Five research projects were awarded during the 16th EfD Annual meeting in Uganda. The awards are Peter Berck’s Best Discussion Paper Award, Gunnar Köhlin’s Best MSc Thesis Award, and, for the first time, the Policy Impact Award. The prize ceremony took place on September 25th.
Three selected for the EfD Policy Impact Award – one winner
The award is aimed at recognizing and incentivizing the policy impact of EfD Research. The selection criterium was “the research project or policy engagement activities should have documented impact in terms of change in legislation, policy, or other drivers that deliver reduced poverty and more sustainable management of the environment and natural resources”.
Pham Khanh Nam and colleagues at the EfD center in Vietnam won the award for playing an instrumental role in the inclusion of market-based instruments in Vietnam´s new environmental protection law that came into force in 2021. Building on the significant knowledge within the EfD network on policy instrument design, the team has effectively interacted with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the drafting of the new law. Thong Ho Quo received the award on behalf of the team.
Runner-up was Wisdom Akpalu from EfD Ghana, a respected fisheries economist and a successful champion for transparency and novel approaches to address harmful practices in the fisheries sector in Ghana. He received recognition.
The EfD Chile team, led by Jorge Dresdner, also runner-up, was recognized for the frequent engagement to provide the analytical underpinnings needed for the analyses and evaluations by government and international bodies of the fisheries industry in Chile. Carlos Cháves received the award on behalf of the team
Peter Berck’s Best Discussion Paper Discussion Award to Ghana and Nigeria
The criteria for the Best Discussion Award, are; Involvement of researchers in the Global South (EfD funded project, young researcher/s), policy relevance, research design, and analysis. The paper titled Exploring the Evidence for Inward Diffusion of Soil Practices among Farmers in Nigeria: A Spatiotemporal Analysis, won this category. The paper was authored by Nkechi Srodah Owoo, Monica Puoma Lambon-Quayefio, Ghana, and Ebele Amaechina, Nigeria. Vic Adamovicz presented the award and Ebele Amaechina received it on behalf of the team.
Gunnar Köhlin’s Best MSc Thesis Award went to EfD Colombia
This award category was based on the rigor in the application of environmental economics, relevance in affecting policy to reduce poverty and increase sustainability, and clarity in writing that makes the text easily accessible and fun to read.
Out of the four nominations, Sofia Castro Vargas from EfD Colombia emerged as the winner. Her thesis was titled Turning up the Heat: Warming Oceans and their Effect on Armed Conflict in the Philippines. Sofia Castro Vargas participated online.
By: Jane Anyango and Petra Hansson