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Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

Eden Project Ambassador

Hindou is President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT).

A picture of Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim talking at a conference

Some background information on Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

She is an expert in the adaptation of indigenous peoples to climate change and a member of the Mbororo pastoralist people in Chad and President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT).

She advocates for the greater inclusion of indigenous people and their knowledge and traditions in the global movement to fight the effects of climate change. Her focus on environmental advocacy stemmed from first-hand experience of the effects of global climate change in her community, who rely on natural resources for their own survival and for the survival of the animals they care for. Lake Chad is a vital source of water for people from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria, and is now 10 per cent of its size from the 1960s.

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In a written testimony to the International Organisation for Migration, Ibrahim emphasised that her people, and indigenous communities like her own, are "direct victims of climate change.” Advocacy for Indigenous communities and commitment to integrating indigenous knowledge with Western science to create a healthier planet has led to numerous honours, including winning the Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award, appointment as a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate; serving as a Member of the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues; Member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC); Member of the Advisory Committee to the Secretary-General’s 2019 Climate Action Summit.

 In 2017, she was also featured as part of the BBC's 100 Women project, recognising 100 influential and inspiring women every year. In 2019 she was listed by Time Magazine as one of 15 women championing action on climate change.

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