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Mumtaz Ahmad Numani (PhD)

Post-doctoral fellow at Moturi Satyanarayana Centre for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Krea University, India. He has obtained a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kashmir, a Master of Arts in Modern/Medieval Indian History, an MPhil and PhD in Environmental History from the Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He has worked as a short-term research fellow at the Tribal Research Institute, Jammu & Kashmir. In 2021 he received the Young Social Scientist of the year Award from the National Environmental Science Academy (NESA), New Delhi. He is an occasional author/ columnist for The Greater Kashmir, Rising Kashmir, and others. His core area of research is environmental humanities with special reference to Kashmir, India.

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Catalina Quiroga Manrique 

I am a Colombian anthropologist with a research interest in feminist political ecology and critical geography. So far, my research work has been characterized by collaborative work with the local populations involved. I finished my B.A. in Anthropology at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Then, I obtained an M.A. degree in Geography from the Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia. Currently I am a PhD student at the Human Geography Department, Lund University in Sweden. The aim of my research is to analyse how the interaction between climate change policies and local strategies to overcome socioenvironmental injustices produce landscapes of climate change.

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Cecilia Pasini 

I am a Phd student in social geography and sociology of the territory at the Universities of Florence and Turin.  

I have been initially involved in studies on the arab Middle East, especially on Morocco and Tunisia, and I graduated from a double degree master in Analyse comparée des sociétés méditerranéennes from the Universities of Turin and Rabat with a thesis in political science on collective and public memory in Morocco. 

After this experience, I felt the need to come back and to do research on the territory I grew up in, in northern Italy. I am currently writing my doctoral thesis on energy transition, social and environmental costs of industrialisations and noxious deindustrialization, especially in the hydrocarbon sector. For this research I carried out field research with qualitative methodology in and around the ENI petrochemical refinery of Sannazzaro de Burgondi. 

During my PhD I tried to establish international academic ties: with the department of regional studies of the University of Tuebingen through two Reasearch Stays in Tuebingen and with the laboratoire Mesopolhis (MMSH), with one stay at the Université de Aix-Marseille (AMU). I am also part of Smarginando, a collective of early researchers in geography who reflect on positionality in research, neoliberal academia, loneliness and collaborative approaches in cognitive work.

And now I am also happy to be part of the OCC! community!

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Anyi Castelblanco

I am from Colombia. I have a degree in Pedagogy and Education with an emphasis in Social Sciences and I am also an anthropologist. I hold a master’s degree in Political Ecology and Alternatives to Development. Throughout my career, I have conducted extensive research on conflicts over water access and distribution, as well as mining extractivism in Colombia. My work has allowed me to collaborate closely with peasant and indigenous communities, addressing various important topics such as territorial control, community environmental monitoring, advocacy and defense of peasant livelihoods, agroecology, women’s rights, and environmental democratization. I am a co-founder and partner of the Association CAMBIUM: Climate, Environment, Research-Action Uniting Worlds.

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José Mena

Quito – Ecuador

I am an academic, researcher, and architecture professional with a strong foundation in theoretical and methodological tools for comprehending the social, political, and environmental dynamics in Ecuador and Latin America. My areas of interest revolve around urban policy, urban regimes, climate change, and climate justice. I am excited to continue exploring new opportunities and collaborations that will enable me to apply my expertise and knowledge to create meaningful change in the urban context. Working together towards more equitable and sustainable cities is my passion!