Profile
Biography
Dr Favretto is an interdisciplinary social scientist and Lecturer in Human Geography, whose work bridges social policy and environmental sustainability by addressing the environmental, socio-economic, and policy aspects of sustainable development. Holding a PhD in Environmental Sustainability, he utilises a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse livelihoods, policies, and institutions, particularly within the context of climate change and its social repercussions. His expertise focuses on how environmental changes exacerbate poverty and global inequalities, particularly affecting marginalised communities.
Dr Favretto's research, spanning sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Europe, specialises in participatory livelihood impact assessments in agro-ecosystems, highlighting the role of environmental governance in promoting more inclusive and sustainable development. He conducts policy and stakeholder analysis, provides strategic advice on climate-resilient solutions, and designs projects that address the multifaceted challenges of international development.
Having undertaken both research and managerial roles with international organisations such as United Nations University, United Nations Development Programme, and the European Commission, Dr Favretto focuses on bridging science-policy gaps. His work emphasises the intersection of social inequality and environmental change, offering insights into how policies can better address the social impacts of climate change through equity-focused, sustainable solutions.
Areas of expertise:
- Climate-resilient development strategies
- Environmental justice and addressing inequality
- Sustainable land management and ecosystem service-based solutions
- Sustainable energy for poverty alleviation
- Multi-stakeholder engagement
Modules taught
- Equitable and Sustainable Futures
- Sustainable and Just Futures
- From Foundations to Innovations in Human Geography Research
- Geographical Perspectives for Environmental Issues
- Introduction to Research Skills
- Research Skills and Methods
- Energy Transitions and Low Carbon Futures
- Engendering Change
Qualifications
- PhD, Environmental Sustainability, University of Leeds
- MSc, International Economic Integration, University of Pavia
- BSc, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Milano-Bicocca
Research
Overview
Dr Favretto has led the design, coordination, and implementation of diverse research and capacity-building initiatives at the nexus of climate resilience, environmental governance, and sustainability transitions. His work is rooted in active stakeholder engagement and capacity development, with a strong emphasis on translating academic insights into actionable strategies for addressing complex environmental challenges. He frequently collaborates with non-academic partners, including through the delivery of e-training modules that have reached thousands of registered participants. Dr Favretto has also convened and moderated several high-level science-policy dialogues and authored a range of policy-oriented reports and brief.
Dr Favretto’s key research and capacity building projects include:
- 2024-2025. Climate-resilient agriculture: Linking yield modelling to human responses to climate change, York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) Discipline Hopping Fellowship.
- 2023-2025. Livelihood diversification among women farmers in Nigeria’s flood-resilient drylands, York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) International Fellowship.
- 2022-2025. Opportunities for climate resilient development across vulnerable geographies in Europe, funded by the University of York.
- 2021-2022. Harnessing climate change mitigation benefits through tree restoration in drylands of Northern Nigeria, UKPACT
- 2020-2021. Building the evidence base for climate smart agri-food systems, GCRF-AFRICAP (BBSRC).
- 2020. Advancing the impacts of socio-ecological restoration through multi-stakeholder partnerships in South Africa, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Fund.
- 2019-2020. African Climate Resilient Landscapes project, World Universities Network (WUN).
- 2018-2020. Building economic development and social welfare of small farming communities in Paraná, Brazil, through climate compatible development, Newton Institutional Links.
- 2016-2020. Exploring co-benefits and trade-offs in climate mitigation, adaptation and development in South Africa and Madagascar, ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (CCCEP).
- 2016-19. Interuniversity Learning in Higher Education on Advanced land Management - Egyptian Country, Erasmus+.
- 2016-18. MOOC: Connecting economy & ecology through integrated landscape management. How to design sustainable business models?, European Network for the Advancement of Business & Landscape Education (ENABLE) project, Erasmus +.
- 2018. MOOC: Integrating soil degradation concerns and solutions into policy processes, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
- 2018. Reversing land degradation in Africa through scaling-up EverGreen agriculture, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
- 2015. MOOC: Options and pathways for action: Stakeholder Engagement, Economics of Land Degradation Initiative.
- 2014-15. Sustainable Liquid Biofuels from Biomass Biorefining (SUNLIBB), EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
- 2014-15. Advancing knowledge on the costs, benefits, trade-offs of sustainable land management in southern Africa’s rangelands – Botswana case study, Economics of Land Degradation initiative.
