Lelethu Mdoda | Climate change | Best Researcher Award

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Dr Lelethu Mdoda | Climate change | Best Researcher Award

Senior Lecturer at  University of KwaZulu-Natal,  South Africa

Dr. Lelethu Mdoda is a Senior Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, specializing in Agricultural Economics. He earned his PhD at 25 from the University of Fort Hare, focusing on market participation and value chain integration among smallholder farmers in South Africa.

Profile:

🎓 Academic Background:

  • PhD in Agriculture – Agricultural Economics (2017) – University of Fort Hare
    • Thesis: Market participation and value chain integration among smallholder farmers in Eastern Cape
  • MSc in Agriculture – Agricultural Economics (2015) – University of Fort Hare
    • Dissertation: Farmers’ awareness of climate change and its effects on productivity
  • BSc in Agriculture – Agricultural Economics/Economics (2013) – University of Fort Hare

🔬 Research Focus & Expertise:

Dr. Mdoda specializes in agricultural policy, climate change adaptation, smallholder economies, food security, and rural development. His expertise extends to agribusiness, value chains, sustainability, and resource economics. He has extensive experience in applied econometric modeling, data analysis, and market research.

📚 Professional Career & Contributions:

  • Senior Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • Published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles
  • NRF Rating: Y2
  • Active in mentoring, research, and project management

🌍 Professional Memberships & Leadership:

  • President of the African Farm Management Association (AFMA)
  • Member of AEASA, IAAE, and IFAMA

🏆 Awards & Recognitions:

  • DAAD German Scholarship (2016)
  • NRF Bursary for MSc (2015)
  • Best Agricultural Student Award (2007)
  • Travel Grants from IFAMA (2016, 2017)

🤝 Community Engagement & Projects:

  • Founder & Executive Director of #HaySureLesner Foundation – Youth mentorship, drug abuse awareness, and career guidance
  • Nguni Project – Market coordination for livestock farming
  • Keiskamahoek Market Day – Supporting smallholder farmers with market access
  • WRC Project – Enhancing smallholder irrigation farming in Eastern Cape

Publication Top Notes:

  • Factors affecting the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) by livestock farmers in the Eastern Cape province
    L Mdoda, L Mdiya
    Cogent Social Science 8 (1), 2026017 (43 citations, 2022)

  • Factors affecting subsistence farming in rural areas of Nyandeni Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province
    S Qange, L Mdoda
    South African Journal of Agricultural Extension 48 (2), 92-105 (43 citations, 2020)

  • The direct and indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture in South Africa
    M Aliber, L Mdoda
    Agrekon 54 (2), 18-37 (36 citations, 2015)

  • RETRACTED: Factors impacting sugarcane production by small-scale farmers in KwaZulu-Natal Province-South Africa
    Z Thibane, S Soni, L Phali, L Mdoda
    Heliyon 9 (1) (30 citations, 2023)

  • Analysis of profitability of smallholder irrigated food plots in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
    L Mdoda, A Obi
    Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development 3 (53), 225–232 (23 citations, 2019)

  • Socio-economic factors affecting home gardens as a livelihood strategy in rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
    L Mdiya, L Mdoda
    South African Journal of Agricultural Extension 49 (3), 1-15 (21 citations, 2021)

  • Adoption drivers of improved open-pollinated (OPVs) maize varieties by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
    M Sigigaba, L Mdoda, A Mditshwa
    Sustainability (20 citations, 2021)

  • Profit efficiency in family-owned crop farms in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa: A translog profit function approach
    N Mujuru, A Obi, S Mishi, L Mdoda
    Agriculture & Food Security 11 (20), 2-9 (18 citations, 2022)

  • Determinants of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies adoption by smallholder food crop farmers in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Free State
    A Makamane, J Van Niekerk, O Loki, L Mdoda
    South African Journal of Agricultural Extension 51 (4), 52-74 (14 citations, 2023)

  • Use of information systems (Mobile phone app) for enhancing smallholder farmers’ productivity in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Implications on food security
    L Mdoda, M Christian, I Agbugba
    Journal of the Knowledge Economy 15 (1), 1993-2009 (13 citations, 2024)

 

Paul Sutton | Climate Change | Best Researcher Award

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Prof Paul Sutton | Climate Change |  Best Researcher Award

Professor at  University of Denver, United States

Professor Paul C. Sutton is a leading expert in sustainability science, population geography, and ecological economics. He is a Professor of Geography at the University of Denver, where he has served since 1999. His research focuses on topics such as urban metabolism, green infrastructure, land degradation, and the development of indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sutton is also involved in international environmental initiatives, having contributed to UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook and served as a Visiting Fellow at The Australian National University.

