Kunan Vesselly

About Kunan Vesselly

Pronouns: he/him/his

Country: Liberia

Kunan Brewer Vesselly is an agriculturist, environmentalist and natural resource manager. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from Cuttington University in Liberia and a Master of Science degree in Environment and Natural Resources from Makerere University in Uganda. Vesselly also undertook some courses in soil ecology at the College of Natural Resources and Environment of South China Agricultural University. He also holds several certifications in GIS, project management, monitoring and evaluation, agriculture, early warning, disaster management and climate change.

Vesselly previously worked in extension services and regional development with the Liberian Ministry of Agriculture. As a former Research Officer with the Central Agriculture Research Institute, he spearheaded climate-smart agriculture research interventions, which included weather forecasting for response farming in smallholder communities and determining the suitability of water for irrigation. As a former Program Officer with the National Disaster Management Agency, he was involved with disaster mapping, risk analysis, response coordination and developing emergency preparedness contingency plans. Currently, Vesselly serves as Thematic Analyst on Environment for the National Center for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism in Liberia. Within that role, he does risk analysis of climate change indicators and recommends mitigation and adaptation strategies for multiple sectors.

Additionally, Vesselly has undertaken many monitoring and evaluation assignments for several projects for the last three years. Two of the assignments include conducting a rapid rural market appraisal in southeast Liberia, and undertaking a feasibility study for the project titled "Enhancing production and consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potato by adopting a system strengthening approach in Liberia" to inform changes to policy on food security in the public sector. He has published a number of research articles on wetland restoration ecology and land use conflicts.

As a 2024-25 Humphrey Fellow, Vesselly is passionate about learning about how farmers are building resilience to impact climate stress and determining the extent to which crop ecology has been altered, in addition to understanding local adaptation and mitigation strategies.