

development strategies. Based on her re-

sults, she will recommend several options

for the development of the energy sector.

She plans to carry out online surveys with

stakeholders, key informant interviews

and a quality impact assessment that will

culminate in a sound strategy for future

investment. As a nal step, Minh will com-

municate her recommendations to funding

providers and decision makers.

Nikravan, Morteza

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Construction Material

Sciences, Chemistry, Physics | Afliation at the time of

application: Amirkabir University of Technology, Ofce of

Sustainability, Tehran, Iran

Host Institution in Germany: Technische Universität

Berlin, Institut für Bauingenieurwesen, Berlin | Host: Prof.

Dr Dietmar Stephan

Creating sustainable concrete

Morteza Nikravan works on improving con-

crete with regard to different sustainability

factors.

Recent studies have calculated that the pro-

duction of building materials like concrete,

which contains cement, could account for

7-10 percent of global CO

emissions in 2020.

Nevertheless, rapid urban expansion in de-

veloping countries increases the demand

for cement. Consequently, building materials

need to be improved in order to expand resi-

dential areas in a climate friendly way. One of

the promising alternatives are alkali-activated

cements and concretes (AACC).

Morteza Nikravan wants to highlight the

critical factors in using AACC from cradle

to building site and thus has to take differ-

ent sustainability factors into account. First-

ly, CO

is emitted during the production of

AACC, so it is important to reduce these

emissions to help protect the climate. Sec-

ondly, the durability of a material is an impor-

tant factor in its sustainability, which might

be inuenced by the impacts of climate

change as well. Thirdly, economic factors

dene the usability of a mixture. To nd the

optimum composition of AACC, many differ-

ent types of alkali-activated materials can be

used as binders. In a number of countries, a

variety of mixtures has therefore been devel-

oped and used in buildings, pavements and

roads. This has motivated Morteza to test

the sustainability of these various materials

under different conditions. To evaluate the

mixtures he employs life cycle assessment

to assess environmental impacts like global

warming, acid rain, freshwater and seawa-

ter. Based on his results, Morteza will be

able to identify mixtures that have the best

durability for future building projects as well

as the best mechanical, economic and envi-

ronmental properties.

Preventing monsoon catastrophes

in the Sahel

Arreyndip Nkongho Ayuketang estimates

how a sudden monsoon onset in the Sahel

region could affect agriculture.

About 70 percent of Sahel’s population is

actively engaged in agriculture. Global

warming has a major impact on agricultural

activities and therefore the whole econo-

my of this region. Seven out of 21 current

state-of-the-art climate models project the

sudden onset of a summer monsoon sea-

son in the Sahel zone. This climate-driven

phenomenon is related to increasing oce-

anic moisture and rising sea surface tem-

peratures in the tropical Atlantic and the

Mediterranean.

Arreyndip Nkongho Ayuketang investigates

the effects of such a sudden monsoon onset

on the agricultural productivity of the Sahel

region by using the Lund-Potsdam-Jena

Dynamic Global Vegetation Model. This

vegetation dynamics model considers bi-

ochemical and biophysical interactions

between ecosystems and the atmosphere

against the backdrop of crop production

and agropastoralism as the main economic

activities in the Sahel zone. Arreyndip then

explores the consequences for the African

and global economic structure. He there-

fore applies the agent-based economic

model Acclimate, a tool to analyse econom-

ic losses in the global supply chain caused

by natural hazards. In case of a monsoon

onset in the Sahel zone, Arreyndip’s nd-

ings may contribute to preventing damage

to many settlements.

Nkongho Ayuketang,

Arreyndip

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Statistical Physics,

Soft Matter, Biological Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics |

Afliation at the time of application: Saint Jerome

Catholic University, Institute of Douala, Douala, Cameroon

Host Institution in Germany: Potsdam-Institut für

Klimafolgenforschung (PIK), Potsdam | Host: Prof. Dr

Anders Levermann

Osmonov, Dr Azamat

Degree: PhD | Field: Remote Sensing | Afliation at the

time of application: Central-Asian Institute for Applied

Geosciences (CAIAG), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Host Institution in Germany: Humboldt-Universität zu

Berlin, Geographisches Institut, Berlin | Host: Prof. Dr

Christoph Schneider

Improving water resources for

local societies

Dr Azamat Osmonov analyses the impact

of climate change on glaciers and river

ows affecting use by local communities.

