Joona Mikkola

Joona is a doctoral student in the Arid Lands Resource Science program. Born in Finland, Joona earned a B.A. in social sciences from the University of Helsinki and an M.A. in management from the Grenoble Graduate School of Business. After working several years in Sahel and East Africa managing and monitoring food security and agricultural projects, he witnessed how land-degradation was fueling conflict, forced displacement and food insecurity in the area; as a result, he co-founded a climate tech start-up which helps organizations address societal challenges through the restoration of ecosystems. Joona’s research will focus on climate finance and governance of communal rangelands in Sudan, Kenya, and South Africa. He is passionate about ecological economics, and he is looking to develop his transdisciplinary research skills to solve interconnected development and environmental challenges. Joona is a great karaoke singer and spends his free time mainly outdoors.