Acacia Leakey

Water Security in Non-Equilibrium Contexts: Learning from Dynamic Systems for a Changing World

Acacia is a DPhil candidate in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford, supported by the Oxford-Reuben Graduate Scholarship. Her research examines the co-constitutive relationship between water resources and social structures in pastoralist communities in northern Kenya. Using a relational hydrosocial framework, her work explores how the embodied experiences of water access are shaped by, and in turn shape, changing social and environmental dynamics. Her research seeks to inform more context-sensitive policy and practice in response to increasing climate variability and shifting livelihoods.

Before beginning her DPhil, Acacia led applied research and innovation projects in sustainable development in northern Kenya. She holds an MS and BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Stony Brook University, NY.