Dr Abhijit Basu is a Climate Scientist working as Advisor at GIZ India in the project called Innovative Climate Risk Insurance in Rural Areas of India (ICRI). Prior to it, he worked at MoEFCC, GoI and contributed to India’s BUR-3 and National Communications to UNFCCC. Abhijit has earned his PhD in Meteorology from University of Cologne, Germany and post doc from University of Utrecht, Netherlands on GHG emission. He studied at IIRS, ISRO for his MTech in RS & GIS and in University of Calcutta for his Graduation and Post-Graduation in Physics and Atmospheric Sciences.

Pending

Anindya is a development professional with four years of experience in the areas of climate change adaptation and climate finance. Prior to this, in his role as a Test Engineer at an IT MNC in India, he supported clients in identifying issues in web platforms. Having a background in technology, he is interested in topics relevant to digital development and digital transformation. In his current role at GIZ, he is exploring options to leverage data, technology and finance to mainstream climate adaptation in various sectors. In his free time, Anindya likes to travel, and listen to music.

Dr. Anish Chatterjee is PhD from Indian IARI, Pusa, New Delhi and has been working on Climate Change Adaptation, in the development sector for over 20 years. He has worked with several national and international development organisations and Government of India (Ministry of Rural Development and National Institute for Disaster Management), with substantial exposure to National and International forums on Climate Change, Development and Agriculture issues. Before joining GSDP project, he was working with UNDP, providing technical assistance to MoEFCC (Govt. of India), for developing India’s first Adaptation Communication to UNFCCC. He also contributed by reviewing the Nobel Peace Prize winning IPCC’s (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change) Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group III), 2007.

Ankur is a Junior Environmental Policy Advisor at GIZ India under the Circular Economy Solutions Preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems (CES) project. He is an experienced urban planner-researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the field of solid waste management and circular economy. Ankur has a keen interest in resources, recycling & recovery, fate of single use plastics, extended producer responsibility (EPR) and environmental performance of waste systems. He is also simultaneously pursuing PhD from IIT Bombay in this domain and was engaged with NGOs for groundwork in this sector at Mumbai.

Aparna has more than 20 years of experience working with national and international development projects in India while associated with lead NGOs, government departments, UN organizations. She has done her Masters in Zoology from Aligarh Muslim University, and Master of Arts in Sociology from HNB Garhwal University. She has also completed a one-year certificate course in “Urban Decentralization & Good Governance with Gender Perspective” from Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy, Sweden and PG Diploma in HRM from Indira Gandhi National Open University. Her core competencies are planning, implementation and monitoring of the projects. Her area of specialization are livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, NRM, Climate Change adaptation and mitigation. She has joined as State Advisor for Uttarakhand under RECAP4NDC Implementation in India. Prior to join GIZ India, Aparna was leading a Gef-GoI-UNDP “SECURE Himalaya” Project in Uttarakhand for past 5 years while being associated with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Her hobbies are singing and travelling.

Mr. Apoorva Agrawal working as the Jr. Environmental Policy Advisor for the MoEFCC as part of the CES initiative. His academic credentials include a Master's in Environmental Engineering from BITS Pilani and a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering from Jaypee University, India. He has post-qualification professional experience in the area of waste and environment management including plastic waste management, solid waste management, circular economy, environmental impact assessment (EIA), social impact assessment (SIA), environment and social due diligence, and many others. He also has skills in mapping with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), field research for social and environmental evaluation, data gathering, plastic cleanup activities, ground truthing, and assessments of macroplastics.

Arun Poojary is a development and environment professional with over 16 years of implementation and policy-level experience in forestry, climate change, climate finance, natural resource management, and livelihood development. Previously, he worked with the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in providing advisory support in climate change negotiation, adaptation, and forestry issues. Arun also worked on REDD+ readiness activities with state forest departments and communities in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh under the USAID-supported Forest-PLUS program. He has MS in Environment Science and Policy from Clark University, USA, and MBA from Gandhigram Rural University, Tamil Nadu, India. Arun is an alumnus of the Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program.

Aruneema Singh is a sustainable development practitioner with core competency in development economics, environmental economics and policy. With more than 4 years of experience, she has worked on enhancing capacities in forest certification, circular economy and behavioural change communication - with a focus on monitoring and evaluation, developing knowledge products and communication strategies. Aruneema has done her MA in Economics from Delhi School of Economics and her BA (Honors) in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi.