- 2009-14. Powering Mali with sustainable biofuels? Livelihood opportunities and policy challenges of Jatropha curcas, PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
Publications
Full publications list
- Favretto N, Stringer LC. Enabling climate-resilient development: A multi-scalar assessment across vulnerable geographies. Global Environmental Change. Accepted for inclusion in Special Issue "Resilience rising: Thriving amid climate challenges" (in progress)
- Mohammed UM, Favretto N . 2025. Livelihood diversification among women farmers in Nigeria’s flood-resilient drylands. Climate Risk Management 48: 100708.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Barau AS, Jibrin JM, Ado S, Yakubu IB, Dallimer M. (In press). Restoring dryland ecosystems: local knowledge, native species, and tree restoration policies and practices in northern Nigeria, In: Imran Khan YD, Jibrin JM, Gholkar M (eds) Land restoration through ecosystem-based approach: contexts from drylands of the global south, Springer Nature 2025
- Favretto N, Shackleton S, Sallu SM, Hoffman T. 2021. Editorial for Special Issue: ‘Collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement in landscape governance and management in Africa: lessons from practice’. Land 10: 285.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Kruger L. 2021. Knowledge exchange enhances engagement in ecological restoration and rehabilitation initiatives. Restoration Ecology 30: e13565.
- Favretto N, Shackleton S, Sallu SM, Gordon C, Methner N, Outa G, Sola P, Sikutshwa L, Williams PA, eds. 2021. Collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement in landscape governance and management in Africa: lessons from practice. MDPI, 222pp. ISBN 3036514775.
- Afzal N, Afionis S, Stringer LC, Favretto N, Sakai M, Sakai P. 2021. Benefits and trade-offs of smallholder sweet potato cultivation as a pathway toward achieving the sustainable development goals. Sustainability 2021: 552.
- Favretto N, Afionis S, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Quinn CH, Ranarijaona Tiana HL. 2020. Delivering climate-development co-benefits through multi-stakeholder forestry projects in Madagascar: opportunities and challenges. Land 9: 157.
- Sakai P, Afionis S, Favretto N, et al. 2020. Understanding the implications of alternative bioenergy crops to support smallholder farmers in Brazil. Sustainability 12: 2146.
- Favretto N, Dougill AJ, Stringer LC, Afionis S, Quinn CH. 2018. Links between climate change mitigation, adaptation and development in land policy and ecosystem restoration projects: lessons from South Africa. Sustainability 10: 779.
- Favretto N, Afionis S, Stringer LC, Buckeridge M. 2017. Policy and diplomacy in the production of second generation ethanol in Brazil: International relations with the EU, the USA and Africa. In: MS Buckeridge, AP de Souza (eds.), Advances of basic science for second generation bioethanol from sugarcane and their impact on technology. Springer.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Dallimer M, Perkins JS, Reed MS, Atlhopheng JR, Mulale K. 2016a. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to identify dryland ecosystem service trade-offs under different rangeland land uses. Ecosystem Services 17: 142-151.
- Favretto N, Luedeling E, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ. 2016b. Valuing Ecosystem Services in Semi-Arid Rangelands through Stochastic Simulation. Land Degradation & Development 28: 65–73.
- Afionis S, Stringer LC, Favretto N, Tomei J, Buckeridge M. 2016. Unpacking Brazil’s leadership in the global biofuels arena: Brazilian ethanol diplomacy in Africa. Global Environmental Politics 16: 127-150.
- Dougill AJ, Akanyang L, Perkins JS, Eckardt F, Stringer LC, Favretto N, Atlhopheng J, Mulale K. 2016. Land use, rangeland degradation and ecological changes in the southern Kalahari, Botswana. African Journal of Ecology 54: 59-67.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ. 2015. Towards improved policy and institutional coherence in the promotion of sustainable biofuels in Mali. Environmental Policy and Governance 25(1): 36–54.
- Reed MS, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Perkins JS, Atlhopheng JR, Mulale K, Favretto N. 2015. Reorienting land degradation towards sustainable land management: Linking sustainable livelihoods with ecosystem services in rangeland systems. Journal of Environmental Management 151: 472-485. 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.11.010.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ. 2014. Unpacking livelihood challenges and opportunities in energy crop cultivation: perspectives on Jatropha curcas projects in Mali. Geographical Journal 180(4): 365–376.
