/ 20 September 2016

Environment – Tracy Sonny

Environment – Tracy Sonny

Conservationist
Tracy Sonny is busy. What else would you expect from a young woman charged to mitigate, in collaboration with other great minds, the effects of global warming on a daily basis?

Sonny is the national co-ordinator of the Botswana Climate Change Network — an organisation seeking to build understanding and capacity related to climate change in Botswana and throughout the world.

Sonny is a trained environmental sociologist with eight years of professional experience in the energy, gender and climate change sectors.

She is also a United Nations Environment Programme regional (Africa) representative for major groups and stakeholders (Nairobi, Kenya).

Sonny gained extensive environmental experience by serving as an energy officer in the energy affairs division of the ministry of minerals, energy and water resources. Previous to this post, she was an environment officer at Somarelang Tikologo (Environment Watch).

Currently she works with the Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Programme (2016-2018).

At present an estimated 41-million people are in need of food aid in the SADC region, due to the devastating effects of drought throughout the area.

Its negative effects have cut across local economies, agriculture and environments, leaving over 30 000 people (about 4% of the population) vulnerable, according to the Botswana Vulnerability Assessment Committee.

Sonny directly co-ordinates the implementation of DRR Programme projects. This programme relies on climate forecasting in order to make quick and accurate decisions that will benefit local communities and government.

Sonny oversees the process, ensuring that engaged dialogue and good planning remain non-negotiable elements of the process. Then she and her teams work hand-in-hand with communities to build knowledge, compliance and resiliency to climate change.

Sonny is not only passionate about preserving landscapes that mark our history, but about changing mindsets for future generations. That’s why she has embarked on the Greening the Young Minds campaign — an educational initiative aimed at students of both primary and secondary level.

The project intends to promote environmental sustainability by incorporating subjects like climate change and renewable energy into the school curriculum.

Email: [email protected]