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> Climate Change research group

Karen Wong Pérez

Senior researcher, Climate Change research group, Strengthening partnerships

Karen’s work focuses on justice dimensions of climate change. She works on a variety of issues related to climate, gender, and environmental justice, including citizen engagement processes for socially-just climate action, site-level assessments for equity and governance, and equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Full biography

Karen works with grassroots networks and collaborative initiatives to understand factors that enable the meaningful citizen engagement processes for locally led climate action and whole-of-society responses to climate change.

Her research interests span disciplinary boundaries and encompass climate, gender, and environmental justice, environmental and risk governance, enablers of grassroots collective action, social learning, and enablers of equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Expertise

Citizen engagement, equity and governance; environmental justice; partnerships, capacity building and collaborative mechanisms; MPA management effectiveness; planning, monitoring and evaluation; integration of environmental considerations into metrics of poverty, human well-being; social justice; gender and intersectional analysis.

Before IIED
  • International consultant, Joint Environment Unit (JEU) of the UN Environment and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), (2014 and 2017).
  • International consultant, Tarahumara Foundation (NGO working in collaborative initiatives with Indigenous communities of the Sierra Tarahumara, México) (2015)
  • International consultant, Pacífico (Environmental Funds Platform of the Tropical Eastern Central Pacific, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Panamá) (2014)
  • Programme manager, Knowledge Management and Mexico Mosaics Initiative, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Mexico and North Central America (2012-13)
  • Partnerships and capacity building specialist, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Mexico and North Central America (2005 – 2012)

Education

  • PhD in Geography, University of Cambridge, Churchill College, UK (2015-19)
  • MPhil in Conservation Leadership, University of Cambridge, Churchill College, UK (2013-2014)
  • MSc in Environmental Systems and Natural Resources Management, Monterrey Tech Institute, Mexico (2004 - 2005)
  • BSc in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Monterrey Tech Institute, Mexico (1998-2002)

Current work

Exploring citizen engagement processes for socially-just climate action, co-designing a collaborative initiative to enable increased access to climate finance for grassroots organisations, examining enablers of equitable multi-stakeholder partnerships, and implementing site-level equity and governance assessments in Latin America.

Karen Wong Pérez's picture
Email: 
Karen.Wong@iied.org
Twitter: @karenjwong
Languages: English, Spanish

Karen Wong Pérez's projects

Women with their backs to the camera bind together bamboo panels and lean them against a wall

Strengthening women’s leadership for climate action

Project, May 2022
People sit on the floor around a map laid out on the floor

Frontline Funds Accelerator: catalysing climate investment to the grassroots

Project, Jul 2021
A group of people sit in a circle outside on grass.

Engaging citizens for socially just climate action

Project, Oct 2020

Karen Wong Pérez's blog posts

Group of seated women looking in the same direction

‘Building back better’ means ‘building back fairer’ after COVID-19

Blog, Jul 2020
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50 years linking local to global

Find out more about IIED’s plans in our 50th birthday year: our achievements and what comes next…

IIED's mission is to build a fairer, more sustainable world, using evidence, action and influence in partnership with others. We link local priorities and global challenges, and our 2019-2024 strategy details how we will Make Change Happen

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