Vositha is a researcher and an attorney-at-law specializing in environmental law and public international law. She has over a decade of experience in working on climate change at national and international level, focusing on issues related to adaptation, NDCs, NAPs, loss and damage, human mobility, resilience, climate impacts, governance, vulnerable communities, gender, ecosystems, sustainable consumption and production, and sustainable development. Vositha is a member of the national expert committee on climate change adaptation of the Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka and has experience in working in national and multi-national entities such as the UNFCCC where she is an advisor for the Resilience Frontiers Initiative, as well as a consultant for the Adaptation Division of the UNFCCC Secretariat. She is also a negotiator for the government of Sri Lanka for the UNFCCC negotiations since 2016. Vositha has an LLM in public international law from University College London, and an LLB from University of London, and a BA (Special Degree) in Humanities from University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Her publications focus on topics related to climate change and sustainable development; resilience building; addressing vulnerabilities and risk management; stakeholder engagement, youth, and good governance; gender; climate induced migration; and climate and disaster risk finance

Dr Linda Anne Stevenson is Head of Knowledge Management and Scientific Affairs and Deputy Head of Development and Institutional Affairs at the APN Secretariat. With over 18 years of experience in APN, she manages over sixty national and regional projects annually across a broad range of disciplines and works closely with researchers and decision-makers in Asia and the Pacific. She has significant experience in scientific capacity building that includes developing capacity of early-career researchers; plans dialogues that cross the science-policy interface; and engages with international organisations including UNFCCC via SBSTA and the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP), IPCC and IPBES. Most recently she headed an activity that culminated in the publication of a Special Issue in Elsevier Environmental Research in 2020 of 14 APN projects. She has over eight years of lecturing experience in Japanese universities on “Global Environmental Systems” and holds a doctorate degree in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, UK.

Dr. Akio Takemoto is Programme Head at United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) based in Tokyo Japan. He leads and coordinates academic and administrative activities of UNU-IAS projects in the institute’s three thematic areas: sustainable societies, natural capital and biodiversity, and global change and resilience. From January 2018 to January 2020, Dr. Takemoto served as Senior Environmental Specialist at Global Environmental Facility (GEF). He managed the GEF programs in Climate Change and Chemicals & Waste focal areas at the GEF Secretariat in Washington, DC, USA. From July 2017 to January 2018, Dr. Takemoto served for climate change negotiation as Director for International Strategy on Climate Change at Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ). From July 2014 to July 2017, He served as Directors of Research and Information Office and Climate Change Adaptation office at MOEJ.

He contributed to formulation of Japan’s first National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change, and served as delegation to the IPCC and UNFCCC, and promotion of earth observation and environmental research programs. From July 2011 to July 2014, Dr. Takemoto served as Secretariat Director for the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN-GCR) to provide financial and technical support for regional research activities for the 22 member countries. From August 2000 to August 2003, he served as Secretary to Permanent Delegation to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) based in Paris France. Dr. Takemoto started his career in the Environmental Administration (Environment Agency of Japan) in April 1992. He was awarded his PhD (Environmental and Functional Sciences) from Ibaraki University in March 2010, and a Master’s Degree of Science (Geophysics) from Hokkaido University in March 1992.

Dr. Amit Ranjan is a Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. His latest book is Contested Waters: India’s Transboundary River Water Disputes in South Asia (Routledge, London, and New Delhi, 2020). His papers review essays and book reviews have been widely published in journals, including Asian Survey, Asian Affairs, Asian Ethnicity, Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, Economic & Political Weekly, India Review, Indian Journal of Public Administration, India Quarterly, Journal of Migration Affairs, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, Roundtable: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, Social Change, Studies in Indian Politics, Society and Culture in South Asia, South Asia Research, Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, Water History, and World Water Policy. He has also written short pieces for The Wire, The Friday Times, The Citizen, and Prabhat Khabar.

Dennis Mombauer has over a decade of experience working in research, management, administration, and coordination in the private sector and the development sector. His key areas of work include coordination of knowledge management, communications, and research activities across various projects, covering thematic areas related to climate change, adaptation and resilience, loss & damage, climate finance, risk management, just transition, sustainable development, human mobility, ecosystem conservation and restoration, and other related topics. Dennis was the lead researcher for country profiles for National Adaptation Plan development in seven African and Asian countries, the co-lead for research on adaptation and loss & damage in Nationally Determined Contributions of three South Asian countries, and the coordinator of several workshop series, virtual summits, research consultations, and other events. He is a member of international fora and platforms such as the Climate, Migration, and Displacement Platform as well as technical expert groups including the Gender Working Group and Impact Working Group of the InsuResilience Global Partnership, the Energy Transition Working Group of CANSA, or UNFCCC technical working groups, and the Reference Group for the Baseline Analysis Report under the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. Speaker at national and international events and regular contributor to national and international media outlets, research products, and scientific publications (e.g., Routledge, Earth Island Journal, Mongabay, Daily Financial Times, or The Straits Times) on climate risk management, adaptation, loss & damage, human mobility, and related topics. Participating observer to UNFCCC meetings of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COPs), and constituted bodies such as the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism, the Adaptation Committee, and the Standing Committee on Finance. Dennis holds a master’s degree in education, English studies, and philosophy from the University of Cologne.

