​Ecosystem Services and Food Security
Eric Brako Dompreh

Eric Brako Dompreh is a Project Assistant Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo. He obtained his PhD from the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science- Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. His thesis focused on how the adoption of certification standards by cocoa and oil palm smallholders in Ghana can affect productivity, income, food security and poverty alleviation. He holds an MPhil in Agribusiness and a BSc in Agriculture (with a major in Agribusiness), both from the University of Ghana. Prior to joining GPSS-GLI, he worked as a Research and Operations Officer for the Ghana Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System project (Ghana-SAKSS) under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 
 
His research interests include poverty alleviation, food security, agricultural technology adoption, standardization, climate change, as well as sustainable tree crop production. His main research at IFI relates to the assessment of the impact of small-scale aquaculture systems in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Gayara Rathnabarana

Gayara Rathnabarana is an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). She holds a BA & BSc in Sustainability, Science and Society from McGill University, in Montréal, Canada. Prior to joining UNU-IAS, she volunteered with the Greenpeace McGill chapter and was also involved in a sustainability initiative known as the Plate club that aimed to reduce single use plastics through the provision of reusable dishes.
 
Gayara’s research interests include modelling, biodiversity conservation, and food systems. Her MSc research focuses on the positions of greenhouses and within a food systems framework.
Jasmine Black

Jasmine is a UNU-JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at IFI, University of Tokyo and the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). She has a PhD in Soil Biogeochemistry from Newcastle University for which she gathered soils and data from the Amazon in Guyana to assess molecular and bulk carbon storage. Following this, she worked in organic farming and with farmer-led innovation in the charity sector in Japan and the UK. She then transitioned into social sciences at the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), UK. As a researcher, she works at the nexus between nature, farmers and policy makers to understand and amplify the ‘quieter’ voices in our world for more holistically managed landscapes.

Jasmine is also a storyteller and illustrator, and works with Socially Engaged Art & Practice to bring these creative elements into her research. In her current fellowship she is investigating opportunities and barriers to multiplying Alternative Food Networks as and the importance of women’s roles and stories within them. She sits on the board for the Community Supported Agriculture Network UK.

Twitter: @Dr_SoilieJas
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Jelena Aleksejeva

Jelena Aleksejeva is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Jelena holds an MSc in Environmental Sciences from the University of Tsukuba, with certificates from the Environmental Diplomatic Leader program (EDL) and the International Collaborative Environmental Program (ICEP).
 
Her broad research interests are in climate change mitigation and adaptation, sustainable development, and renewable energy. Her current PhD research focuses on the deployment of green roofs and solar panels in urban areas as a strategy for climate change mitigation.
Jie Su
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Jie Su is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Jie holds an MSc in Environment Management from Xiamen University (2019) and a BSc in Environmental Science from Fudan University (2016) in China. During her degrees she focused on the economic valuation of coastal ecosystem services and endangered species in marine ecosystems of China.
 
She is interested in finding solutions about environmental and ecological issues through economic models and approaches, especially relating to marine and coastal sustainability, ecosystems services, and biodiversity. Her current research focuses on socio-economic optimization for the systematic planning of coastal protection and restoration interventions in China that meet environmental, social and economic goals for present and future generations.
Kamaldeen Yussif

Kamaldeen Yussif is a PhD candidate at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS). He holds an MPhil in Innovation Communication (2016) and a BSc in Agriculture Technology (2010), both from the University for Development Studies (UDS), Ghana. For his MPhil research he worked on irrigation policing, eliciting farmers’ perceptions and willingness to pay for private irrigation supply in Ghana. Before coming to UNU-IAS he was an Assistant Lecturer (2017–2019) and Senior Research Assistant (2012–2017) the University for Development Studies (UDS).

Kamaldeen’s research interests include the sustainability aspects associated with rural-urban connections, rural and agrarian transformation, as well as human security issues. His Ph.D. research focuses on suburbanisation in Ghanaian cities, as especially on local adaption and future options for  peri-urban production landscapes.
Lam Thi Mai Huyhn

Lam Huynh is currently a PhD candidate at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. She obtained an MSc in Sustainability Science from the University of Tokyo and a BSc in Sustainability and Environmental Management from the University of Leeds. She previously served as a public officer in Vietnam between 2016 and 2019, specialising in urban planning and natural resources management.
 
She is interested in the evaluation of ecosystem services and human wellbeing, urban planning and sustainability, and the assessment of adaptation and vulnerability to climate change. Her current PhD research focuses on mapping the current evidence about the effectiveness of ecosystem-based adaptation globally. Furthermore, she compares the local effectiveness of different coastal ecosystem-based adaptations and traditional engineering solutions in China, Singapore and Vietnam.
Marcin Pawel Jarzebski

Marcin Pawel Jarzebski is a Project Assistant Professor at Tokyo College, University of Tokyo. He has conducted research on different aspects of industrial crop expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. He obtained his PhD from the Graduate Programme in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative Program (GPSS-GLI) at the University of Tokyo in 2015. During his PhD he explored community resilience of indigenous and non-indigenous community forestry groups in the Philippines.

For his previous work he was engaging GIS systems for biomass estimation and loss over the time in the protected areas in Poland (Nicolaus Copernicus University); and GIS application to disaster management in the flood-prone areas of informal settlements in Manila, Philippines (The University of the Philippines). He is also editorial board member of the Ecological Questions Journal since 2011.
Quanli Wang

Quanli Wang is PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science -Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Before entering GPSS-GLI, he was a Research Assistant in the Environmental Economics Laboratory at the Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI), Xiamen University, China. He holds a MSc in Environmental Science and Engineering from Xiamen University (2019), and a BSc in Resources, Environment & Urban-Rural Planning Management from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (2016) in China. During his degrees he worked on the assessment of urban resilience and ecosystem services in coastal areas of China using GIS.