Baya is working as the Communication Specialist for the project “Support to the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership”. In addition, she is also responsible for the knowledge management for GIZ- India’s Climate Change and Circular Economy group. Baya holds over 17 years of experience spread across the field of journalism, media and development sector communication. She is able to apply diverse communication techniques, digital-driven strategies and innovative tools and combine them with traditional methods to develop the wholesome public information and communication apparatus that an organisation deserves and needs. She is well versed with the communications requirements and methodologies adopted by various national and international organisations when disseminating information. She has been working in the development sector since 2010 and has been associated with GIZ since 2017. Prior to that, she has worked with organisations like the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India, the Global Development Network and Educate Girls. She has worked with several media organisations and has an in depth understanding of the various facets of communication. Baya holds a MA in International Journalism from the University of Westminster in London, United Kingdom.

Pending

Ms. Vanishree BR is a Jr Climate Change and Environmental sector professional with around 8 years of diverse experience with NGOs, bi-lateral, multi-lateral organizations, and the private sector. She is currently working as Jr Advisor -on Climate Change and Circular Economy in GIZ India (German Development Cooperation). She is managing the implementation of the “Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India” project funded by the NAMA Facility. Prior to GIZ, she worked with Hasiru Dala and the Anti-Pollution Drive Foundation on Solid Waste Management and integration of the informal sector projects. (HR executive for 3 years). She holds a Master's in M.com with a Human Resource (HR) specialization from Mangalore University.

Dilshad Ahmad is a Junior Waste Management Advisor at GIZ India and is committed to promoting and advancing sustainable waste management and circular economy. In his 3+ years of working experience with diverse stakeholders, including public and private sector players, as well as state and local government bodies, he has handled and implemented various projects and initiatives that would support the circular economy and sustainable waste management. His work emphasis on municipal solid waste, plastic waste, and e-waste management. He also carries expertise in providing technical advice and building capacity.

Dr. Alejandro von Bertrab is head of the IKI project Restore, Conserve and Protect Forest and Tree Cover for NDC Implementation in India (RECAP4NDC). Throughout his professional career he has specialised in restoration, ecosystem services, community participation in nature conservation, protected area management, climate change and private sector engagement in sustainable development.

In his 16 years at GIZ, he has held numerous positions in Mexico, Germany and now in India, promoting forest landscape restoration, fostering public private partnerships, incorporating climate change aspects into protected area management, integrating ecosystem services into development planning, and project design and evaluation.

He holds a PhD in ecological restoration from Mexico’s National Autonomous University, an MPhil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK and a BS in International Economics from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA. 

Dr. Indrani Phukan is currently working as Technical Advisor in the GIZ IKI Project “Protection and Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in the Northeastern Himalayan Region of India. An Applied Geologist academically from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, she did her PhD from the University of Delhi and the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, India, in the topic “Geo-Environmental Analyses of a part of West Garo Hills, Meghalaya using Satellite Remote Sensing and GIS”. She has 22 plus years of experience in the natural resources management and Climate Change Adaptation sectors.

Dr. Shaikhom Inaotombi is an Advisor of GIZ-NERAQ project with responsibility for strategic planning, coordination & implementation for climate resilient management of aquatic resources. He has 7 research experience in Fish Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge & Climate Change including Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology of Himalayan Lake, Post-Doctorate in Eco-toxicology & Research projects of ICAR, NFDB. He has worked for MoEFCC, Govt. of India with responsibility of technical appraisal on declaration of Eco-sensitive Zone of Protected Areas of India"

Dr. Sudip Kanta Basistha has been in the developmental sector for the last two decades with diverse experience both in governement and non government sectors. A Ph.D. in science (Zoology), Dr. Basistha has worked with different community groups and at different locations on a wide spectrum of issues like Natural Resources Management, Biodiversity Conservation, Climate change, local self governance, etc. Dr. Basistha is also a regular contributor to the local media in terms of popular articles on burning environmental & other social issues besides several research papers on the region’s biodiversity to his credit.

Dr. Shweta Sharma is an Urban & Regional Development Advisor with GIZ India, where she is working on localisation initiatives for Sustainable Development Goals. She has over 13 years of experience in the development, education, and technology sectors.

Prior to joining GIZ, Shweta was engaged as a Director with the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office at NITI Aayog, where she led a team of M&E experts in assessing key government programmes across various sectors. She has also worked with leading government and non-government organizations to strengthen the M&E capacities in India.

Drimson Fernandes joined GIZ India in 2019 and currently works as a Climate Change Advisor in the Climate Change and Circular Economy team.

As part of the NAMA Facility funded 'Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India' project, Drimson is responsible for engaging with key partners from the state government and urban local bodies and oversees the implementation and management of project activities in the state of Goa.

