Iben Nathan

Iben Nathan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Section for Global Development, at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Science. His research focuses on natural resource governance in the Global South, particularly Kenya, examining climate change adaptation, land tenure systems, and forest governance initiatives like FLEGT and REDD+.

Education:

• PhD in Political Science, Aarhus University, 1998
• Cand.scient.pol. (MSc in Political Science), Aarhus University

Nathan's research centers on:

• Climate adaptation strategies among East African pastoral communities
• Land rights frameworks including Kenya's Community Land Act (2016)
• Forest governance mechanisms like REDD+ and FLEGT
• Participatory resource management in developing contexts

His 2023-2025 publications reveal a concentrated focus on land tenure-climate adaptation linkages in Kenya's drylands, particularly Samburu County. Key themes include legal frameworks for communal land, NGO roles in climate information services, and pastoralist resilience strategies, predominantly using qualitative case studies with Kenyan collaborators.

No major scientific awards were listed in the provided information.

Nathan has supervised 9 PhD students and approximately 50 MSc theses on Global South development topics including FPIC implementation, community forestry, palm oil livelihoods, and climate negotiations. He led the RARE project (2018-2022) on Land Rights and Resilience in Kenya and coordinates graduate courses in Global Environmental Governance and Qualitative Methods in Agricultural Development.

He operates within the Section for Global Development at the University of Copenhagen, maintaining active research partnerships with the University of Nairobi and Kenyan institutions through fieldwork in pastoral communities across East Africa.