Resume

IBRAHIM ISSIFU

Curriculum Vitae

Fisheries Economics Research Unit, The Institute for the Oceans & Fisheries,

The University of British Columbia (UBC)

2202 Main Mall, Vancouver BC, Canada V6T 1Z4

1.604.649.6335

i.issifu@oceans.ubc.ca

Employment:

2019 – Present:                 Postdoctoral Research Fellow,

                                           The Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,

                                           The University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Education:

2015 – 2018:                       Nagoya University, Ph.D. in Economic Policy Management– Japan;

2013 – 2015:                       Nagoya University, M.A. in Economic Policy Management – Japan;

2008 – 2010:                       University of Ghana Business School, MBA – Finance, Legon – Ghana;

2003 – 2007:                       University of Ghana, Bachelor of Arts – Economics, Legon – Ghana.

Professional Experience/ Employment:

2019 – Present:  

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for the Oceans & Fisheries, UBC, Vancouver

Assisted in the the Blue Food Assessment: Placing Aquatic Foods at the Center of a Sustainable, Healthy and Just Future of Food”. The outcome of this Blue Food Assessment project was an integral part of 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. Responsibilities: analysed past and current Blue Food data and preparing manuscripts for publication; offered conceptual and statistical support to other team members; collaborated with the University of Washington to design the Marine Plastic Pollution Roadmap; modelled the scale and impacts of Distant Water Fishing on marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable fisheries.

2022/1 – 2022/12:

Research Assistant, Resource & Environmental Mgt, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

Assisted in the Blue Economy Study, which examined equity and setting equity objectives for an equitable blue economy. A report for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Responsibilities: created a user-friendly understanding of the relationship between equity principles, goals, objectives, and actions; helped in preparing manuscripts for publication; assisted in a science-policy boundary network for Canada’s Blue Economy planning.

2019/11 – 2020/5:

Term Instructor, Faculty of Forestry, UBC, Vancouver

Taught two courses on principles of microeconomics in land and food systems. Responsibilities: complete responsibility of the course such as prepared the lectures, assignments, activities and exams; presented the lectures or facilitated class activities; graded students’ assignments and the exams.

2015/2 – 2018/3:

Research Assistant, Graduate School of International Dev’t, Nagoya University, Japan

Assisted in the globalization and development taught by Prof. Otsubo Shigeru. Responsibilities: Assisted master students to examine and evaluated case studies on globalization and economic development outcomes in China, Ghana, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam: an impact assessment; supported the editorial process of journals by reviewing manuscripts.

2018/4 –2018/12:

Health Economist, Baba Memorial Hospital, Osaka, Japan

Helped in both the behavioral risk factor surveillance system and the national health and nutrition examination survey. Responsibilities: Designed and administered survey questionnaires and recorded respondents’ clinical measurements such as height, weight and blood pressure; carried out statistical analysis on research data.

2014/7 –2014/8:

Teaching Assistant, Graduate School of International Dev’t, Nagoya University, Japan

Evaluated oversea field work survey materials for Cambodia. Responsibilities: Designed and helped to administered community development field survey questionnaires in Siem Reap Province, Cambodia; carried out statistical analysis on survey data using descriptive analytics in Rstudio.

Refereed Publications:

1. Issifu I., Dahmouni, I.; García-Lorenzo, I.; Sumaila, U.R. (2024). Economics in Marine Spatial Planning: A Review of Issues in British Columbia and Similar Jurisdictions. Sustainability, 16(1210); https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031210

2. Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., Deffor, E.W., & Sumaila, UR. (2023). Diversity, equity and inclusion in the blue economy: Why they matter and how do we achieve them? Frontiers in Political Science, 4:1067481. doi: 10.3389/fpos.2022.1067481

3. Cisneros-Montemayor, A.M., Issifu, I., Voyer, M., et al. (2022). A primer on the ‘Blue Economy’: Promise, pitfalls, and pathways. One Earth, 5, 982-986.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.08.01 

4. Issifu, I., Alava, J.J., Lam, V.W.Y., & Sumaila, U.R. (2022). Impact of ocean warming, overfishing and mercury on European fisheries: a risk assessment and policy solution framework. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8:770805. https//doi.10.3389/fmars.2021.770805

5. Issifu, I., Deffor, E.W., Deyshappriya, N.P.R., Dahmouni, I., & Sumaila, U.R. (2022). Drivers of seafood consumption at different geographical scales. Journal Sustainability Research, 4: e220012. https://doi.org/10.20900/jsr20220012

6. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., Pauly, D., et al. (2022). Aquaculture over-optimism? Frontiers in Marine Science, 9:984354. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.984354

7. Ortiz, I., Issifu, I., et al. (2022). A checklist for climate mitigation and adaptation portfolio development. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361722700_A_checklist_for_climate_mitigation_and_adaptation_portfolio_development

8. Naylor, L., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Blue food demand across geographic and temporal scales. Nature Communications, 12, 5413. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25516-4

9. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Financing a sustainable ocean economy. Nature Communications, 12, 3259. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23168-y

10. Pauly, D., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). Over 100 scientists call on Congress to end illegal fishing, seafood fraud, and human Rights abuses in U.S. seafood supply chain. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/over-100-scientists-call-congress-141600128.html

11. Sumaila, U.R., Issifu, I., et al. (2021). WTO must ban harmful fisheries subsidies. Science, 6567, 374 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm1680

12. Issifu, I., Deffor, E.W., & Sumaila, U.R. (2021). How COVID-19 could change the economics of the plastic recycling sector. Recycling, 6, 64

13. Issifu, I., & Sumaila, U.R. (2020). A review of the production, recycling and management of marine plastic pollution. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8, 945. doi:10.3390/jmse8110945

