Dr. Ida Djenontin

Biography

Ida Djenontin is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at Penn State University, specializing in human-environment geography with a focus on environmental governance and sustainable development. Her research primarily explores the implications of slow-acting disasters and the interlinked environmental and climate changes affecting forested landscape ecosystems and resource commons, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. She aims to find a balance between biodiversity conservation, mitigation, and sustainable natural resource-based livelihoods to promote food security and socio-economic development. Djenontin employs mixed methods—including qualitative, quantitative, and spatial techniques—to address these complex issues. Prior to her current position, she served as a Postdoctoral Research Officer at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. She has also worked with the Bureau of Applied Research Anthropology at the University of Arizona and held a fellowship with the African Union Development Agency. Djenontin completed her dual Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Science & Policy at Michigan State University, and she is actively seeking graduate students interested in transformative climate solutions, community-based forestry and conservation, and environmental justice.

Research Interests