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Local Early Action Planning with the Nama Peoples

Initiative Overview

Location:

Kuboes, South Africa

Duration:

1 year

Major Supporters:

Private donors

Thanks to an inspired anonymous donor and a number of public supporters, TRI together with South African National Parks (SANParks), the Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC) and the University of Western Cape completed a pilot project in support of the Nama Indigenous peoples in Kuboes, South Africa, near the Richtersveld World Heritage Site.

Responding to the community’s request for an early adaptation strategy, the team purchased and installed three water capture units at the Kuboes School.

To help with longer-term planning, a climate vulnerability risk assessment was also conducted which explored how the community is adapting to climate change through cultural, social, economic and resource utilization practices.

Over 400 people participated in the risk assessment. In addition, four students from the University of the Western Cape and three students from the Kuboes community were engaged in hands-on learning by assisting with the project.

For an in-depth look at the project view the Climate Resilience and the Nama Peoples of South Africa storymap.

This initiative inspired the Scaling Out Adaptation Options for Indigenous Communities Adjacent to UNESCO World Heritage Sites and National Parks in Southern Africa initiative.

Laura Stewart

Board Member

Laura Stewart is the Community Wildfire Resilience Coordinator with Forsite Fire, supporting communities across Canada with wildfire risk assessments, mitigation planning, and program delivery. She has more than a decade of experience advancing wildfire resilience at Indigenous, municipal, provincial/territorial, and national levels. Previously, Laura served nearly eleven years as Alberta’s Provincial FireSmart Specialist, leading community, WUI, neighbourhood, and Home Ignition Zone programs, coordinating funding, and partnering with communities and fire services across the province. She has also served as Board Chair with both the Partners in Protection Association (FireSmart Canada) and the Community Wildfire Resilience Association of Alberta.

 

Sara Walsh, PhD

Board Member

Sara Walsh, PhD, is a disaster risk reduction and climate resilience specialist with more than 15 years of experience spanning Canada, Nepal, the Middle East, and North Africa. Until November 2025, she served as Thematic Lead for Climate and Resilience with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), where she supported Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to strengthen their climate and risk reduction work across the region. Sara currently works as a freelance consultant with the United Nations, governments, and humanitarian organizations on recovery, risk governance, and community-based resilience. She teaches at a Canadian university and holds a PhD in Disaster Risk Reduction. Her work emphasizes anticipatory action, equity, and bridging research with practice to shape more resilient and sustainable futures.

Alison Criscitiello

Board Member

Alison Criscitiello, PhD, is an ice core scientist and high-altitude mountaineer who explores the history of climate and sea ice in polar and high-alpine regions using ice core chemistry. Alison’s work also focuses on environmental contaminant histories in ice cores from the Canadian high Arctic and the water towers of the Canadian Rockies. In 2010, she led the first all-women’s ascent of Lingsarmo, a 22,818-foot peak in the Indian Himalaya. Alison has earned three American Alpine Club (AAC) climbing awards, the John Lauchlan and Mugs Stump alpine climbing awards, as well as the first Ph.D. in Glaciology ever conferred by MIT. She is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta. She is the co-founder of Girls on Ice Canada.