Gopalakhrisna, a geologist by profession, specializes in hazard risk and vulnerability assessment in South Asia. He has worked in different ecosystems ranging from cold deserts to per-humid regions. Recently, he published “Road to Resilience” a book providing menu of technologies for improving resilience at household and neighborhood levels. The book “Synergy for Sustainable Cities” explores multi-stakeholder led options to build urban resilience, which is based on Cultural theory.

Ferdinand is a senior specialist with an M. Sc. in applied mathematics and a Ph. D. in hydrology, both from Delft University of Technology. He is an expert in the field of flood risk analysis and management with over 20 years of work experience. His key qualifications are: probabilistic modeling, statistics, hydrology and integrated risk assessment. He has carried out numerous hydrological and risk assessments for a variety of inland and coastal water systems and published various papers on these topics.

Educated in Austria, Netherlands and USA I cover a wide range of water related topics. During the past 40+ years I have worked literally on most aspects of the water cycle, from rainfall all the way to groundwater on quantitative and qualitative aspects.

In 1972, Mr. Van Beek graduated cum laude at the Delft University of Technology in Civil Engineering. He joined Delft Hydraulics (now Deltares) in 1976. During the 45+ years of his career, Prof. Van Beek has carried out many water resources development projects, ranging from projects with emphasis on long-term planning to real-time operation. He is co-author of the textbook on water resources  management “Water Resource Systems Planning and Management – An Introduction to Methods, Models, and Applications” with Professor Pete Loucks. In 1992, Mr.

Craig is a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. He advises governments, project developers, lenders and investors in conventional energy, renewable energy and carbon management projects and regulation in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. He holds a J.D. and B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.A. from New York University, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Casper (56) is a Dutch economist with over 25 years of experience in the field of climate change. He has a wide track record in Asia, having lived in Asia for more than 12 years and having worked  in 20 of ADB’s DMCs.

Benoit's main fields of expertise are environmental economics, environmental financing, economic instruments for pollution control, and cost-benefit analysis. He has assessed the economic costs and benefits of large hydro-power projects (including Laos, Viet Nam, and Ethiopia), and designed and tested market-based instruments for pollution control (including Viet Nam, Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka).

Benjamin has a good track record working with MDBs on climate risk assessment and climate risk management, including the use and application of climate data, and the development and selection of adaptation options. He used to work on several ADB projects, and have been providing technical support on adaptation and resilience to the SEUW division during 2021, supporting them in it's initial response to ADB's evolving Paris-Alignment guidance including an interim assessment of the alignment of projects, and comments on internal draft guidance for both the Water and Urban sectors.

Andreas specializes in climate finance, climate change, sustainable energy project development and management and energy policy, with cross-cutting experience in sustainable finance. Having worked for large multilateral development organizations such as GCF and EBRD, he has established a strong network of high-level contacts through the multilateral climate finance world, including in particular the Climate Investment Funds, the Global Environment Facility, and the Green Climate Fund.

Adriaan specializes in climate change adaptation, mitigation and water management, with cross-cutting experience in executing climate change risk analysis, adaptation planning and in training and capacity building activities. He brings more than two decades of leadership, management, policy and advisory experience gained from reputable international organizations (i.e. European commission, ADB, WB, FAO and UNFCCC) and local governments worldwide, across most sectors and asset classes nationally and internationally. MSc Environmental Studies and PhD Climate Change Modeling graduate.