His key interests lie in climate change mitigation through promotion of low-carbon waste management, circular economy, behavioural change for source segregation of waste, solar PV and distributed energy systems. Prior to joining the Climate Change and Circular Economy team, Drimson worked with the Energy team at GIZ for the promotion and scaling-up of rooftop solar PV and battery energy storage in India.

A Renewable Energy engineer by training, Drimson completed his Master’s in Renewable Energy Engineering & Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, and his Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mumbai.

Outside of work, Drimson loves riding his motorcycle through the Goan countryside and spends his leisure time watching documentaries, listening to & making music, cycling and playing with his dog.

Mr. Mohammed Idris is an Environmental Engineer and sustainable waste management sector professional with 12 years of diverse experience with research organisations, multi-lateral organisations, Technical NGOs, the government, and the private sector. He is currently working as Advisor-Climate Change in GIZ India (German Development Cooperation). He is managing the implementation of the NAMA Facility-funded multi-donor project “Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India” also known as the "Circular Waste Solutions" project in Bangalore. Before GIZ, he worked with Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department, Government of Karnataka as a waste management specialist under the National Project "Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen" (SBM-G) and spearheaded the implementation of sustainable Solid waste, Liquid waste, and Faecal Sludge Management projects. He started his career with IISc (Indian Institute of Sciences) Bangalore. His research interest lies in Low Carbon Waste Management, Nature Based Solutions for Liquid Waste Management, and Sustainable Business Models for Faecal Sludge Management. He holds a Masters degree in Environmental Engineering from the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE) Bangalore, Bangalore University.

An MBA professional from TERI (The Energy and Resource Institute) with expertise in Business Sustainability and graduate degree in Political science honors. Experienced and dedicated individual possessing more than three years of experience in research and analysis, project planning and management, Knowledge production and project communication.

Pending

Jasprit Kaur works as a Climate Change Advisor in the Indo-German Support Project for Climate Action in India. Her interests lie in implementing tangible solutions that address the interdisciplinary nature of climate change. In her previous roles at GIZ India, she has worked in a develoPPP project on the implementation of circular economy solutions in urban India, has provided technical support to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in the implementation of the ban on Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) and has worked in an advisory role with the Country Director and the Portfolio Management Team. She is an alumna of the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Jochen Ramcke is the Head of the Project for Innovative Climate Risk Insurance and leads Global Initiative for Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM Phase III) at GIZ India. He has a rich experience spanning three decades and has worked across Asia, Africa, and Europe. He specializes in the areas of insurance, risk management, risk transfer, agriculture insurance, climate risk insurance, transport insurance, and catastrophe insurance. Jochen holds an MBA from Concordia University, USA, and holds certifications namely ACII, PMP, ERM, RMT, and TSM.

Katharina Paterok has been researching and working for more than 10 years in the field of solid waste management, environmental policy development and circular economy, with a geographical focus on South Asia and especially India. She is currently an Advisor with the EU Resource Efficiency Initiative India and the Circular Economy Solutions for Preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems project in India at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Katharina holds a Ph.D. from The Institute for Asian and African Studies at the Humboldt-Universität, Berlin. In her doctoral research she focused on the implementation of India’s municipal solid waste management agenda.

Kavya Arora works in GIZ India as a Junior Advisor-Climate Change & Circular Economy. She is a sustainability professional with diverse experience of development cooperation and programme management, ranging from climate change adaptation, to circularity, livelihoods, and the SDGs. She has worked with a vast spectrum of stakeholders including the government, academia, grassroots organisations, industry, think-tanks and local communities.

Kenneth Morrison Pala hails from the north eastern state of Meghalaya, India. he holds a post graduate degree in anthropology from the North East Hills University. He has been working in the field of development and natural resource management for the last thirty two years, associated with projects funded by organization such as the International Fund for Development, United Nations Development Programme. Kenneth is now a Senior Advisor with GIZ where he has been associated for the last eleven years. He is married and blessed with a daughter and a boy, both of whom are pursuing their studies in law and electronic engineering.

Kundan Burnwal is a Senior Advisor at GIZ India and is leading the work on carbon markets, climate change mitigation and forestry. He is a development professional with interdisciplinary experience and knowledge of more than 15 years in environment, climate change and natural resources sectors. He is the Speaker of the Environment Working Group of the TUEWAS (Transport, Environment, Energy and Water in Asia) Sector Network of GIZ and has written several articles and spoken at various events.

