UNO Developing the Next Generation of Female Environmentalists in Pakistan

A new grant will help prepare women’s universities in Pakistan to better teach, conduct research, and develop environmental science practitioners.

The Office of International Programs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) will lead the effort to empower a new generation of women-led environmental efforts and work to mitigate the impacts of climate change in Pakistan. UNO researchers will collaborate with researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) for this work made possible through a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State.

The program’s goal is to build the capacity of Pakistani society to combat and mitigate climate change through a U.S.-Pakistan university partnership which explores curriculum development, environmental education, student and faculty engagement, research, and data sharing. Researchers will be working with Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University in Peshawar, Pakistan, and with many other women-only affiliated colleges throughout the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan.

UNO’s Center for Afghanistan Studies Director, Sher Jan Ahmadzai, who serves as the principal investigator of this project, said the grant will enhance climate change pedagogy and research at Pakistani women-only higher education institutions. “In collaboration with our partners across the University of Nebraska System, this work will help Pakistani institutions of higher education develop and expand their capacity to build a pipeline of women leadership in environmentalism and climate change.”

This project will run through October 2024, culminating in enhancing the capacity of eighteen faculty at a women university or universities to teach, conduct research, and develop environment and climate change curricula. These faculty will also promote environmental literacy, training, and education on climate change for approximately 200 U.S. and Pakistani students.

In addition, this project will implement exchange program(s) to enhance knowledge-sharing (travel conditions permitting). It will also foster young women’s participation and leadership on climate issues and establish a mentorship program between U.S. and Pakistani participants that promotes network/linkages with experts, leaders, practitioners, and activists from diverse backgrounds.

This article was funded [in part] by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State.