Filipina Researcher Wins the Global Bioenergy Partnership 2024 Youth Award
Rome - The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) 11th Bioenergy Week was held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters from 17-21 June 2024. Ahead of the official opening of the 11th GBEP Bioenergy Week, FAO hosted on Monday the first Bioenergy Youth Day, in partnership with the Youth and United Nations Global Alliance (YUNGA). The event aimed to raise awareness among young people about the potential of sustainable bioenergy in addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy access, and rural development, and in contributing to the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
An engineer based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and visiting researcher of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Ms Czaneil Gomez, was recognized with the 2024 GBEP Youth Award for her research on an enhanced rice straw biogas pilot facility in Laguna, Philippines. She received the honor for her research conducted in the spring of 2023 titled ’Harnessing Rice Straw to Empower Rice Farming Communities in the Philippines.”
Rice straw, also known as “dayami” in the Philippines, is a farming by-product frequently discarded as waste. The pilot facility which Czaneil studied is under the Rice Straw Biogas Hub, a collaborative climate-mitigation project funded by Innovate UK which aims at converting rice straw to biogas and other forms of bioenergy supporting circular economy in agriculture. Burning and rotting rice straws in flooded fields lead too greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate degradation.
Ms. Czaneil Gomez was presented with her award by Dr. Maria Michela Morese, FAO senior natural resources officer and energy team leader on 17 June 2024. Dr. Tiziana Pirelli, GBEP secretariat coordinator, said: "Czaneil's work is a shining example of how multifunctional, integrated agrifood systems can benefit both the environment and farming communities. “
‘’Receiving this award recognizes my passion and dedication for finding sustainable approaches for rice farming communities in the Philippines,’’ Czaneil said.
The winning candidate was awarded with a certificate during the special session at the GBEP Bioenergy Week and had the opportunity to present their research to a unique platform of key bioenergy stakeholders and experts. Mentors of Czaneil, Drs. Mirjam Roder and Katie Chong of Aston University were proud to have supported Ms. Gomez in her award-winning research.
Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines to FAO and Agriculture Attaché to Italy and the UK based at the Philippine Embassy in Rome witnessed the awarding ceremony. “We appreciate GBEP’s efforts to involve the youth in discussing current trends, future challenges and opportunities in bioenergy, through science-based research. We are pleased that the work of a young researcher from the Philippines has been recognized to outstandingly contribute to these discussions,” Dr. Javelosa said.
