Prajal Pradhan is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Germany. He studied agricultural engineering and environmental management. He was a lead author of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land and a contributing author of the AR6 IPCC WG II and III Reports. Prajal has experience in developing relevant research on climate change and sustainable food systems. He is an expert in agricultural emissions, food security, climate change, urban systems. and sustainable development goals. Prajal has developed a method to systematically quantify synergies and trade-offs among SDGs.

A recognized expert in how to build resilience in the face of climate extremes and disasters, Dr. Madan Pariyar has made notable contributions to research in adaptation, resilience building, poverty alleviation, economic growth, public-private partnerships, inclusion, good governance, IT sector development, rural and agricultural development, industrial development, and resource management. Dr. Pariyar led the Government of Nepal’s High Level Commission for State Restructuring as its Chairman, and has worked in both government and non-governmental organizations, industries, and academia, giving him a wide perspective on the above issues from multiple vantage points. He has participated, as both leader and contributor, in workshops and conferences in over thirty different countries.

Dr. Pariyar was the focal person for climate change and resilience building projects, and led the programme development as well as monitoring and evaluation (M&E) activities for iDE’s Nepal programmes for almost 10 years. Dr. Pariyar was recently associated with Mott MacDonald as its senior consultant to prepare a climate resilient agriculture strategy  for NCCSP-2 (Nepal Climate Change Support Programme Phase-2) municipalities/rural municipalities, and is currently developing a five-year Strategic Plan for Samata Foundation – a Nepalese NGO.Dr. Pariyar obtained his Doctorate and Masters in Engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand and his Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the Allahabad Agricultural Institute in Allahabad, India.

Doctor on Agricultural Sciences (1984) Wilhelm Pieck University of Rostock. Germany

He Promotes sustainable agriculture on an agroecological basis by projects, training spaces and publications in magazines, books and brochures. He has worked as a researcher for more than 30 years (1991-2001), was Director of Grains of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cuba (1993-94) and directed Multidisciplinary R&D Groups (1989-93). He worked as a cooperative member and Agroecological Facilitator in the Agricultural Production Cooperative “Gilberto León” (2001-07). He has worked as Consultant for FAO and different Cuban and foreign NGOs, for the formulation, implementation, evaluation and systematization of R&D projects. He has integrated External Evaluation Teams of Country Programs and Projects of UNDP, EU, Welt Hunger Hilfe, HIVOS and ANAP, among others. He worked as FAO advisor for the management and execution of projects in Belize and Jamaica (2000). Since 1998 he has been working on the application of the principles and concepts of Popular Education to the training of producers and local promoters of rural development. He actively participated in the conception and design of the teaching program and the Labor Practice of the subject of Agrarian Extension for higher education and was a member of the Academic Committee of the Master Program in Agrarian Extension at Havan Agriculture University (2006-2012). He participated in the design of the Technological Innovation Specialist and integrates its faculty as course coordinator (2016-17 and 2018). He is Coordinator of the National Agroecological Program and member of the National Executive Committee of the Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians (ACTAF). Currently he is a member of the team for the formulation of the Municipal Self-Supply Policy of Cuba. He has been a member of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology since 2013. He has been part of the Working Groups of the Presidency of Cuba for the conformation of the National Food Sovereignty Plan, Agroecology Policy and Agrarian Extension Policy of the country. He is coordinator of the Technical Team of the 2019 Agroecology Contest sponsored by FAO in Cuba. He has published more than 39 articles, on topics related to agroecology, sustainable development, agrarian extension and food sovereignty in the last 14 years, in national and international magazines, books, brochures and websites.

Dr Udas is a professional with experience on interdisciplinary water resources management. She has more than 20 years of experience working on water and gender justice equity issues. She holds PhD degree from Wageningen School of Social Sciences, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. She has worked for International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Ministry of Irrigation, Nepal government under Water Resources Project Preparatory Facility, Gender and Water Alliance, the Netherlands, Disaster Management Group, Wageningen University, Gujrat Institute of Development Research, India and Nepal Engineering College, Nepal. Her publications are on gender and justice in water sector development and climate change.

Mr. Balananda Paudel
Chairperson, National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission (NNRFC)
Current Term: 2018 to 2023

Balananda Paudel is the Chairperson of the National Natural Resource and Fiscal Commission, a constitutional commission responsible for recommending bases and frameworks for revenue sharing, inter-governmental fiscal transfer, borrowing and share of federal units in investment and returns in the mobilization of natural resources, measures to resolve potential conflicts and evidence-backed recommendations for maximizing revenue generation.