Lalit, worked under bilateral programmes mainly with the German and Austrian agencies since around two decades, in the field of environment, energy, resource and waste management (particularly on resource efficiency, cleaner production, energy efficiency, circular economy, municipal solid waste, e-waste, plastic waste, waste-water treatment and ELVs). Majorly worked on ground implementation with private sector (more than 200 industries, state departments, technology providers and informal sector) and later as Programme Coordinator with Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Currently, working as Technical Expert in Circular Economy Solutions Preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems (CES) Project of GIZ and looking at National level and Private Sector Engagement. Also, as a researcher he is about to finish the PhD on “End-of-life Vehicles (ELV’s) in India.

Lewis works in the project "Indo-German Support Project for Climate Action in India" with IKI interface function. In his work so far, he has mainly dealt with the topics of (plastic) pollution, climate change, waste management and circular economy and the connection between these topics. At GIZ, he hasalso helped to develop the so-called Marine Plastic Climate Estimator, which can quantify greenhouse gas emissions from plastic marine litter and waste management practices.

Manas studied Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance. He has more than 13 years of experience in the development sector. After working with UNDP India, he joined GIZ in September 2018. In Manas's current role as a Climate Change Advisor, he focuses mostly on the topics of project management, stakeholder relationship & partnership development, climate change adaptation, capacity building, knowledge networking and government relations.

Manoj Yadav is a Senior Advisor-Innovative Climate Risk Insurance at GIZ. Previously, he led GIZ-RIICE, which promoted direct application of remote-sensing in insurance payouts. He specializes in micro-insurance & -finance, agricultural and climate risk insurance. Prior to GIZ, he worked with Ujjivan Financial Services heading its microinsurance portfolio of over 1 million low-income clients. Manoj holds an MBA degree from Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar, and an MPP degree from London School of Economics as a Commonwealth Scholar.

Mansi has over 22 years’ experience of developing strategic partnerships, maintaining Global CXO engagements, while managing complex problems and delivering high quality projects.

Before GIZ, Mansi has worked with Intel, Niiti Consulting, Gartner and her recent stint was at Economic Times, where she spearheaded the development and execution of a robust content strategy for the India Leadership Council (ILC), a by-invite forum for C-suite executives to amplify change advocacy across diverse domains. Here, she developed the National Agenda for Global DEI Alliance and constituted the board of advisors for the program. Additionally, she led the content strategy and development for ET Edge Insights, a knowledge and networking platform for India's top management.

Mansi completed her early education in her hometown, Dehradun and later pursued an Executive Program in Business Management from Indian Institute of Management – Kolkata. She is an ardent follower of fine arts with interest in Indian handloom.

Meghana Kshirsagar is a Senior Advisor-Climate Change & Circular Economy. Working with GIZ-India since the year 2006. Presently leading the projects on climate actions from local to global, institutionalise capacity on climate change, and circular economy approaches in the textile value chain. She is a Climate change and Sustainability professional with 21 years of professional experience working with Govt, Non- Govt. & Private sector.

He has over 10 years of experience in the Agroecology sector, coordinating bi-lateral projects, specifically towards promoting the adoption of sustainable agriculture standards along with the value chain development in various agro-forestry commodities. His focus has been on promoting NRM & Climate-friendly techniques within agriculture. He has also led the development of various agri-tech solutions for state & central government departments and has hands-on experience in farmer institutionalization and market linkage establishment for farmer producer organizations.

He has successfully coordinated programs & assignments for organizations like CottonConnect, Better Cotton, IDH, World Bank Group, UNDP, and NCDEX. Mithilesh holds a PG Diploma in Rural Management from XIMB and a graduate degree in Computer Engineering from MIT Pune. He also holds an online certification in The Materiality of ESG Factors Specialization, from University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and is currently pursuing a course in ESG Investing from CFA Institute.

In his leisure time, he loves playing musical instruments and explore the underwater world through scuba diving.

Mr. Jai Kumar Gaurav is a Climate Change and Environment sector professional with around 13 years of diverse experience with NGOs, bi-lateral, multi-lateral organizations and private sector. He is currently working as Senior Advisor-Climate Change and Circular Economy in GIZ India (German Development Cooperation). He is managing implementation of the “Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India” project funded by the NAMA Facility, a multi-donor fund and the DPP project with RLG. He has earlier worked for the Global Carbon Markets (GCM) and Strategic Partnership for the Implementation of Paris Agreement (SPIPA) project on key climate policy related issues. Prior to GIZ he has worked with Adelphi, International Development Enterprises India (IDEI), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Sindicatum Carbon Capital on climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. His research interests are interdisciplinary and relate to political economy, technology and financing. He holds a Masters in Climate Change and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK for which he was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship.