Hina Lotia is a development professional with 22+ years of technical experience in project implementation, research, training and capacity building, development planning, program development and knowledge management. She has spearheaded the development of two pioneering programmes on Climate Change and Water for a leading non-profit in Pakistan. Designed and led planning and development of numerous initiatives on sustainable development, environment and climate change, water resource management, rural and urban resilient development, and knowledge networks. Has experience of working with the public, international donors and the non-profit sector. Successfully managed projects and programmes across Pakistan and in Asia including Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Indonesia, and parts of Central and Southeast Asia. Designed, developed and rolled out multitude of training and capability enhancement programmes at national and international platforms. Led various research projects and have published internationally. Led the project titled Methods Toolbox for Assessing Loss and Damage at Local Level, publications from which were cited in the WGI and WGII contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). Won the Annual APPAM/JCPA Best Comparative Policy Paper Award 2019 by Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management and Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. Member of Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) Strategic Advisory Council, Board Member of Water Environment Forum (WEForum), Co-coordinator of Upper Indus Basin Network (Pakistan).

Dr. S. V. R. K. Prabhakar works on vulnerability assessments, transboundary climate risks, mainstreaming CCA and DRR into development plans and policies, risk insurance, adaptation metrics, adaptive policies and institutions, loss and damage, and capacity needs assessments using mixed methods approaches. He led projects in South and South-East Asian countries. After PhD in Field Crop Management, he went on to work with a number of national and international research and development organizations for the past 19 years supported by a strong publication record. He has been a CA to the Fifth and Sixth Assessment Reports of the IPCC Working Group II, CLA for the UNEP Geo-6 report, and LA for the HIMAP Report.

Dr. Lam Vu Thanh Noi is a Vice Manager of Training and International Cooperation Department and Senior Researcher of SIWRR. She received her Ph.D degree from Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand. She has 20+ years of experience and worked on water supply planning, water policy and governance for water security, water demand management and public engagement, water resource management, climate change risk assessment and adaptation for water sector in Southeast Asia. Dr. Lam Noi was a principal investigator of APN funded project with the title “Climate change risk assessment and adaptation for loss and damage of urban transportation infrastructure in Southeast Asia“. She is also a lecturer with teaching experiences at AIT and Dalat University. Currently, Dr.Lam is a Principal Investigator of Stockholm Environmental Institute funded project (SUMERNET 4ALL project) with the study areas in Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. She is also the Team Leader of some international and national research projects at SIWRR that focus on water resources policies and assessment, water security, climate change adaptation for water resources management in Vietnam. She has involved in several projects funded by international donors and organizations including AIT, APN, ADB, BMUB, SIDA, World Bank

Michael Boyland is a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Asia Centre, working on climate change, disasters and development. Michael has been working to better understand the connections between disaster risk, climate change and development, and how societies across Southeast Asia can enact transformations for more equitable, resilient and sustainable development. His research also focuses on the gender and social equity dimensions of risk and resilience, for example through understanding how women, children and ethnic minorities are particularly at risk to climate change and disasters. Michael has a Master’s degree (distinction) in Disasters, Adaptation and Development, awarded by King’s College London, and is an IRDR Young Scientist.

Dr. Kees van der Geest is a human geographer who studies the impacts of climate change, human mobility, environmental change, adaptation, livelihood resilience and rural development. Key features of his work are the people-centred perspective and the mixed-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative research tools. His work has contributed substantially to expanding the empirical evidence base on migration-environment linkages and impacts of climate change beyond adaptation (“loss and damage”). Kees has extensive fieldwork experience, mostly in Ghana (5 years), but also in Burkina Faso, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Marshall Islands and Bolivia. He coordinated research in many other countries across the Global South. Since 2012 he has been working as senior researcher at United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security in Bonn (UNU-EHS). In September 2019 he became Head of Section, leading the newly established ‘Migration and Environment’ Section. Between 2014 and 2017 Kees co-organized the annual Resilience Academy, which is a network of approximately 100 young professionals working on resilience, loss and damage, and human mobility in the context of global environmental change. From 2016 to 2018 he has been on a part-time secondment to the University of Hawaii, where he was involved in a research project about migration and environment linkages in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Kees studied at the University of Amsterdam (human geography) and a semester at the University of Sussex (migration studies). His Master’s thesis and PhD thesis were published as monographs by the African Studies Centre. Several chapters of his PhD thesis about migration-environment linkages in Ghana have been published in international journals, like International Migration, Africa, Environment and Urbanization and Forced Migration Review. Two articles from his PhD are in the top-50 of most influential articles on the relation between migration and the environment according to ISI web of knowledge.

