Nega Emiru Debela
Nega is a PlanAdapt Fellow based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He has more than 12 years of work experience complemented by extensive postgraduate training. He is a result-oriented, passionate professional working at the crossroads of agriculture, natural resources management and climate change in developing countries. Nega worked at the grassroots level with various national and regional research and development institutions in Ethiopia and beyond focused on enhancing agricultural productivity, production and climate resilience among smallholder farmers and their communities.
In the past, he partnered with diverse implementing agencies including African national governments, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), UN institutions (FAO, UNECA), CSOs, private consulting firms and bi- and multilateral donors. Among others, he recently undertook a multi-country technical and economic feasibility study as well as a social and environmental impact assessment of IGAD/ African Development Bank-supported “Program to Build Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security in The Horn of Africa (HoA) Region – Ethiopia Component“. Nega led a study as Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Specialist and Country Team Leader contributing to a consulting assignment covering seven IGAD countries. He also led the delivery of national technical and economic feasibility study reports and social and environmental impact assessment and management framework reports that support program design and implementation.
His thematic and functional areas of interest include climate change adaptation and risk management, resilience building, disaster risk management (DRM), sustainable land management (SLM), climate-smart agriculture (CSA), agricultural transformation and rural livelihoods, project cycle management (design, feasibility study, monitoring, evaluation and learning), indigenous knowledge and institutions, knowledge and innovation management, and research management in developing countries.
Nega holds a PhD from the University of Tasmania, Australia. His PhD research focused on ‘adaptation to climate change in pastoral and agropastoral systems of Borana, Southern Ethiopia’ where he studied local responses to a changing climate.
Nega has co-published about climate change adaptation in numerous journals:
- Impacts of climate change to African indigenous communities and examples of adaptation response
- Adaptation to Climate Change in the Pastoral and Agropastoral Systems of Borana, South Ethiopia: Options and Barriers
- Perception of climate change and its impact by smallholders in pastoral/agropastoral systems of Borana, South Ethiopia
Nega led PlanAdapt’s work in the following projects and initiatives:
For more info, see Nega’s LinkedIn page.