Izabella Koziell, champion of environment conservation and women’s leadership

‘Women leadership’ has been a buzzword for the people for the past decade. But what before that? Izabella Koziell started her career in the early 1990s when the number of women working in the environment sector was not common. With over 30 years of working experience in the field now, Koziell has joined International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) as deputy director general and is a champion of environment conservation and women leadership in all forms and scales, since June last year.

She recently was awarded UN Women USA Rise and Raise Others Award in the Climate Action category for her contribution to the sector and for empowering Nepali women working in sustainable agriculture. Onlinekhabar caught up with her to talk about her experience, observation, and work in the Nepali environment sector. Excerpts: