About Adjany

Born and raised in Angola, Adjany always had a passion for nature. At 16 she went to university to study biology before completing her Masters in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. Following more fieldwork, Adjany joined the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project in 2015, as part of their Ichthyology team. The concept was to navigate the entire length of the main tributaries of the Okavango basin, registering the wildlife encountered. This four month wilderness survey was recorded and became the topic for the critically acclaimed movie, Into The Okovango.

Adjany undertook five additional research trips in the Angolan Highlands and became the National Geographic Project’s Country Director for Angola. Recognising that natural science alone wouldn't foster conservation in such a vast landscape, she left the project to pursue a PhD with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU). Her focus is on developing a Community-Based Natural Resource Management Model tailored to the local Luchaze people's needs and traditions in Eastern Angola.

Her goal is to combine research with traditional knowledge to enhance policy-making, ensure realistic wildlife protection, and address poverty by introducing alternative livelihoods in remote rural communities.

Adjany is a 2017 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, the 2019 National Geographic Explorer of the Year, and a 2019 UN Young Champion of the Earth for Africa. She is also on the IUCN Freshwater Conservation Committee and co-founding an Angolan foundation focused on wilderness protection through community-based management.