Hello readers.
Welcome to #Women4theClimate on CleanbuildVoices!
It is another Wednesday; a time for us to shine the spotlight on women who are using their skills, voices, and resources to advocate for our climate as well as communities that are at the receiving end of the change.
On that note, our crush for today is the amazing Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim who is actively working in the climate activism space to effect a change.
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is a Chadian environmental activist and an expert in indigenous peoples’ adaptation to climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, and climate change mitigation strategies.
She began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at the age of 16. From then on, she’s been dedicated to the protection of all indigenous peoples, from the Congo to the Arctic, and promoting their knowledge in the fight against climate change.
She spent summers in the Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, where she is from, herding cattle with her community across the Sahel drylands which is located south of the Sahara desert.
Since her realization that the emerging threat of climate change could only be tackled with a combination of indigenous knowledge and western technology, Hindou has devoted her time trying to bridge the gap between both.
Little wonder one of her first projects was working with meteorologists to help deliver local and timely forecasts that were useful to her community due to the unpredictable weather conditions caused by climate change. The project soon morphed into a text-message-based alert system that notified both city dwellers and herders of extreme weather conditions.
Through her participation in international policy dialogues on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, Hindou does not only drives environmental protection for indigenous peoples but also pressures governments to recognize the land rights of these indigenous peoples and advance their solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.
Hindou founded the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and works to empower indigenous voices and ensure their voices are heard on international platforms.
She is Co-Chair, International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change; Policy Board, United Nations Indigenous Peoples Partnership (UNIPP); and Executive Committee, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee.
She is also the Co-Chair of the Facilitative Working Group of the Local Communities as well as the Indigenous Peoples Platform of the UNFCCC. Hindou hopes to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science in order for rural communities to become resilient to climate change.
Watch this space as we’ll be back to feature another amazing woman for our next edition of #Women4theClimate.
Featured Image: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a Chadian environmental activist