Previously, he served as the Chairperson of the Commission for Determination of the Number and Boundaries of Rural Municipalities, Municipalities and Special, Protected or Autonomous Region (2016-17). Mr. Paudel worked as a bureaucrat with the Government of Nepal (1988-2012). During this time, he served as the Secretary of various sectoral ministries of GoN from 2006-2012 like Ministry of Education & Sports, Ministry of General Administration, Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, etc. With the Ministry of Energy, as the Secretary during the year of 2011,

Mr. Paudel has been honored with the Suprabal JanaSewa Shree in 2017 A.D. for his contributions in the  demarcation and restructuring of the local level and the Civil Service Award in 2002 A.D. for his outstanding contribution to the civil service. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and Bachelor of Law from Tribhuwan University. Mr. Paudel is originally from Parbat.

Pitamber Sharma is a native of Falebas Nagar Palika, Gandaki Province. He taught in the Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur for over two decades, and was a Regional Planner with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) for 12 years. He served the Government of Nepal as the Chief Advisor to the National Commission on Population in the early eighties and, briefly, as Vice-Chair of the National Planning Commission in 2008. His publications include Urbanization in Nepal (1989), Tourism as Development (2000), Market Towns in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (2002), Unravelling the Mosaic: Spatial Aspects of Ethnicity in Nepal (2008), Towards a Federal Nepal, An Assessment of Proposed Models (2009), and Some Aspects of Nepal’s Social Demography (2014). He holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University, USA. He has an MA from Tribhuvan University, Nepal and MSc from University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Dr. Meghnath Dhimal works as a Chief of Research Division at the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), Government of Nepal. He completed his Master Degree in Environmental Sciences from CDES, Tribhuvan University in 2004 and PhD in Geo-sciences (Environmental Health Sciences) from the Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 2015. He has also served the World Health Organization (WHO) in the capacity of Temporary Adviser as well as in the capacity of Climate Change and Health Expert. He has been nominated as a member of Global Young Academy since 2017 for five years. Dr Dhimal was awarded the ‘Young Science and Technology Award’ from the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) in 2015. Besides these, he serves as an Associate Academician of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), member of Research Coordination and Development Council of Tribhuvan University, expert member of various technical and steering committees formed by the Government of Nepal, Board member of Journal of Health and Social Sciences and NAST’s Journal of Science and Technology and Associate Editor of the Global Health Section of BMC Public Health and Frontiers in Tropical Disease Journals. He has authored more than 150 peer reviewed articles, book chapters and technical reports.  

Dr. Moses holds a PhD in Environmental Resources Planning and Management. Currently, he is working as National Coordinator for Nigeria REDD+ Programme, a United Nation Climate Change intervention initiative. He works as the focal person for the UNREDD+ Programme in Nigeria, Climate Change Negotiator, and as a resource person on Forestry and Land use change sector. Furthermore, he has participated in most of the COP meetings fronting Nigeria position on climate change discussion. Some of his engagements at major events are listed below:

• Panellist for Tropical Forest  Alliance( TFA 2020) Round table Discussion in Ghana, Congo, Gabon and COP 23. UNREDD

• Co-Chair, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Participant Committee Meeting in Washington DC, March 2019. Participant / Committee Member representing 18 REDD+ African Countries from 2012 -2016-2019.

Agricultural Engineer from the Agrarian National University La Molina (UNALM) in Peru, with a M.Sc. degree in Irrigation and Water Engineering from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and two years of PhD studies and research in the same university. 

During his work experience he has developed, coordinated, implemented and followed up projects related to watershed management, water policies, Water resources Management Plans and Strategies, water security, water governance, participation, water conflicts, gender and intercultural approach, green infrastructure and ecosystems services for water conservation in climate change context and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to Climate Change in Adaptation for the water sector. Currently, he is working on the Water Resources Management Plan for the Mayo River Basin in the Peruvian Amazon, which is the first water Resources Plan in Peru developed for this context.

During his post graduate studies and research experiences, he came into contact with interdisciplinary work, understanding water management from political-ecology and socio-technical point of view, considering sociological and anthropological concepts that make possible integrated water resource management implementation and the complex interaction between the actors that may be generated.

David Jurca is Principal at Seventh Hill, a design consultancy focused on improving user experiences in the public realm through appropriate technology and insightful research. David is an urban designer with over 14 years of professional experience guiding real-world projects and academic research. He has managed client projects at a range of scales, from city-wide redevelopment plans to public art installations. His research focuses on innovative community engagement strategies, temporary urbanism, winter city design, and mixed reality visualizations. His work has been recognized with awards from the American Planning Association, American Institute of Architects, Environmental Design Research Association, and several Community Development Corporations. David’s design projects were exhibited by Chicago’s Metropolitan Planning Council, Van Alen Institute, Havana’s Fabrica de Arte Cubano, and the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

David is Chair of the City of Cleveland’s Near West Design Review Committee, serves as Vice-Chair on the Board of Canalway Partners, and recently joined the Board of CLEVR Community as Director of Urban Experiences & Transformation. David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from The Ohio State University and received his Master of Architecture from Kent State University.