Subhashni Raj

Last updated

Subhashni Raj
Born1986 (age 3637)
Suva, Fiji
NationalityFijian
Occupation(s)Advocacy of environmental issues such as climate change and also food systems
Known forClimate movement in the Pacific Island countries

Subhashni Raj (born 1986) is a Fijian activist on environmental issues such as climate change, and also related food systems. After her doctoral studies in Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo, New York as a Kauffman Fellow, [1] she has been active in the Climate movement in the Pacific Island countries raising funds for pursuing her initiatives. [2] Her objective is to create a "sustainable future for her native Fiji through climate action planning". [3]

Contents

Biography

Subhashni Raj was born in Suva, Fiji in 1986. [3] She studied in the Bangalore University in India and obtained a degree in microbiology, chemistry and zoology. She also obtained a Post Graduate Diploma from TERI University in India in Programme-Sustainable Development Practices in Public Policy. [1] On her return from Bangalore to Suva, she joined the 350.org, a global entity involved with people's action initiatives on climate change. She worked as a Project Technical Assistant at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Island countries. [1] [4] In 2009, she participated, as an environmental activist volunteer, in the peaceful protests held in Copenhagen at the venue where United Nations Climate Talks were being held. [2] [3] Representing the 350.org, she pursued actions related to subjects of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and water governance, apart from "climate advocacy" and took part representing the Pacific Islands countries during several deliberations on climate. She then pursued her studies in Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo, New York as a Fulbright scholar and obtained a master's degree in Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, in 2011. [1] [3] Concurrently with her studies, as an environmental activist who had mobilized many a protests in Pacific rim for the cause of environment, she went to Washington D.C. to join a protest march against the Keystone XL pipeline project. Around 12,000 people participated in this protest which was called the "Tar Sands Action rally". Held in fall 2012 close to the White House, the protest demanded action by the Barack Obama administration not to entertain the permit application for the pipeline, as such a project would be detrimental to the aquifer in the Nebraska Sandhills. On her participation in these protests she was vocal in saying: "In what seemed like United States showing leadership for the first time on issues related to climate action? Of course I needed to be there. If we win this, then it’s history in the making, and for the first time we’ll be on the winning side." [3]

Earlier, in 2009 Raj had participated in an environmental leadership development program of the U.S. State Department held to "foster environmental stewardship around the globe", in Hawaii where she was disturbed by the extent of the effect of invasive vegetation, rising sea level and erosion of the coastline that took place there. This influenced her future course of action for her country. [3]

Raj continued her studies at the University at Buffalo for her doctoral degree in Urban and Regional Planning under the Jerome L. Kaufman Doctoral Fellowship in Food Systems Planning, the first of its kind. [4] Her research work covered Climate Change and Food Systems and the effect of the latter on climate change, with emphasis on "food sovereignty" and related legal aspects. [1] [4]

Raj has assumed a leadership role with 350.org Pacific, in getting funding to train young environmental leaders and supporting citizen action on climate change across the vulnerable Pacific Islands. [2] [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suva</span> Capital of Fiji

Suva is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Community</span> International development organisation

The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories around the Pacific Ocean. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and it has regional offices in Suva, Pohnpei, and Port Vila, as well as field staff in other locations in the Pacific. Its working languages are English and French. It primarily provides technical and scientific advice, and acts as a conduit for funding of development projects from donor nations. Unlike the slightly smaller Pacific Islands Forum, the SPC is not a trade bloc, and does not deal with military or security issues.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the governments of 12 Pacific island countries: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Ulamila Kurai Wragg born 18 June 1968 is a Fijian journalist currently based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresia Teaiwa</span> American poet

Teresia Teaiwa, was a distinguished award winning I-Kiribati and African-American scholar, poet, activist and mentor. Teaiwa was well-regarded for her ground-breaking work in Pacific Studies. Her research interests in this area embraced her artistic and political nature, and included contemporary issues in Fiji, feminism and women's activism in the Pacific, contemporary Pacific culture and arts, and pedagogy in Pacific Studies. An "anti-nuclear activist, defender of West Papuan independence, and a critic of militarism", Teaiwa solidified many connections across the Pacific Ocean and was a hugely influential voice on Pacific affairs Her poetry remains widely published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brianna Fruean</span> Samoan activist

Brianna Fruean is an activist and environmental advocate for Samoa; she is a second year student at the University of Auckland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roshika Deo</span> Fijian feminist and activist

Roshika Deo is a Fijian feminist and activist. She is the founder of the Be The Change Campaign/Movement in Fiji, which is a movement endorsing feminism, LGBTQI, disability rights, human rights, and environmentalism. The mission of her organisation is to transform Fiji's social, political, economic, and cultural landscape.

Dr. Sandra Tarte is an academic and political commentator from Fiji.

Noelene Nabulivou is a Fijian activist and spokesperson on climate change, sustainable development, and gender equality. She is the co-founder and political advisor for Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DIVA), an organisation that promotes climate justice, reducing violence against women, human rights, and LGBTQ rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premila Kumar</span> Fijian politician

Premila Kumar is a Fijian politician and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. She served as Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts from 2020 to 2022 and also for Local Government, Housing and Community Development from 2018 to 2022

Elisabeth Holland is an American climate scientist who focuses on how the carbon and nitrogen cycles interact with earth systems. She has become a key player in the international climate debate. She is currently a professor of climate change at the University of the South Pacific. She is also the director of the Pacific Center for Environmental and Sustainable Development.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo is a climate justice and Indigenous rights advocate from the Lubicon Cree community of Little Buffalo in northern Alberta, Canada. Growing up with firsthand experience of the effects of oil and gas drilling on local communities, she began advocating for an end to resource extraction in Indigenous territories but shifted focus to supporting a renewable energy transition after a ruptured pipeline spilled approximately 4.5 million litres of oil near Little Buffalo in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Climate Warriors</span>

Pacific Climate Warriors, or 350 Pacific, is a grassroots movement for climate justice from the Pacific island states, which has been part of the global environmental organization 350.org since 2011.

Susan Parkinson was a New Zealand nutritionist who worked in Fiji and the South Pacific. She was particularly known for her encouragement to residents of the region to eat healthily by consuming local foods.

Tarisi Vunidilo is a Fijian archaeologist and curator who specialises in indigenous museology and heritage management.

Cristelle Pratt, a Fijian national, is Assistant Secretary-General for the Environment and Climate Action at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), based in Brussels. She is a former Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amelia Rokotuivuna</span> Fijian feminist and anti-nuclear activist

Amelia Rokotuivuna was a Fijian socialist and feminist community leader and activist, who was known for her opposition to French nuclear tests in the Pacific and to the Fijian military coups in 1987 and 2000.

Sunishma Singh is a climate activist from Fiji. She was also the youth representative from Fiji for COP 25.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">51st Pacific Islands Forum</span> International relations conference

The 51st Pacific Islands Forum was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which was held in Suva, Fiji from 11 to 14 July 2022. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Banimarama.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Subhashni Raj, PhD Candidate, Kaufman Fellow". University of Bufalo. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Hunter 2011, p. 70.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Subhashni Raj, MUP '13". University of Buffalo. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "IWECI Subhashni Raj". Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network, International. Retrieved 19 March 2016.

Sources