The main source of water for local com-

munities in the Central Asian lowlands are

the Tien Shan high-altitude glaciers which

feed the region’s rivers with melting glacier

water. Glaciers, however, are retreating as

a result of climate change which may lead

to a future decrease in river ow and thus

a shortage of water for local communities’

everyday use.

Dr Azamat Osmonov wants to calculate the

dimensions of a future decrease in glacier

water and nd solutions for local societies.

He investigates glacier development and its

impact on the Yssyk-Kul Basin. Generally,

the eastern part of the basin has enough

water resources for the population, where-

as western and northern parts suffer from

a lack of water. Azamat therefore suggests

transporting water from the Chu River to the

western part of the basin instead of using

underground water in order not to disrupt

the region’s overall water balance. More-

over, Azamat needs to analyse a complex

system of water ows because natural wa-

ter distribution is uneven due to its depend-

ence on the seasons and weather. He thus

categorises rivers according to their usual

volume of water combined with the individu-

al months with maximum water supply. The

data he has collected on glacier sizes and

distribution since 2018 will help to model

future climate change impacts. In order

to implement these models, he draws on

data going back to 1970, predicting climate

change trends and their impacts on river

ows and water resource distribution in the

Yssyk-Kul Basin. Azamat’s ndings will en-

able him to make recommendations to local

communities on how to use river water ef-

ciently. In the best case, his recommenda-

tions would lead to a general improvement

in the region’s economic situation.

Owusu, Charles Ko

Degree: Master of Arts | Field: Empirical Social Research

| Afliation at the time of application: Kumasi Institute

of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE), Accra,

Ghana

Host Institution in Germany: Technische Universität

Dresden, Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Dresden |

Host: Prof. Dr Artem Korzhenevych

Establishing renewable mini-grids

Charles Ko Owusu assesses the potential

of renewable mini-grids in Ghana based on

sustainability and economic efciency.

Renewable mini-grids hold enormous po-

tential for the African energy sector as they

could enhance overall energy access and

facilitate the use of sustainable energy

sources. Establishing a system of renew-

able isolated mini-grids, however, entails

high investment costs, which challenge

most African countries like Ghana.

Charles Ko Owusu wants to nd a way of

nancing the establishment of renewable

mini-grids. Donors and governments are

unable to invest the estimated 20 billion

dollars per year that would be required for

nationwide installation in Ghana. Charles

therefore plans to promote the benets of

sustainable mini-grid installations in order

to attract private investors. Currently, they

have little appetite to participate in the

sustainable energy sector due to the lack

of regulatory guidelines and risk-limitation

policies, which makes investments highly

unattractive.

What is required is evidence of successful

coordination between government policy

and private capital as well as proof of the

efciency and commercial viability of to-

tally transforming the rural energy sector.

Charles therefore examines households’

willingness to pay for renewable energy,

the economic impacts of different clean mi-

ni-grid models and the link between existing

off-grid models and low carbon develop-

ment. He uses the information he gathers to

develop and propose business models and

policies for a nancially stable and ecologi-

cally sustainable mini-grid system.

Prada Uribe, Maria

Angelica

Degree: Bachelor of Arts | Field: International Public Law

| Afliation at the time of application: Universidad del

Rosario, Bogota, Colombia

Host Institution in Germany: Max-Planck-Institut für

ethnologische Forschung, Halle (Saale) | Host: Prof. Dr

Dirk Hanschel

Involving local voices to achieve

climate justice

Maria Angelica Prada Uribe compares en-

vironmental participation mechanisms in

Latin America.

The majority of legal scholarship on cli-

mate change focuses on top-down legal

instruments to enforce climate protection.

The Global North primarily addresses

climate-related environmental issues by

adopting scientic and technical solutions

directed at reducing greenhouse gas emis-

sions. Meanwhile, local experience of cli-

mate change adaptation or mitigation in the

Global South is not taken into account.

