Black History Month 2024: Lifelong commitment to water management 

Dr. Fatima Ajia, Lecturer in Environmental Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, discusses inspiring the next generation of environmental professionals to challenge the status quo in water management.

Throughout her career, Dr. Fatima Ajia has worn many hats, from researching waterborne diseases in Nigerian hospitals to completing her PhD in Urban Studies and Planning, where she focused on water management policy. Today, as a Lecturer in Environmental Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, she inspires the next generation of environmental professionals to challenge the status quo in water management.

What motivated you to pursue a career in Water and Environmental Management?
I have been in the Water and Environmental Management (WEM) field for two decades now. Because I tend to wear many hats and have various interests at any one time, I must say that I have had stints working in other sectors. However, my educational training and my personal connection to water have been pivotal in keeping me in the WEM field.

I studied Geology at university where I took a liking to the hydrology subject, and one of my very first jobs was as an intern geologist in a groundwater exploration company that sought new water sources and abstraction points. And prior to these, I had developed a broad interest in water very early on in life.

My father was at some point in government as a special adviser on mobilisation in Nigeria where water scarcity was rife. When he – my father was setting up his office, I would do some secretarial work for him, handling communications and proposals from individuals and NGOs in relation to community development projects and would then evaluate and recommend projects to be considered for funding. At the time, I was a young teenager and with my age and privilege came some naivety that made me question why most community development proposals centred around water provision, but it didn’t take very long to realise that access to water was and still is an issue for many. This was my first awakening to the necessity of water and how the lack of effective resource management could present quantity and quality issues that disadvantage families and communities.

Then I had another awakening in boarding school as a young girl when I suddenly became responsible for my own water in a way that I had not had to be when I lived at home. That experience forever changed my perception of and relationship with water. And I must also mention that there is my personal reverence for water that comes from the beliefs, the customs, and the rituals handed down to me through my Yoruba culture as well as through the Islam and Christianity religions I’d practiced in the past.

It was thus a given that by the time I began studying at university, I was more drawn to subjects and activities that centre around and people and the environment. In fact, my earliest action research was at several teaching hospitals across South-West Nigeria, attempting to better understand waterborne diseases as a combined implication of water scarcity and water quality issues. And when the opportunity to pursue a PhD in Urban Studies and Planning then presented itself later down the line, I eventually focused on researching ways to maximise water management policy and practice to support behavioural change in water use.

Ultimately, I think my education has been pivotal to remaining in the field but being born in and living in the UK whilst also having lived in Nigeria have afforded me different first-hand experiences of water scarcity, whether physical or economic and these have nuanced how I approach my work on behavioural change in water use today.

What are some of the key projects or roles you've been involved in? What are you most proud of in your professional career?
I am proud of all the roles I have held or projects I have worked on in the past. I do not think one is much more important than the other. Currently, I lecture in Environmental Management at Glasgow Caledonian University, and despite all the challenges that come with teaching, this is a job that I love and believe is impactful. To be part of advancing environmental knowledge and dispersing it far and wide is fulfilling in itself.

This year, I’m incredibly proud of projects that I’ve worked on that have involved collaboration and have put the spotlight on what’s most important – water and the environment, and these have included the European Association of Social Anthropologists 2024 conference sessions on enabling just ecological transitions organised with my colleague Dr Anastasia Badder at University of Cambridge and the Water Gospel event which I organised as part of the London Climate Action Week (LCAW) 2024 – the first and only LCAW event that focused on promoting water efficiency to the public.

I am immensely proud of how new and old stakeholders came together for the love of water particularly The Green Londoner, Waterwise and Instinctiff Partners. It is my hope that the water gospel would return to London Climate Action Week 2025, and I look forward to seeing what the initiative morphs into.

Have you faced any challenges as a Black professional in WEM? If so, how did you navigate these? And how can the WEM sector become more inclusive and diverse?
It’s fair to say that whilst I have faced my fair share of challenges in Water and Environmental Management, most have not come about due to my race or colour as one could experience in wider society. My upbringing means that I came into the sector quite self-assured and with a set of values that have helped lighten my load.

For me, my place in society or in WEM is not necessarily defined by social identity. And whilst being a neurodivergent in the world of work has presented its own challenges, it has been quite beneficial in the sense that I tend to frame wider systemic or relational issues through my own lens, not necessarily through the popular social-structural lens that plays on identity. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that these structural and institutional challenges exist as do other issues such as misogyny and internalised racial inferiority, so we ought to continue to strive for a more inclusive and diverse world in ways that are not exploitative and do not result in unintended consequences.

How has being part of CIWEM supported your career, and would you recommend it to others?
I have found being part of CIWEM beneficial, particularly in relation to the support I received when I was applying to become triple-chartered in 2023 and the professional development and network expansion that I continue to gain through participation in events. The latter has also been the case for the students I mentor and steer in CIWEM’s direction.

What advice would you give to Black students or early-career professionals considering entering WEM?
I’d advise early-career professionals entering Water and Environmental Management to put some thinking into defining themselves outside of work, as having a strong sense of self can be both anchoring and empowering for the road ahead. You may want to consider identifying the values that are central to who you are and what success means to you as everyone has their own journey and destination. And try pursuing work in an aspect of the field that you’re passionate about as much fulfilment can come from doing so.

Connect with Dr. Fatima Ajia on LinkedIn

This article is part of the CIWEM’s Black History Month campaign.

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