- Afionis S, Favretto N, Buckeridge M, Van Alstine J, Stringer LC. 2013. The Environment in Latin America and the Caribbean in the aftermath of the Rio+20 Summit, In: Europa Publications (Ed) South America, Central America & the Caribbean 2014, The Europa Regional Surveys of the World, Routledge, pp. 17-21.
SELECTED REPORTS AND POLICY BRIEFS
- Favretto N, Dallimer M, Stringer LC, Ado S, Baba Yakubu I, Jibrin JM, Barau A. 2022. Tree restoration, climate change mitigation and cross-sectoral policy coherence in Nigeria. Centre for Environmental Policy Report. Imperial College London: UK.
- Favretto N, Dallimer M, Stringer LC, Ado S, Baba Yakubu I, Jibrin JM, Barau A. 2022. Harnessing benefits for climate change mitigation through irrigation-free indigenous tree restoration: sharing knowledge and building capacity. Stakeholder mapping report. Centre for Environmental Policy Report. Imperial College London: UK.
- Favretto N, Dallimer M, Stringer LC, Ado S, Baba Yakubu I, Jibrin JM, Barau A. 2021. Harnessing benefits for climate change mitigation through irrigation-free indigenous tree restoration - sharing knowledge and building capacity: Best practice guidelines manual for institutional stakeholders. Centre for Environmental Policy Report. Imperial College London: UK.
- Hoffman T, Shackleton S, Favretto N. 2021. How can we enhance collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagement? Key insights from research on landscape governance and management in Africa. University of Cape Town Briefing Note.
- Cárdenas B, Favretto N, Antwi-Agyei P, Dougill AJ, Stringer LC. 2018. Policy coherence for climate-sensitive planning in Ghana. SRI Briefing Note Series No 18. University of Leeds: UK.
- Favretto N, Dougill AJ, Stringer LC, Afionis S, Quinn CH. 2018. Links between climate change mitigation, adaptation and development in land policy and ecosystem restoration projects: lessons from South Africa. SRI Briefing Note Series No 16. University of Leeds: UK.
- Favretto N, Dallimer M, Johnson I, Kubiszweski I, Etter H, Thomas R. 2017. The economics of land policy, planning and practice. Global Land Outlook Working Paper. UNCCD: Germany.
- Favretto N. 2017. Sustainable Development Goals and the Economics of Land Degradation. UNU-INWEH Policy Brief. United Nations University Institute for Water Environment and Health: Hamilton, Canada.
- ELD Initiative (Favretto N: coordination and co-author). 2015. The value of land: Prosperous lands and positive rewards through sustainable land management. ELD Initiative, GIZ: Bonn, Germany.
- Favretto N, Quillérou E, Etter H. 2015. A 6+1 step approach to assess the economics of land management. ELD Initiative, GIZ: Bonn, Germany.
- Quillérou E, Stringer LC, Øystese S, Thomas R, Bailly D, Favretto N, Stewart N. 2015. Enabling action: Conditions for success, In: ELD Initiative, The value of land: Prosperous lands and positive rewards through sustainable land management. GIZ: Bonn, Germany.
- Musekamp C, Quillérou E, Favretto N, Falk T, Salha A, Schmidt L, Reed M, Buckmaster S. 2015. Practitioner’s Guide: Pathways and options for action and stakeholder engagement, based on the 2015 ELD Massive Open Online Course “Stakeholder Engagement”. .
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ, Perkins JS, Reed MS, Akanyang L, Dallimer M, Atlhopheng JR, Mulale K. 2014. Assessing the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of land degradation: A Case Study of Botswana’s Kalahari. Report for the ELD Initiative.
- Favretto N, Stringer LC, Dougill AJ. 2014. Applying a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to identify ecosystem service trade-offs under four different land uses in Botswana’s Kalahari rangelands. Policy brief for the ELD Initiative.
- Favretto N. 2013. Energising development with Jatropha curcas? Policy and institutional frameworks in the promotion of sustainable biofuels in Mali. Policy Innovation Systems for Clean Energy Security Policy Brief. Practical Action Consulting.
