Dr Giovanna Gini is a researcher at the MACC Hub, focusing on transformational adaptation in the UK. Previously, she was an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, where her work centered on the intersections of climate change, the Anthropocene, and human and non-human (im)mobilities. Her research examines the impacts of environmental change on Indigenous communities in Latin America, highlighting their complex relationships with changing ecosystems.

Giovanna holds a PhD in Human Geography from Queen Mary University of London, completed under the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme on Mobile People. Her doctoral thesis Enseada da Baleia: Entangled (Im)mobilities in the Anthropocene: A Relational Story of Humans, Fish, and Wate explored the entangled (im)mobility patterns of humans and non-humans amid environmental transformations.

Her academic background includes a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in European and International Studies from the University of Trento, Italy. She is an active contributor to international publications such as Forced Migration Review and Routledge, and a member of the South American Network of Environmental Migrations (RESAMA), engaging with experts in environmental migrations across Latin America.

Research

• Climate mobilities and their sociopolitical and ecological implications
• Transformational adaptation to climate change and its impact on communities and ecosystems
• More-than-human geographies, exploring entangled relationships between humans and non-humans
• Decoloniality and the impact of colonial legacies on climate mobilities and adaptation
• Feminist studies in mobilities and climate change, with a focus on intersectionality and agency
• Indigenous knowledge and their role in responding to environmental change
• Climate and Environmental mobilities with an emphasis on Latin American contexts
• Wet ontologies and relation thinking in mobilises patterns

Giovanna's research focuses on advancing transformational adaptation to climate change, exploring effective practices and innovative approaches to support vulnerable communities in adapting to a rapidly changing world. She examines the intersections of climate mobilities, more-than-human geographies, and decolonial practices, challenging traditional frameworks to foster equitable and inclusive strategies for adaptation.

Building on her expertise in epistemologies from the South, she investigate how communities—human and non-human—respond to climate challenges. By integrating feminist perspectives and addressing colonial legacies in adaptation discourse, Giovanna aims to amplify diverse voices and practices that contribute to sustainable, just, and transformative solutions. Her current research, as part of the MACC Hub, emphasizes collaboration and innovation to address the complexities of transformational adaptation and create meaningful, impactful change.