WGD Discussion Series
Fall 2025 speakers will be announced soon
Enhancing resilience of Lake Victoria's fisheries: Strengthening women's fisheries organizations for sustainable food systems.
Elizabeth (Beth) Nyboer, Assistant Professor, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech.
Bio: As a freshwater ecologist and conservation scientist, Beth studies how anthropogenic stressors affect freshwater ecosystems and the fish, fisheries, and fishing communities they support. Beth uses transdisciplinary approaches to integrate community perspectives alongside social, ecological, and environmental data to understand the vulnerability of these systems to environmental change and to find equitable solutions to social-ecological challenges. In her research, Beth explores themes of equity, food and nutrition security, and climate change adaptation, with a specific focus on challenges faced by women and other marginalized groups in inland fishery systems.
Abstract: The inland fisheries of Lake Victoria in East Africa are dynamic with multiple interacting forces shaping access to sustainable aquatic foods. Women in the fisheries sector face diverse adaptation challenges; yet, lack of sex-disaggregated research has hindered the development of equitable adaptive strategies. In Lake Victoria, over half a million women rely on fisheries for their livelihoods and play an integral role in the post-harvest handling, processing, and trade of fish and fish products. Women also contribute critically to household- and community-level food and nutrition security through their responsibilities in procuring and preparing household meals. Nevertheless, women are marginalized in decision making processes at community and household levels and lack access to key determinants of adaptive capacity. This talk will explore barriers and solutions to climate change adaptation for women in fisheries in Lake Victoria and explore promising avenues toward full autonomy and agency. A key access point to improve women’s adaptive capacity is through women’s fisheries organizations (WFOs). WFOs seek to open opportunities for sustainable fishery enterprises for women, enable their participation in fishery decision-making and governance, and improve their adaptive capacity. We work closely with communities to identify and amplify the mechanisms by which WFOs support livelihood stability, climate resilience, and increased engagement in fisheries governance for women involved with WFOs.
About the series
The Women and Girls in International Development Discussion Series is organized by the Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED) a part of Outreach and International Affairs (OIA). Students, faculty, staff and members of the community are encouraged to attend the discussions and bring their ideas and questions.
The WGD program has sponsored a monthly discussion series for over a decade. Thanks to the support of OIA, the program is able to bring international speakers as well as others from across the United States. We have also received support from the Women and Minority Artists and Scholars Lecture Series, the Women in Leadership and Philanthropy Endowed Lecture Fund, Women’s and Gender Studies, Women's Center, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Global Programs, the Department of Geography, the Department of History, the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Africana Studies and other programs and departments at Virginia Tech.
The series offers an opportunity for scholars and development practitioners to share their research and knowledge surrounding women's issues within international development with the Virginia Tech community and beyond.
Contact us
Email wgd@vt.edu to be added to our listserv and receive information on upcoming events.
Past events
Please visit our Past Events Archive for information on the previous Discussion Series and speakers.