Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola
- Associate Academic Officer – Risk and Recovery Governance, United Nations University
Dr Olasunkanmi Habeeb Okunola is an Associate Academic Officer at the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) in Bonn, Germany. He has over 10 years of experience in research, policy engagement and teaching across sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.
His research focuses on climate change adaptation, disaster risk governance, urban resilience, and climate-related loss and damage. He is particularly interested in systemic, compound and complex climate risks-how climate hazards interact with social, economic and environmental challenges, and how their effects can cascade across communities and sectors. He examines how institutions, public policies and community participation shape disaster preparedness and recovery, including whose needs are recognised and how support reaches affected people.
His current work explores climate-resilient recovery pathways, particularly how insurance, public finance and institutional arrangements influence recovery decisions and outcomes. Through comparative research involving communities, government agencies and financial institutions, he investigates how financing can support recovery that reduces future risks and addresses inequalities.
He has contributed to developing analytical frameworks and assessing urban resilience across 50 African cities. This work combines baseline research, comparative case studies and stakeholder engagement to inform urban policy and planning. His wider research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to understand disaster risk and adaptation in cities across the global North and South.
Olasunkanmi has received fellowships and awards from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the European University Institute, alongside the Mary Fran Myers Scholarship. He has also received research funding from the AXA Research Fund and Swiss Re Institute to investigate climate-resilient recovery financing. His publications have appeared in journals including Urban Climate and the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.
His public-facing writing has appeared in The Conversation and on platforms including the London School of Economics and the Brookings Institution. He has also contributed expert commentary to media outlets including The New York Times, Radio France Internationale, the BBC and Newzroom Afrika.
Experience- –present Consultant for the Institute for Land Governance and Community Resilient, Federal University of Technology, Minna
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