Profile

Academic Background:

  • Ph.D. in Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara (1999)
  • M.A. in Applied Statistics, University of California, Santa Barbara (1997)
  • M.A. in Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara (1995)
  • B.S. in Chemistry, Union College, Schenectady, New York (1983)

Career Highlights:

  • Professor of Geography at the University of Denver (2012-Present)
  • Visiting Fellow at The Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University (2020-2021)
  • Research Associate at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data Center (1995-2010)
  • Lecturer at UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Geography (1992-1999)
  • High School Teacher (1983-1993) and Process Engineer (1984-1992)

Research Focus:

  • Population Geography
  • Sustainability Science
  • Ecological Economics
  • Developing Indicators for the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)
  • Ecosystem Services and Integrated Assessment
  • Urban Metabolism and Smart Cities
  • Green Infrastructure
  • Land Degradation
  • Applications of Nighttime Satellite Imagery

Engagement & Service:

  • Founding Member, Center for a Regenerative Future (2024)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Morrison, CO (2018-2026)
  • Contributor to UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-6 and GEO-7)
  • Chair, Academic Program Review Team at Texas State University (2013)
  • Proposal & Manuscript Reviewer for NSF, NASA, ESA, ARC, and other scientific foundations
  • Keynote Speaker at various international forums

Honors and Awards:

  • Best Graduate Advisor, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (2024)
  • Australian Water Award for Goyder Institute Collaboration (2022)
  • Prose Award Winner for Environmental Sciences (UNEP GEO6) (2021)
  • Best Researcher Award – IRULA (2019)
  • NASA Earth System Science Fellowship (1997-1999)

Citations:

  • Citations: 62,096 (All-time), 28,454 (Since 2019)
  • h-index: 55 (All-time), 45 (Since 2019)
  • i10-index: 102 (All-time), 92 (Since 2019)

Publication Top Notes

  1. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital
    Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., De Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., et al. (1997). Nature, 387(6630), 253.
  2. Changes in the global value of ecosystem services
    Costanza, R., De Groot, R., Sutton, P., Van der Ploeg, S., Anderson, S. J., et al. (2014). Global Environmental Change, 26, 152-158.
  3. Twenty years of ecosystem services: how far have we come and how far do we still need to go?
    Costanza, R., de Groot, R., Braat, L., Kubiszewski, I., Fioramonti, L., Sutton, P., et al. (2017). Ecosystem Services, 28, 1-16.
  4. The coasts of our world: Ecological, economic and social importance
    Martínez, M. L., Intralawan, A., Vázquez, G., Pérez-Maqueo, O., Sutton, P., et al. (2007). Ecological Economics, 63(2-3), 254-272.
  5. The value of coastal wetlands for hurricane protection
    Costanza, R., Pérez-Maqueo, O., Martínez, M. L., Sutton, P., Anderson, S. J., et al. (2008). Ambio, 241-248.
  6. Global estimates of market and non-market values derived from nighttime satellite imagery, land cover, and ecosystem service valuation
    Sutton, P. C., Costanza, R. (2002). Ecological Economics, 41(3), 509-527.
  7. Is decoupling GDP growth from environmental impact possible?
    Ward, J. D., Sutton, P. C., Werner, A. D., Costanza, R., Mohr, S. H., Simmons, C. T. (2016). PLOS ONE, 11(10), e0164733.
  8. Radiance calibration of DMSP-OLS low-light imaging data of human settlements
    Elvidge, C. D., Baugh, K. E., Dietz, J. B., Bland, T., Sutton, P. C., Kroehl, H. W. (1999). Remote Sensing of Environment, 68(1), 77-88.
  9. Census from Heaven: An estimate of the global human population using night-time satellite imagery
    Sutton, P., Roberts, D., Elvidge, C., Baugh, K. (2001). International Journal of Remote Sensing, 22(16), 3061-3076.
  10. A global poverty map derived from satellite data
    Elvidge, C. D., Sutton, P. C., Ghosh, T., Tuttle, B. T., Baugh, K. E., Bhaduri, B., Bright, E. (2009). Computers & Geosciences, 35(8), 1652-1660.
  11. Global distribution and density of constructed impervious surfaces
    Elvidge, C. D., Tuttle, B. T., Sutton, P. S., Baugh, K. E., Howard, A. T., Milesi, C., et al. (2007). Sensors, 7(9), 1962-1979.
  12. The value of ecosystem services: putting the issues in perspective
    Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., De Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., et al. (1998). Ecological Economics, 25(1), 67-72.
  13. Shedding light on the global distribution of economic activity
    Ghosh, T., Powell, R. L., Elvidge, C. D., Baugh, K. E., Sutton, P. C., Anderson, S. (2010). The Open Geography Journal, 3(1), 147-160.
  14. Estimation of gross domestic product at sub-national scales using nighttime satellite imagery
    Sutton, P. C., Elvidge, C. D., Ghosh, T. (2007). International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics, 8(S07), 5-21.
  15. A comparison of nighttime satellite imagery
    Sutton, P., Roberts, D., Elvidge, C., Meij, H. (1997). Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 63(11), 1303-1313.
  16. A review of methods, data, and models to assess changes in the value of ecosystem services from land degradation and restoration
    Turner, K. G., Anderson, S., Gonzales-Chang, M., Costanza, R., Courville, S., et al. (2016). Ecological Modelling, 319, 190-207.
  17. A scale-adjusted measure of “urban sprawl” using nighttime satellite imagery
    Sutton, P. C. (2003). Remote Sensing of Environment, 86(3), 353-369.
  18. The Nightsat mission concept
    Elvidge, C. D., Cinzano, P., Pettit, D. R., Arvesen, J., Sutton, P., Small, C., et al. (2007). International Journal of Remote Sensing, 28(12), 2645-2670.
  19. Modeling population density with night-time satellite imagery and GIS
    Sutton, P. (1997). Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 21(3-4), 227-244.
  20. The future value of ecosystem services: global scenarios and national implications
    Kubiszewski, I., Costanza, R., Anderson, S., Sutton, P. (2017). Ecosystem Services, 26, 289-301.