Maria Angelica Prada Uribe emphasizes

the importance of bottom-up approaches

to mitigate climate change. She analyses

social movements’ legal mobilisation for

climate justice in Colombia, Guatemala

and Ecuador. In her research project, she

examines environmental rights in their cul-

tural context using a comparative method-

ological framework. Firstly, she strives to

understand how grassroot movements in

Latin America mobilise national and inter-

national institutions for climate protection,

demanding extensive participation in envi-

ronmental and development related issues.

These bottom-up forms of mobilisation op-

pose deforestation and extractivism, which

refers to extracting natural resources like

metals from the earth for commercial pur-

poses. Opposition takes the form of pop-

ular consultations and other constitutional

mechanisms. By reviewing national and

international legal instruments, Maria thus

strives to help clarify the legal framework

and content of the human right to environ-

mental participation in Latin America.

Ramanarayanan, Vinod

Degree: Master of Science | Field: Urban Planning and

Development, Landscape, Trafc, and Infrastructure

Planning | Afliation at the time of application: Civic

Fulcrum, Chennai, India

Host Institution in Germany: Beuth Hochschule für

Technik Berlin, Fernstudieninstitut, Berlin | Host: Prof. Dr

Florian Schindler

Preparing burgeoning cities for

natural disasters

Vinod Ramanarayanan aims to improve

climate-driven disaster preparedness in ur-

ban areas of India.

Some 377 million people in India live in

densely populated and increasingly vul-

nerable areas. Projections suggest that by

2031, the urban population will increase

to 600 million. This semi-planned process

takes little account of disaster risks caused

by extreme natural events, which often de-

stroy critical infrastructure, disrupt services

and have a detrimental long-term impact

on socio-economic development. A better

understanding of physical and social infra-

structure in cities is, therefore, a key ele-

ment in improving the quality of life for their

citizens.

Vinod Ramanarayanan investigates the

impact of natural disasters on urban infra-

structure. Moreover, he examines how the

quality of life and the local economy are

connected to urban infrastructure prepared-

ness and resilience. This detailed analysis

of urban systems facilitates a better under-

standing, comparison and contextualisation

of protective interventions. One approach is

to learn from disaster control interventions

in Germany. By identifying key characteris-

tics of successful interventions, Vinod may

succeed in formulating well-founded rec-

ommendations for public-private participa-

tion or physical infrastructure investments

to prepare urban areas for future disasters.

Sgambatti Monteiro, Artur

Degree: Master of Arts | Field: Foreign Policy and

International Systems | Afliation at the time of

application: Fundacao Vitoria Amazonica (FVA),

Manaus, Brazil

Host Institution in Germany: Institute for Advanced

Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS), Potsdam | Host: Dr

Maria Cecilia Oliveira

Working on rainforest protection

through global funding

Artur Sgambatti Monteiro analyses the in-

ternational nancial support for local con-

servation projects in the Brazilian Amazon.

Approximately 60 percent of Brazil is cov-

ered by the Amazon rainforest which con-

tains the biggest river basin on Earth and

rich biodiversity. It is also home to more

than 300 different ethnic groups. Conse-

quently, there is a need for a strong nation-

al commitment to climate change mitigation

allied to locally based initiatives. Mean-

while, the newly elected government has

begun to change the Brazilian position on

the development of the Amazon, seeking to

drive mining and agriculture in the region.

Artur Sgambatti Monteiro scrutinises how

the shift in government policy impacts inter-

national nancial agreements and thereby

tries to foster innovative local projects in the

Amazon region. On the one hand, he exam-

ines the interaction between the Brazilian

government’s climate change policy and

foreign investments in rainforest conserva-

tion. On the other, he takes a closer look at

the effectiveness, efciency and sustaina-

bility of local projects in reducing deforest-

ation and how they depend on funding from

abroad. Artur mainly aims to evaluate pro-

jects by the most important investor in Am-

azon conservation in Brazil, the Amazon

Fund, that works together directly with local

initiatives and other national environmental

funds. His research will culminate in sound

recommendations for stakeholders on cop-

ing with future challenges.