Cyril Effiong

Biography

Cyril Effiong is a researcher specialising in climate resilience, energy justice, and community-driven adaptation, with a focus on riverine and flood-prone communities in Nigeria and broader Global South–UK contexts. His work examines how climate change, governance, and socio-economic inequality intersect to shape vulnerability, livelihoods, and resilience, particularly within the blue economy.

He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, United Kingdom where his research examines how the governance of nature in the Gulf of Guinea shapes authority over local ecosystems. This work explores interactions between local communities, civil society, state agencies, and international organisations to better understand power dynamics, decision-making processes, and collaborative networks in environmental governance.

He uses a political economy and sustainable livelihoods lens, to investigates how farmers and fishers navigate climate-induced risks such as flooding. His research on Loss and Damage (L&D) focuses on non-economic losses including cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and social cohesion that are often overlooked in climate policy. His ongoing work, including Praying Through the Flood: Faith and Fatalism, explores the emotional, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of climate impacts. He also applies tools such as the C-CIQ framework to better capture and quantify intangible losses.

His interdisciplinary approach integrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis, and critical social theory to inform equitable, locally led adaptation strategies. A key strand of his work involves the co-design of solar-powered resilience hubs community-led infrastructure that combines clean energy access, early warning systems, and emergency response services developed with stakeholders in both Nigeria and the UK.

Cyril holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Science from the University of Birmingham. His work has been recognised through several awards, including the Saleemul Huq Memorial Scholarship (IIED), a British Hydrological Society Grant Award, and a Routledge Highly Commended Research Paper Award. He also serves as an IPCC Expert Reviewer for the Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SRCities) and the 2027 Methodology Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers.

Beyond research, he contributes actively to academic and policy communities as a peer reviewer and member of the Royal Geographical Society and the British Hydrological Society. He has also engaged in global climate dialogue as a Student Lead Coordinator at COP26 and continues to mentor early-career researchers. His work is grounded in a commitment to bridging research, policy, and lived experience to advance inclusive, evidence-based climate action.

Awards