Melissa Leach

Melissa Leach
CBE FBA
Born (1965-01-05) 5 January 1965 (age 59)[citation needed]
NationalityBritish
Alma materSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
Newnham College, University of Cambridge, UK
ChildrenFour
Parent(s)Penelope Jane Leach; Gerald Leach

Melissa Leach, CBE, FBA (born 5 January 1965) is a British geographer and social anthropologist. She has been the Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative since June 2024[1]. She studies sustainability and development concerns in policy-making and has a focus on the politics of science and technology of Africa. She was previously the Director of the Institute of Development Studies (2014-2024) located on the University of Sussex campus.

Education

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She earned her BA in geography with starred first honours at the University of Cambridge, and her MPhil and PhD in social anthropology from the SOAS University of London.[2] Leach co-founded and directed the ESRC STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre from 2006 to 2014.[3]

Awards and honours

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  • 1998: Amaury Talbot Prize of the Royal Anthropological Institute, for best book in African Anthropology, for 'Misreading the African Landscape'.[4]
  • 2012: European Association for the Study of Science and Technology Ziman Prize for public engagement with science, for STEPS Centre 'New Manifesto' initiative.
  • 2016: ESRC Outstanding International Impact Award for Ebola Response Anthropology Platform (ERAP).[5]
  • 2017: Leach was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to the social sciences.[6]
  • 2017: In July 2017, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.[7]

Membership and professional activities

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  • Vice-Chair of the Science Committee of Future Earth, steering development of agenda around planetary futures, sustainability and post-2015 development.[8]
  • Member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).[9]
  • Lead author of the UN Women 2014 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development on gender equality and sustainable development.[10]
  • Co-Leader, ISSC World Social Science Report 2016 on Inequalities and Social justice.[11]
  • Trustee, Malaria Consortium
  • Advisory Board member, ESRC ‘Nexus Network: New connections in food, energy, water and the environment’.[12]
  • UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) Ebola, 2014 – 15.[13]
  • Member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Stockholm Environment Institute.[14]

Selected publications

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  • Leach, M. and Scoones, I. eds., 2015. Carbon conflicts and forest landscapes in Africa. Routledge.
  • Leach, M., 2015. "The Ebola Crisis and Post‐2015 Development". Journal of International Development, 27(6), pp. 816–834.
  • Leach, M., Raworth, K. and Rockström, J., 2013. "Between social and planetary boundaries: Navigating pathways in the safe and just space for humanity". World Social Science Report, 2013, pp. 84–89.
  • Fairhead, J., Leach, M. and Scoones, I., 2012. "Green Grabbing: a new appropriation of nature?". Journal of Peasant Studies, 39(2), pp. 237–261.
  • Leach, M., Scoones, I. and Wynne, B., 2005. Science and citizens: globalisation and the challenge of engagement (Vol. 2). Zed Books.
  • Fairhead, J. and M. Leach, 1996, Misreading the African landscape: society and ecology in a forest-Savanna mosaic. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Leach, M., Mearns, R. and Scoones, I., 1999. "Environmental entitlements: dynamics and institutions in community-based natural resource management". World Development, 27(2), pp. 225–247.
  • Leach, M. and Mearns, R., 1996. Environmental change and policy. The Lie of the Land: challenging received wisdom on the African environment. Oxford: James Currey, pp. 1–33.
  • Leach, M. and R. Mearns, 1996, The Lie of the land: Challenging received wisdom on the African environment. Oxford: James Currey Publishers Ltd. and New York: Heinemann
  • Leach, M., 1994, Rainforest relations: Gender and resource use among the Mende of Gola, Sierra Leone. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press and Washington: Smithsonian Institution

References

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  1. ^ "Professor Melissa Leach CBE appointed CCI Executive Director | Cambridge Conservation Initiative". www.cambridgeconservation.org. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ Shepherd, Jessica (17 July 2007). "Melissa Leach: Village voice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Melissa Leach". UNESCO Who's Who of Women Speakers. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Amaury Talbot Prize for African Anthropology Past Recipients". Royal Anthropological Institute. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Ebola crisis team wins award for lifesaving advice". Economic and Social Research Council. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  6. ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B9.
  7. ^ "Elections to the British Academy celebrate the diversity of UK research". British Academy. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Science Committee". Future Earth. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Expert Panel – IPES food". International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: A Pathways Approach". UN Women. 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  11. ^ "Challenging Inequalities: Pathways to a Just World" (PDF). Unesdoc.unesco.org. 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Advisory Group". Thenexusnetwork.org. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  13. ^ "House of Commons - Science in emergencies: UK lessons from Ebola - Science and Technology Committee". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  14. ^ SEI (6 March 2020). "Science Advisory Council". Stockholm Environment Institute. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
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