Godwin Ojo

School of Social Science and Public Policy
Department of Geography
King’s College London
Strand Campus
London
WC2R 2LS
 
Tel: +44 (0) 207 848 1667
 
Email: godwin.ojo@kcl.ac.uk

The PhD study draws from years of experience in the field of environment and development, entitlements, and environmental justice issues to examine the nature and scope of empowerment in community based resource management schemes in relation to rural poverty alleviation. The PhD addresses the dimensions and depth of possible empowerment in two projects run by different external actors: (1) one project is run by a major transnational corporation as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project, and (2) the other project is run by a prominent national nongovernmental organization (NGO) involved in environmental conservation initiatives. The shifting patterns of policy, methods and contents of poverty reduction schemes provide the focus of this research inquiry, and in possibly isolating best practices of CBRM schemes for future policy, planning and program development. The inquiry hopes to shed light on the possible similarities and differences to be found in community-based projects that are run by external actors holding different social and economic objectives.

The study draws notably on a political ecology perspective and uses mainly a qualitative methodology based on case study research. The researchers’ direct observations in the field will combine with documentary analysis as well as in-depth and semi-structured interviews.
 
The range of interviewees from both the public and private sectors will include community development officers, local community members, donor agencies, a project’s direct and indirect beneficiaries, as well as those familiar with the subject and the projects under study.

Godwin has published both articles and books on the subject of community development as well as pro-poor policy models for environmental justice. Key works include:
 
i. Ojo, G.U. and Nick Asthon-Jones, “Community, Power and Conservation” in Forests, Trees and People, Journal, Daphne Thuvesson ed. X-O Graf Tryckeri AB, no. 36/37, August 1998, Uppsala, Sweden.
 
ii. Ojo, G.U. Empowerment in Action, (ed.) (2002) ERA’s Community Intervention in the Niger Delta: A Model for Development, Ibadan: Graft Books Limited
 
iii. Ojo, G.U. and Jaye Gaskia, (eds.) (2003) Environmental laws of Nigeria: A Critical Review, Ibadan: Graft Books Limited
 
iv. Ojo, G.U. and Akinbode Oluwafemi, (eds.) (2004) Before the Earth Bleeds Again, Ibadan: Graft Books Limited

Godwin Uyi Ojo was born in Benin City, Nigeria in 1967. He obtained his first degree BA (Hons), English and Literature from the University of Benin, Nigeria, in 1993. He is a co-founder of one of Nigeria’s foremost environmental groups – the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria in 1992. Following years of experience in the field of environmental rights advocacy, and community resource development, he returned to the classroom as a Chevening Scholar obtaining a MSc. in Environment and Development Studies from the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, in 2000. He started his PhD studies in September 2005 in the Geography Department, King’s College London.
 
His other interests include community service, theatre, creative writing, traveling, cultural exchange and building bridges across societies.