His research interests include food security, poverty alleviation, economic growth, aquatic resources conservation, and sustainable aquaculture production. His current research seeks to analyse key sustainability issues related to aquaculture operations applying different econometric models. His specific research aim is to develop appropriate methods to assess the sustainable yields of different freshwater and
seawater aquaculture systems in countries with different development levels such as Japan, China, and Myanmar in order to balance ecological, economic and social benefits.
Robert Massimo Alfonsi
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Robert Massimo Alfonsi is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Before joining GPSS-GLI, Robert worked as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa (2010-2016). He obtained an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Pisa, Italy, (2009), carrying out field research in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education and ICT for Development (ICT4D) at Rhodes University’s Telkom Centre of Excellence, South Africa (2005-2007).
 
Robert is interested in the adoption and use of ICTs for food systems. For his PhD he investigates the challenges and opportunities of using ICTs for enhancing the sustainability of food systems, focusing on the development of an ICT framework for the South African food system. 
Vinamra Mathur

Vinamra Mathur is a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo. Prior to joining GPSS-GLI, he was Program Assistant at the Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade Program (RAFT) at the Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Bangkok, Thailand. He holds a BSc (Hons.) in Environmental Science from the University of Manchester (2013) and an MSc in Environmental Governance from the United Nations University, Tokyo (2014).
 
Vinamra’s research stems from his professional experience at the Nature Conservancy, which provided capacity-building and knowledge-sharing services to several Asia-Pacific countries in support of their efforts to promote trade in responsibly harvested and manufactured wood products. Through his research, he aims to understand the role of Japanese timber procurement and logging processes and practices, in order to better estimate their impact in the Sarawak region of Malaysia. 
Past members
Abhishek Bhattarai was an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).

His MSc thesis focused on Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) systems in Nepal.
Abubakari Ahmed was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2015-2018).

His PhD thesis explored the sustainability impacts of different biofuel feedstock options in Ghana
Alice Karanja was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI and Project Researcher at IFI, University of Tokyo (2016-2020).

Her research focused on the factors influencing clean stove adoption in rural Kenya, and its sustainability impacts.
Boubacar Siddighi Balde was a Project Researcher for the Belmont Forum project FICESSA at IR3S, University of Tokyo (2015-2018).

His research focused on the food security outcomes of industrial crop production in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Dalelan Anderson was an MSc Research Student in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2019-2021).

His research focused on critical aspects of parrot-fish fisheries management in Jamaica, with a specific focus on the perspectives of multiple stakeholders and local communities.
Denise Lozano was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI , University of Tokyo (2017-2020).

Her research focused on the systematic understanding of municipal solid waste management systems in Bolivian cities.
Ei Thwe was an MSc candidate in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo.

Her MSc research focused on the assessment of the effectiveness of the EIA system in the industrial sector of Myanmar.
Helen was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2016-2020).

Her PhD research focused on how urban ecosystems are contributing a green economy transition in Myanmar, undertaking an economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by green spaces in Pyin Oo Lwin, a secondary city of Myanmar.
Himangana Gupta was a Visiting Research Fellow at IFI, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).

She conducted research on mountain social-ecological systems, especially trying to understand the drivers of change and its impacts in the Indian Himalayan region.
Hongru Hong was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2020).

His PhD research focused on the sustainability outcomes of upgrading to eco-industrial park status in China.
Letícia dos Muchangos was a Project Researcher at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), University of Tokyo
(2020).

She conducted research on the sustainability of different sanitation systems in neighborhoods of Shanghai, P.R. China.
Linda Chinangwa was a Visiting Research Fellow at IR3S, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2015-2017).

She conducted research on the potential of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes in sugarcane and tobacco landscapes of Malawi. 
Melvis Apoh was an MSc student at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2019-2021).

Her MSc thesis focused on the values of indigenous Baka communities in Cameroon, as well as how they are affected by forest conservation and large development projects.
Merle Naidoo was a PhD student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2015-2018).

Her PhD research explored the adoption, visibility, and sustainability outcomes of Corporate Environmental Sustainability (CES) practices in supermarket retailers in Japan and South Africa. 
Mizan Bisri was a Visiting Research Fellow at IFI, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2018-2020).

For his research he explored the networked-politics of science and policy nexus on disaster management and climate change adaptation in Southeast Asian countries.
Nikole Roland was an MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS - GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2019).

Her MSc thesis explored conflicts over water in sugarcane areas of Swaziland and how they are exacerbated by the 2015-2016 drought.
Rodolfo Dam Lam was a PhD student at GPSS-GLI , University of Tokyo (2016-2020).

His research focused on the identification of development challenges for indigenous communities in Guna Yala, Panama.
Shamik Chakraborty was a Visiting Research Fellow at IR3S, and a JSPS-UNU Postdoctoral Fellow at the United Nations University-Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) (2015-2017).

He conducted research on ecosystem change and how it affects the ecosystem services provision in traditional Japanese seascapes.
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Spencer Sibanda was an MSc student at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science – Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), University of Tokyo (2017-2019).

His MSc thesis studied the sustainability impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Zimbabwe.
Yin Long was a Project Assistant Professor at IFI, University of Tokyo (2020-2021).

She conducted research on the livability of residential clusters in Shanghai through big data, as well as carbon emissions in Japan from different economic sectors and at different spatial and temporal resolutions.