A FORMER forestry student at Bangor University has been awarded an honorary doctorate. 

Susan Chomba, who graduated in 2012, was given the prestigious title for her outstanding contribution to public service.

A climate scientist, she is internationally recognised for her work protecting and restoring forest landscapes.

Her work is also contributing to transforming Africa’s food systems and thriving rural livelihoods, as well as giving women a platform in addressing the climate emergency. She is director of Vital Landscapes for Africa at the World Resources Institute, leading the Institute’s work on forests, food systems and people.

In her acceptance speech, Susan emphasised the exceptional forestry education she had received at Bangor, and how this had motivated her to build her career working with farmers, researchers, governments and businesses across Africa to transform the lives and landscapes of communities. 

She then challenged the whole assembly of graduates, telling them: “The world awaits you … to help us address the immense challenges that confront us from the realities of climate change, to declining biodiversity, to growing inequality and poverty, to broken food systems; you are urgently needed.”