Rahanna Juman

Dr. Rahanna Alicia Juman is an ecologist and author whose scientific career has been focused on the ecology of the wetlands of Trinidad and Tobago.

Early life Dr. Juman was born on February 14, 1973 and is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Environmental science wasn’t Dr. Juman’s first career choice. In an interview with The Guardian from 2025 she said, “Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor, but I couldn’t afford it back then . . . I went to university and did the next best thing, which is science. After graduating from UWI [The University of the West Indies], I was able to get a four-month internship at the IMA [Institute of Marine Affairs], and I’m there 29 years after.” Dr. Juman began her career at the Research Department of the Institute of Marine Affairs in 1996, immediately after leaving the university, as an intern with a four-month contract.

Education and awards In 1996 Dr. Juman received a BSc in zoology/botany from The University of the West Indies. In 2004 she received a PhD in zoology from the University of the West Indies. Her doctoral dissertation was on “Characterisation and Ecology of the Bon Accord Lagoon, Tobago, West Indies.” In 2015 Dr. Juman received a Bachelor of Law from the University of London. In 2002, Juman was awarded a $10,000 prize from the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. Currently only 33% of researchers throughout the world are women. L’Oreal and UNESCO established this award in 2000 to recognize the achievement of “younger women who are in the early stages of their scientific careers” and encourage greater equity in scientific fields. She has been awarded several post-doctoral fellowships. In 2006 she was an American Fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2008 Dr. Juman was named a Watson International Scholars of the Environment Fellow at Brown University. This program offers recipients a one-year $40,000 grant for independent research outside of the U.S. Her research focused on land use changes in developing countries. In 2010-2011 she was awarded a Hubert Humphrey fellowship at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy. This program was created to encourage leadership among international professionals who are collaborating on local and global challenges and to help bring about change for the common good. Its goals include ensuring sustainable environments. Dr. Juman has also done an internship in the United States at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2011.

Career Dr. Juman has worked at the Institute of Marine Affairs since 1996. She was appointed the Deputy Director, Research in December of 2015. Dr. Juman has been conducting applied research on coastal ecosystems in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region for the past 20 years. She focuses particularly on seagrass beds and mangrove forests. In addition to her scientific studies at the IMA she serves on two significant committees appointed by Trinidad and Tobago’s cabinet. She is the deputy chair of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Inter-Ministerial Committee and the chair of the National Sargassum Task Force. She is also leading her country’s efforts to create a Marine Spatial Plan for the Gulf of Paria, the shallow semi-enclosed sea area that lies between the coast of Venezuela and the island of Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago has jurisdiction over 37.7 percent of this area. According to UNESCO, Marine Spatial Planning is “a public process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives that have been specified through a political process.” Dr. Juman chaired the Caribbean Sea Commission from 2021-2023 and is a member of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) Working Group 41 on Ocean Interventions for Climate Change Mitigation. She was also recently elected Vice Chair of the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) IOCARRIBE Board in 2025. The IOC is a committee of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Much of Dr. Juman’s environmental work has been focused on the vital role of the mangrove swamps in the ecosystem of Trinidad and Tobago. She reports that “In Tobago, the largest mangrove communities are found at the southwest end of the island which is the most populated and developed part of the island. Southwest Tobago has experienced rapid growth and development in the tourism and related service sectors. Mangroves were cleared in the 1990′s [sic] for the extension of the Crown Point Airport and for hotel development. In 2007, mangroves were cleared in the Bon Accord Lagoon for proposed resort development and in 2008 for housing.”

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.