Kazakhstan
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Breaking Down Silos to Increase Climate Resilience in Central Asia
Emergency management and climate adaptation are often treated as separate issues. In Kazakhstan, though, disaster risk is “inseparable” from climate change.
“Kazakhstan sits at the intersection of a number of converging climate pressure, water stress, extreme weather events, and degrading ecosystems,” said Nigmyat Nurtaza, who specializes in water security, disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience in Central Asia. “I wanted both the conceptual frameworks and the practical tools to respond to those challenges more effectively.”
As a project associate at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Nurtaza received tuition support as a Three Cairns Fellow to pursue the Urban Climate Leadership certificate program. Three Cairns Fellows provides scholarship support for early- and mid-career environmental professionals pursuing YSE's online certificate programs. Her goal was to develop a rigorous, technical foundation and a global perspective on climate resilience. She got even more out of the experience than she'd hoped: she sharpened her ability to analyze and communicate data, learned to bridge policy, business, and education, and engaged with new approaches for helping communities adapt — not just react — to growing risks.
“Beyond the content, what I found most valuable was the community: a peer group of practitioners across geographies grappling with similar questions,” she said. “That network helped give me confidence to position myself not just as an implementer of climate projects but as someone who can shape them.”
Urban Climate Leadership Certificate Spotlight
Advancing Urban Climate Resilience for Small Island Nations
Located deep in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is over 1,000 miles from the nearest continent. Like other small island nations, this remote location does not protect it from the threats of climate change: It leaves it more vulnerable. Reeshabh Shayan Tupsee is building a career translating his country’s vulnerability into policy language governments can act on.
“Mauritius sits at the convergence of nearly every urban climate risk, including coastal erosion, flooding, heat stress, and infrastructure vulnerability,” he said. “Yet, our cities — our experience, our knowledge — rarely feature in the policy literature that shapes global adaptation frameworks and priorities.”
Other Certificate Programs Spotlights
Advancing Green Chemistry Through Education
Green Chemistry for Climate and Sustainability Certificate
Cultivating Chemistry for a Cleaner Harvest
Green Chemistry for Climate and Sustainability Certificate
