Dr. Justin Nyaga

Chairman & Coordinator

Dr. Justin Muhoro Nyaga is the coordinator of the Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCCAM), and a Senior Lecturer in the department of Biological Sciences,both at the University of Embu. He is responsible for the strategic operational managementof CCCAM in its objectives of facilitating cutting-edge interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, education, advocacy, and community engagement aimed at understanding,adapting to, and mitigating impacts of climate change. Dr. Nyaga is an Eco-physiologist by training with 15 years of experience in the field of vulnerability and bio-adaptation to global environmental change. He completed his PhD in Botany from the University of Cape Town,South Africa in 2013 after obtaining an MSc in Biology of Conservation from the University of the Western Cape in 2009, also in South Africa, and a BSc in Environmental Sciences from Egerton University in Kenya in 2002. He previously worked for the Division of Climate Change and Bio-Adaptation at the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in South Africa and the East Africa Natural History Society (EANHS) in Kenya. His research interests focus on effects of climate change on plant nutrition. He has worked extensively with climate warming experiments and on responses of fragile ecosystems and agricultural systems to warming in South Africa and Kenya. He has also done extensive research work on food systems in Africa, and specifically on the place of precision farming on agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, he leads a project on Functions in Extension Pathways in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Laos under the Agriculture and Food security, 2030 (AgriFose, 2030) programme. He is also the lead scientist in a new project on Sustainable and Healthier Options for Minimizing Yield loss from Pest Birds in Rice Fields in Kenya.Previously, he led the Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE) programme of the Association of Commonwealth Universities in Kenya. Dr. Nyaga’s research aims to integrate climate information in planning, especially in agriculture systems,by considering both vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. His ultimate goal is to be able to use such information to inform both current and future responses to climate change in agricultural systems.