Denyse S. Dookie

Denyse joined the Institute in September 2019 within the Sustainable Development team led by Prof Declan Conway, and her work is broadly centred on using climate information for adaptation, disaster risk reduction and resilience. Her recent projects include:

• A focus on the Caribbean, through research on the perspectives on the usage of climate information within the region
• A focus on adaptation by organisations within the UK, through a survey of UK organisations on preparedness, adaptation and risk, including an understanding of adaptive capacity and the use of climate information.

She is a member of the Policy and Finance Commitee of the World Adaptation Science Programme, contributing to insights on adaptation effectiveness, as well as the UK Met Office-led UKCP Development and Knowledge Sharing Network. She was a contributing author on the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022.

Background

Denyse completed her PhD in Sustainable Development at Columbia University. There, she combined climate information (including satellite rainfall data and storm advisories), economic and disaster data, alongside local perspectives, to focus on the potential for using climate information for disaster and climate risk management in the context of Caribbean small islands. Before the PhD programme, she completed MA degrees in Climate and Society (Columbia University) and in Development Studies/Economics of Development (International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague), as well as a post-graduate diploma in International Relations from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. Denyse has assisted a WB/ADB project by compiling climate change risk profiles for Pacific small islands, and has worked with the Inter-American Development Bank, UNDP, UNDESA, and the Permanent Mission of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN in New York.

Research Interests

• Evaluating and using climate information for decision-making
• Climate change adaptation and resilience, disaster risk reduction
• Climate and society
• Improving resilience to climate and weather shocks (including communication and preparedness)
• Small Island Developing States
• Adaptation finance