Sylvia Kay Project Officer

Our people — Staff member

Sylvia Kay joined TNI in 2011 as a researcher and project coordinator working on issues related to agrarian and environmental justice, food systems, land and natural resource politics.

She has written various reports, issue briefs, policy papers, and primers for TNI including on water grabbing, the role of public policy in rural development, the impact of austerity on food security, and different models of agricultural investment. In recent years, her work has focused on the intersection between drug policy and agrarian change, in particular with respect to cannabis and the environmental dimensions of plant-based drugs.

She is the lead author of an official European Parliament commissioned study on land grabbing in Europe and has contributed to a number of academic books, including the Handbook on International Political Economy of Production (Edward Elgar, 2015). She has over two years of experience of direct engagement with the UN Committee on World Food Security, where she participated in the negotiations on the Principles on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.

She holds an MSc. in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Latest work

Agricultural Trade between North Africa and the EU in Times of Crisis A focus on Egypt and Tunisia
Middle East and North Africa

Agroecology

Food Sovereignty
Despite the noticeable growth in agricultural trade volumes between North Africa and the EU, stubborn issues such as food insecurity, escalating poverty and hunger rates, widening social and gender inequality, and the degradation and exhaustion of vital natural resources persist. These challenges undermine the region's stride towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The policy brief evaluates the relationship between agricultural trade policies and progress towards a number of the SDGs. A special focus is given to analysing the impact of agricultural trade policies between the European Union (EU) and Egypt and Tunisia.
Policy briefing by

Saker El Nour

Mustapha Jouili

Mohamed Ramadan

Sylvia Kay
Publication date: 5 March 2024
Aligning Drug Policy with Environmental Protection 66th CND Side Event, 2023
UN Drug Control

Drugs Regulation

Climate Crisis
Between 13 - 17 March, a TNI delegation participated at the 66th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, the UN’s principal forum on drug policy.

Video by

Sylvia Kay

Publication date: 29 March 2023
Plantas Prohibidas Justicia Ambiental en las Políticas de Drogas
Regulación de drogas

Crisis Climática

Planta de cannabis

Hoja de coca
El grado de perturbación del medio ambiente a escala mundial no tiene precedentes. Esto incluye grandes amenazas a la tierra, los suelos, el agua, los bosques y los océanos que conforman nuestros ecosistemas y naturaleza biodiversa, y que se ven afectados por el cambio climático y el calentamiento global. Estos acontecimientos seguirán teniendo impactos devastadores en las personas y el planeta. Sin embargo, esos efectos no se distribuyen en forma equitativa. Como señalan académicos y activistas de la «justicia ambiental», las comunidades más pobres y marginadas, a menudo diferenciadas según su clase, género y raza, están más expuestas al daño ambiental. Ello es especialmente cierto en el caso de las poblaciones del Sur global.

Report by

Sylvia Kay

Publication date: 3 January 2023