Clara Lesser is a PhD candidate in the Water and Climate Risk and Environmental Policy Analysis groups at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM). Her research focuses on combining statistical modelling with in-depth qualitative enquiry to take a broader perspective on drought risk and adaptation. She will contribute to the development of methods for quantifying the risk of anthropogenic drought and its socioeconomic impacts and feedback loops, taking into the consideration the different aspects involved in people’s lives that make their experiences related to drought unique.
Clara completed a Master of Science in Governance of Sustainability at Leiden University and a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Agriculture at Hochschule Rhein-Waal. For her master's degree, she analysed the socio-environmental impacts of wind energy expansion on peasant and family farming communities in the Brazilian state of Paraíba, and for her bachelor's degree, she examined the links between gender, food sovereignty, and agrobiodiversity in rural communities in Latin America.
Expertise
Food systems, agroecology, mapping, energy transition, political ecology, drought risks and impacts assessment
Education
2025: MSc Governance of Sustainability – Leiden University, The Hague, The Netherlands
2023: BSc Sustainable Agriculture – Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Kleve, Germany
