Ochieng Named Director of African Natural Resources Centre
of Global Development Policy
Cosmas Ochieng.
Cosmas Ochieng, former Associate Professor of the Practice of Global Development Policy at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, has been named the Director of the African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) at the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The ANRC, a non-lending entity of the AfDB, was established five years ago as a centre of excellence in natural resource management and governance in Africa. The Centre’s core business is to conduct research, policy analysis and capacity building on harnessing natural resources for sustainable development in Africa. The scope of its work encompasses both non-renewable (oil, gas, minerals, etc) and renewable (water, forests, biodiversity, etc) resources.
The AfDB is making a strategic shift towards becoming a “knowledge bank,” and the ANRC is one of its key platforms in this transition. Ochieng’s appointment falls within this broader strategic objective.
“I am delighted for Cosmas and the recognition of his talents and commitment that this new position signifies,” said Pardee School Dean Adil Najam. “At the same time he will be missed at BU as an invaluable member of the Pardee School family.”
The AfDB was founded in 1964 with a mission to fight poverty and improve living conditions on the continent through promoting the investment of public and private capital in projects and programs that are likely to contribute to the economic and social development of the region. The bank is a financial provider to African governments and private companies investing in the regional member countries.
Ochieng’s research and teaching interests focus on the theory, policy and practice of development; global climate change and environmental policy; science, technology and innovation policy; and the political economy of African development. Ochieng served as Executive Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has also served as the Technical Coordinator for the Business, Economics and Biodiversity Program of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria; Climate Change Expert at the UNEP Risoe Centre (Technical University of Denmark); Lecturer in Sustainable Agriculture, Land and Water at Lancaster University in the UK; and Research Fellow, with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).