Mohammad Rabi Qazi Zada

My work contributes to good quality data and information about the land surface of an extremely vulnerable area of the globe where more evidence-based decisions are required. The output of our work contributes to informed and scientific information-oriented decisions about our environment which will lead to a healthy pulse of the planet.

I really enjoy the learning space. We’ve got a brilliant team which means that I need less to search Google [:-)] for my questions since I can ask questions and learn directly from so many experts.

Building a mindset towards living in an environmental friendly way among people through conducting awareness programs for local communities in far-flung areas. Previously, I had less experience interacting with communities, but I’ve since gotten interested in serving local people and I like to capture their smiling faces in a clean and natural environment through my camera lens.

In my relatively short professional life, I’ve served in different capacities within different organizations but always with the same goal of natural resource conservation, environmental protection and supporting local communities’ livelihoods. I’ve contributed to two publications which are considered grey literature; translated several national-level documents; was directly involved in designing and conducting a national-level assessment commissioned by UNFAO entitled “Capacity development needs assessment on sustainable land and forest management in Afghanistan;” and I hold a BSc in Environmental Science from Kabul University, Afghanistan.

I started applying the knowledge I gained while I was a student by initiating a non-profit socio-environmental organization. Besides that, I also have professional experience as an Environmental Safeguard Specialist at the Irrigation Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock; as a research fellow in the field of community-based natural resource management with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Afghanistan;as a consultant with Action on Climate Today (ACT) focusing on finalization of the Natural Resource Management Operational Manual of Afghanistan; and as a freelance researcher with Welthungerhilfe (WHH).