Coinciding with the world’s celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Get to know 5 pioneering women who are using science to save the planet.
In conjunction with the world’s celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.. Get to know 5 pioneering women who are using science to save the planet
February 11 of each year is marked by the United Nations, UNICEF, and a large number of institutions celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is an attempt to highlight the contributions of women in various science disciplines, in addition to promoting gender equality efforts. In fulfillment of the fifth goal of the seventeen goals ofSustainable Development. In this context, we review with you the efforts of 5 pioneering women in using science to save our planet.
Research shows that despite skills shortages in most technology fields, gender disparity still exists in various fields of science and technology as well as engineering, with women making up less than a third of the workforce in these fields. In addition, females are typically awarded smaller research grants than their male colleagues, and their work tends to be poorly represented in high-profile fields.
The heroines of this article are 5 women who have devoted their lives to addressing the major crises facing our planet, namely climate change and nature, loss of biodiversity, and waste pollution, using various sciences, which has attracted the attention of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP); Therefore, they were all selected to win successive editions of the “Champion of the Earth” award and the “Young Champions of the Earth” award. These are the two highest-level awards from the United Nations in the field of the environment.
Dr. Poornima Devi Barman – Earth Hero for 2022
For wildlife biologist Dr. Purnima Devi Barman, her passion since childhood for the great marabou bird, which belongs to the stork family, has grown into a way of life and a daily routine. After obtaining a master’s degree in zoology, Barman began her doctoral studies in 2007, the subject of which centered on the great marabou bird. However, due to the ever-decreasing number of this type of bird – which she had loved since childhood – she delayed completing her studies until 2019. In order to focus on raising awareness about preserving the life of this bird among rural areas in the state of Assam, India.
To clarify the picture for you, today there are less than 1,200 “great marabou” birds, that is, less than 1 percent of what was the situation a century ago, and it is a significant decline driven – in part – by the destruction of the natural environment for this bird’s life. To help save the life of this endangered bird, Barman founded the “Team Hargiela” movement, a movement whose members are all women, and which aims to protect these large birds from extinction. Today, the number of members of this movement has become more than 10,000 women who protect the living sites of the “great marabou” birds and prepare to rehabilitate the injured ones.
Barman says: “Being a woman working in the field of environmental conservation in a male-dominated society is challenging, but the Harjela Movement showed how women can make a difference.”
Dr. Gladys – Earth’s Hero for 2021
Dr. Gladys Kalima-Zikosoka is a veterinarian, founder and CEO of Conservation through Public Health. Gladys has spent three decades helping to protect the world’s rarest and endangered primates, such as mountain gorillas that live in remote communities in East Africa.
In her early twenties, Kalima-Zikusuka returned to Uganda – her native country – after an educational adventure, where she obtained her degrees from the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Much of her work after her return was in poor communities bordering protected areas, where she helped improve health care, create economic opportunities, and turn many local people into partners in environmental conservation.
Gladys, who can represent a source of inspiration for many young people in Africa to choose a career in the field of environmental conservation, said: “There is a shortage of local workers in the field of environmental conservation, and we need more local heroes. To adopt work in such areas; Because these are the people who will become decision-makers in their communities and countries in the future.”
Nzambi Mati – Young Earth Champion 2020
Nzambi Mati is an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and president of Gjenge Makers, the company she founded to combat plastic pollution in Nairobi – Kenya.
Gjenge Makers produces sustainable, low-cost building materials, which are made from recycled plastic waste, in addition to sand. Matty has developed a prototype of a machine that turns plastic waste into stones used in paving operations.
Mati, who specialized in materials science and worked as an engineer in the oil industry in Kenya, was inspired by her company when she routinely encountered plastic bags scattered along the streets of Nairobi. In 2017, Mati left her job – she was a data analyst – and set up a small laboratory in the backyard of her mother’s house.
The company produces 1,500 recycled plastic stones every day, giving this waste a second life instead of remaining for centuries on city streets, or at best being disposed of in landfills.
Mati encourages other young people to confront environmental challenges at the local level. She said: “The negative impact we leave on the environment is enormous, so we must all start with any solution we can find to preserve the environment, and certainly combined efforts will have amazing results.”
Zhaoyuan Ren – Young Hero of Earth 2020
More than 300 million people in rural areas in China do not have consistent access to clean drinking water, so Ren wanted to change this.
In her research on rural water use in India, Ren was focused on directing all of her knowledge toward helping address what she described as the escalating water crisis in rural China.
Armed with two master’s degrees in environmental engineering, technology and policy development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ren began working on MyH2O, a data platform that tests and records groundwater quality across a thousand villages in rural China, and publishes the results via a smart app that lets residents know where to find clean water.
The “MyH2O” platform relies on a national network of young volunteers trained to test water quality and record their results on this interactive platform, which – since its launch in 2015 – has helped provide clean water to tens of thousands of villagers in China.
Ren said: “We work with science, technology, engineering and medical students, who can move towards working in jobs related to environmental conservation. To find solutions to various environmental problems; This is done by adapting their knowledge and experiences that they acquired while working with us.”
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe – 2019 Earth Champion
Katherine Hayhoe is a climate scientist at Texas Tech University. Her research has had a major impact in giving a clear picture of the climate to policymakers and law makers across the United States, and even beyond.
Hayho has gained this prestigious position in the world as a climate expert, thanks to her research that addresses long-term projections, future scenarios, and global models of climate change, while developing innovative strategies that translate future expectations into clear-eyed information for society and decision makers.
While Hayhoe felt grateful for the recognition she received by being chosen as Champion of the Earth for the year 2019, she stressed that the most important part of her work is the real change in our outlook towards the climate. She said: “What matters most to me on a personal level is for someone to tell me – honestly – that he was not interested in climate issues, but now he is aware and concerned about this thanks to something he read to me or heard from me.” I say; For me, this is what makes it all worth it.”
In conclusion, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science – which is celebrated on February 11 of each year – is an opportunity to promote full and equal access for women and girls to various educational platforms, while enabling them to participate in various fields of science. This year, the world’s celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science focused on their practical and technological role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