Dr. Senaka Basnayake is the Director, Climate Resilience Department at ADPC and has over 30 years of professional experience in conducting research on severe weather events, executing numerical models to simulate them, and analysing observed meteorological and climatological data for understanding climate change, variability, and extreme weather events. He is also involved in designing and managing large-scale programmes on climate change, climate change adaptation and climate resilient development, setting up early warning systems, nature-based solutions in Asia and the Pacific. He has a PhD in Meteorology and has a number of publications in international peer reviewed journals.

Harjeet Singh is a global expert on the issues of climate impacts, migration, and adaptation. He has supported countries across the world on tackling climate change, coordinating emergency response and disaster resilience programmes. He is a Senior Advisor at Climate Action Network International and serves as Global Director – Engagement and Partnerships at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. He is a member of the United Nations’ Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management under the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage. Harjeet co-founded Satat Sampada, a social enterprise that promotes sustainable environmental solutions such as organic food and farming in India and beyond

Dr. Vigya Sharma is a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the Sustainable Minerals Institute of The University of Queensland, Australia. She has several years’ experience in applied research in both domestic and international mining and energy sectors, particularly in areas at the intersection of society and the natural environment. Her past research has examined the political economy of energy transitions in resource communities, interconnections between energy, climate change (and disasters), and development, and the impact of climate variability on the extractives sector in a variety of socio-economic contexts. Most recently, Vigya led the design and delivery of UQ’s inaugural course on Humanitarian Engineering, available to all engineering undergraduate students. Vigya has a PhD in sustainability and international development from the University of Adelaide, MSc in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Infrastructure from KTH, Sweden, and BE in Instrumentation from Kurukshetra, India.

Dr. Rodel D. Lasco has almost 40 years of experience in natural resources and environmental research, conservation, education and development. His work has focused on issues related to natural resources conservation, climate change and land degradation. He is the author of several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the 2007 co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in the Philippines. He is the Executive Director of the Oscar M Lopez Center, a private foundation whose mission is to promote action research on climate adaptation and disasters risk reduction. Concurrently, he is a senior scientist of the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), a centre devoted to promoting “trees on farms”. He is an affiliate professor at the University of the Philippines. He is a multi-awarded scientist with over 80 technical publications in national and international journals dealing with the various aspects of natural resources conservation and environmental management. He pioneered research in the Philippines on climate change adaptation in the natural resources sector, and the role of tropical forests in climate change. He also spearheaded the Philippines sub-global component of the global Millennium Ecosystems Assessment.

Dr. Le Minh Nhat is Deputy Director Department Natural Disaster Respond and Recovery, Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA), Dr. Nhat has over 25 years of experience in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management within the Vietnam. He is a person involved in development of policies and strategies of DRR, taking lead in state administration of Natural Disaster Respond and Recovery activities in Viet Nam, specifically conducting climate change and disaster risks impact assessments; and he has led numerous regional and national responses to tropical cyclone and extreme rainfall events, as well as other natural disasters, analyzing loss and damage in line with Warsaw International Mechanism; Building up Risk Scenarios of Vietnam. Dr. Nhat was previously the official as Director of the Climate Change Adaptation Division (CCA Vietnam) of the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change (DMHCC), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Vietnam (MONRE) for five year, taking lead in state administration of Climate Change Adaptation activities in Viet Nam. Dr. Nhat received his PhD (2008) degrees in Hydrology from the Kyoto University, Japan, and Masters of Science (1998) and his Bachelor of Science degree from Hanoi Water Resources University.

Prof. Saleemul Huq is the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and Professor at the Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) as well as Associate of the International Institute on Environment and Development (IIED) in the United Kingdom as well as the Chair of the Expert Advisory Group for the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and also Senior Adviser on Locally Led Adaptation with Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) headquartered in the Netherlands. He is an expert in adaptation to climate change in the most Vulnerable developing countries and has been a lead author of the third , fourth and fifth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and he also advises the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

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