14. Issifu, I. (2018). Empirical investigation of impediments to returnees’ entrepreneurship in Ghana: An application of structural equation modelling. Mediterranean Journal of Social sciences, 9, 2039-2117

15. Issifu, I. (2018). The impact of remittances on domestic investment: The role of financial and institutional development in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Forum for International Development Studies, 48, 1-21

16. Iddisah, S., & Issifu, I. (2015). An empirical examination of the determinants of trust in Ghana. International Journal of Social Economics, 42, 1005-1023;

Non-Referred Publications:

1. Iqbal, T., Hojo, C., Issifu, I., et al. The role of community finance in Cambodia: focusing on the relationship between community finance and investment. Accessed (2022 Nov.) online from https://www2.gsid.nagoya-u.ac.jp/blog/fieldwork/files/2014/10/2013-OFW-Report-Final.pdf;

2. PEW & SYSTEMIQ et al. (2020). Breaking the plastic wave: A comprehensive assessment of pathways towards stopping ocean plastic pollution. PEW & SYSTEMIQ Research Report, 2020: https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/07/breakingtheplasticwave_report.pdf;

Work Submitted: 

1. Sumaila UR., Issifu, I., Lam, VW., et al. Seafood trade flows and their impacts on the livelihoods, food and nutritional security of the Global South. Submitted to the journal of One Earth;

2. Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., Sumaila, U.R., et al.  Gendered impact of Covid-19 on small scale fisheries: The case of Eastern Asia and Western Africa. Submitted to Marine Policy.

Work in Progress: 

1. Issifu, I., Sumaila, U.R., et al. The Global Zero Hunger Project (GZHP): Feeding the world in the 21st century and beyond.

2.  Sumaila, UR., Issifu, I., & Pauly, D. How much harmful subsidies would the WTO Agreement take out?;

3. Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., & Sumaila, U.R. The role of Marine Spatial Planning in the Blue Economic narratives;

4. Issifu, I., Dahmouni, I., & Sumaila, U.R. Canada’s Oceans Protection: A science-based assessment approach;

5. Issifu, I., Assessing the ecological and economic cost-benefits of transformation pathways of plastic production system.

Peer-reviewed Conference Presentations:

1. Issifu, I. (2022, November). Blue economy: pathways and promises. Paper presented at the ACECOR Occasional online Lecture Series, University of Cape Coast, Ghana;

2. Issifu, I. (2022, June). Impact of ocean warming, overfishing and mercury on European fisheries: a risk assessment and policy solution framework. Paper presented at the online Symposium at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal;

3. Issifu, I. (2022, January). Projecting Africa’s blue food demand. Paper presented at the online Agricultural Society for Africa and The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University Ben Guerir, Morocco;

4.  Issifu, I. & Sumaila, U.R. (2019, July). Technical workshop: a global roadmap to achieve near zero ocean plastic leakage by 2040: an economic analysis. Paper presented in-person at the Pew Charitable Trust & Systemiq workshop London, The UK;

5. Issifu, I. (2017, August). Remittances and domestic investment puzzle revisited: does institutional and financial sector development matter? Paper presented in-person at the Third Japan Society for International Development-TOKAI Conference, Nagoya University, Japan;

6. Issifu, I. (2016, November). Does international migration foster investments at the micro-level? Evidence from five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Paper presented in-person at the Japan Society for International Development (JASID) in Hiroshima University Conference, Hiroshima, Japan;

7. Issifu, I. (2013, November). Logframe analysis of Accra shopping mall. Paper presented in-person at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) 7-day Intensive Conference Nagoya, Japan.

Invited Talks:

1. Participated in Town Hall Meeting: Inflation, Jobs & the Economy. Organized by Don Davies (MP) http://www.dondavies.ca/ and special guest Economist Jim Stanford. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street, Kingsway, Vancouver, Canada. November 7, 2022;

2. Participated in United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) Conference Partner for prosperity. UNIDO’s activities and programs & industrial development report 2016”. Tokyo, Japan;

3. Baffes, J., & Issifu, I. (2017, Sept). Long-term outlook and risk of commodity market. Paper presented in-person at the World Bank Conference in Tokyo World Bank Office, Tokyo, Japan.

Organized workshops and research events:

1. Issifu, I. (2022, March). Supported by USAID to organized Validation Workshop on Distant Water Fleets in the African Region with focus on Ghana, Madagascar, Senegal, Mozambique, Somalia, East Africa regional; Southern Africa regional and West Africa in Accra, Ghana;

2. Issifu, I. (2023, January). Supported by “10 Billion Strong” (a U.S.-based non-profit whose mission is to train, and support the next generation of environmental leaders) to organized Accelerating Climate Ambitions with Indigenous Knowledge and Nature-based Solutions symposium in the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

Conference Session organization:

1. Attendee at IMPAC5, The 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), February 3-9, 2023, Vancouver Canada.

2. Issifu, I. (2022, June). Presented a paper on Canada’s Blue Economy Symposium organized by Memorial University. Johnson Geo Center Celestial Gallery, St John’s, Newfoundland, Canada;

3. Issifu, I. (2021, August). IMBeR ClimEco7 Summer School. Interdisciplinary ocean science for sustainable development, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Service:

1. Reviewer, Marine Policy, Ecological Economics, Frontiers in Marine Science & MDPI journals;

2. Member, Scientists Network for an Effective Plastics Treaty (SNEPT); Japan Society for International Development (JASID); Japan; 10 Billion Strong - Green Leaders Academy, USA; Universal Peace Federation (UPF);

3. Working knowledge of R, Excel, Stata, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint.