Fatou Jeng leads climate advocacy, gender inclusion, and community resilience initiatives through Clean Earth Gambia.
Fatou Jeng’s journey into climate activism began in Banjul, The Gambia, where she grew up in a farming family directly affected by droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and rising sea levels. In a community where girls were discouraged from education, she defied the odds, becoming the first female president of the University of The Gambia’s Student Union and later a globally recognised climate leader.
Her early exposure to the visible effects of climate change inspired her to act, and in 2017, while still a student, she founded Clean Earth Gambia, now one of the country’s largest youth-led environmental organisations.
The NGO started with simple activities like tree planting and clean-ups, but has since expanded into climate education, policy advocacy, and resilience building. Fatou Jeng has led Clean Earth Gambia to train over 2,000 people, plant more than 35,000 trees, and impact thousands of lives across the country.
It has also partnered with organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP, and the Gambian government. A notable collaboration with Banjul City Council led to the planting of over 11,000 coconut and baobab trees along vulnerable coastlines, directly addressing sea-level rise.
In addition, the organisation co-hosted The Gambia’s first National Children and Youth Conference on Climate Change with UNICEF, creating space for youth to engage policymakers. Throughout these initiatives, Fatou Jeng has made gender inclusion central, recognising that women, particularly rural farmers, are often the first affected by climate change but are rarely consulted in policy.
Beyond The Gambia, Jeng’s leadership has had a global impact. She serves as a Youth Climate Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and as a Gender Negotiator for The Gambia at the UNFCCC. In these capacities, she has significantly influenced global policy discussions, contributing to submissions on gender-responsive climate action and playing a key role in major initiatives, such as the UK’s £165 million climate funding for gender equality.
Jeng is also a prominent speaker at global forums, including the United Nations General Assembly, the SDG Summit, the World Economic Forum, and Africa Climate Weeks. Furthermore, her involvement with the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation has led to the mobilization and training of over 100,000 youth ambassadors worldwide, empowering them to champion environmental action.
Fatou Jeng has received extensive recognition for her work. In 2019, she was honored as one of the 30 Most Influential Young Gambians. The following year, Forbes Africa included her in their “30 Under 30” list, identifying her as a young leader shaping Africa’s future. WWF also named her among the Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders. Her more recent accolades include the YOUNGSTER Award at the 2024 Greentech Awards in Berlin and an award from the Geneva Centre for Human Rights for her advocacy of women’s environmental rights.
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