MEET PHILIPPE UNDJI YANGYA, A CONGOLESE ENVIRONMENTALIST FIGHTING FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
Philippe Undji Yangya is a respected Climate Leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and a specialist in rural development. The forty-five year old environmentalist is a former Minister of Rural Development in the DRC and has since expanded his expertise to regional planning, demography and climate studies. He is now active with the University of Kinshasa as the Managing Director of the National Center for Demographic and Climatic Studies (CNEDEC-RDC), as well as a member of the Central African Network for Renewable Energy (RACEN).
After his attending the Climate Leadership training in Johannesburg in 2014, Philippe eagerly got involved in addressing climate change through the CNEDEC, focusing on population and livelihoods. The organisation’s activities include fostering information and communication on sustainability, conducting studies on the impact of climate change on livelihoods, strengthening access to necessary resources for vulnerable populations and engaging decisions makers to reform or adapt policies so as to mitigate climate change and build a climate-resilient future.
By working with local partners and regional organisations, Philippe helps bring together NGOs, public institutions and government to acknowledge the importance of dealing with climate change to prevent its disastrous effects on the most vulnerable populations.
John Bompengo