Niraj works in the area of Sustainable Climate Finance and is working as a Climate Change Advisor with the project Support to the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP). In his current role at GIZ, he looks after the modalities of sustainable finance mechanisms including international and public finances to strengthen the efforts to meet the challenges of Climate Change impacts and strengthen the efforts to achieve the SDGs.

He holds over 10 years of experience in the areas of Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation pertaining to Clean Energy which includes Biomass, wind and solar, Rural Development and Agriculture. He has worked for development financial institution (DFI) and thinks tanks, viz. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) etc. He has also worked with organisations like the Green Climate Fund, the World Bank, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Department of Agriculture in Odisha, Tripura, Department of Local Governance and the Government of Punjab.

He holds a Master’s degree in Climate Science & Policy from TERI School of Advance Studies, New Delhi

Pallas has over 5 years of professional experience of providing technical advisory in climate change mitigation projects focused on sustainable energy, energy access and energy security. She has worked with diverse range of stakeholders from inter-governmental organisation, multilateral/bilateral institutions, public as well as private sector players. She holds a masters degree in renewable energy engineering and management, and a bachelors degree in solar and alternative energy.

My name is Pallav Nautiyal and I have completed my Bachelor's in Political Science Honors from Ramjas College, University of Delhi and my Master's in International Relations from Jamia Milia Islamia. I have been involved in socially enterprising behavior in the past, working across Delhi to solve a multitude of people's problems. I also have a strong academic background and knowledge across a broad range of affairs. I am currently working as an intern in the RECAP4NDC project, hoping to play a small yet significant role in mainstreaming the idea of Forest Landscape Restoration into the general discourse.

Parul Singh works as a Junior ICT and Digitalization Advisor for Innovative Climate Risk Insurance at GIZ India. She is supporting app- and web-based development, result-based monitoring, and digitalization of the project. Prior to it, she worked with UrbanCompany as a Data Analyst where she handled state-level operations and supported with writing complex queries for the development of dashboards. She has also worked with GIZ India on the ICT India Team. Parul holds a B.Tech degree in Computer Science and Engineering from DCE, Greater Noida.

Patricia Dorn is originally from Hanover, Germany. She has a B.Sc. in Geography from University Kiel, Germany and M.Sc. in Social Ecology from University Klagenfurt, Austria. Her research focused on Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Bali and Marine tourism in the Marine National Park Karimunjawa, Indonesia. Patricia has worked with GIZ since 2015 in technical and managerial positions across the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India. She is married to an Indonesian and has two little boys, whom she loves to take on big adventures!

Pradipta Kumar Saha is an admin professional with M. Com, MSW and PGDCA degrees. As an admin interface for NERAQ Project and specialises in contract management, procurement, logistics & supply. He hails from Kolkata and has served in U.P, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam. His professional qualifications include M. Com, MSW, ICWA Inter and P.G. in Public Health & Hospital Management. He brings in 22 years of experience in development sector like UPSACS, NRHM, Unicef and UNFPA to serve GIZ as an Administrative Specialist.

Praveen Yadav currently serves as a Technical Advisor at GIZ India, where he is involved in implementation of the Indo-German Development project "Circular Economy Solutions Preventing Marine Litter in Ecosystems" (CES Project). With a professional journey spanning over a decade, Praveen, who boasts a background in Urban Planning and Civil Engineering, has made significant contributions to a diverse array of projects. Additionally, he holds a post-graduate diploma in financial management. His education in urban planning and civil engineering has proven invaluable in his involvement in a broad spectrum of projects, with a particular focus on circular economy initiatives, waste management, water and sanitation, as well as urban development. Notably, he has experience in the successful implementation of large-scale government programs and reforms, collaborating closely with various State and Central Ministries.

Praveen is an alum of the National Institute of Technology, Surat, and the Centre of Environment and Planning (CEPT), University, Ahmedabad.

She has been working with GIZ since last 15 years under the bilateral projects, projects of the European Commission and the partnership projects with the private sector with relevant Ministries and government departments towards policy formulation and its implementation. She is in several committees setup by Niti Aayog, Meity, MNRE and FICCI CE Committee on Circular Economy and policy implementation.

Raj Sarmah is an admin and program management specialist with total work experience of 11 years. He supports the NERAQ project as an Administrative professional.

Regina Hoineilam is a junior advisor for the project Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM) in GIZ, India. Regina, have over 6 years of experience in the development sector.

Rittyz Kashyap joined GIZ India in 2021 as a Climate Change Advisor for the NAMA Facility-funded ‘Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India’ project. Rittyz holds 14 plus years of experience in the field of communications and has worked across communication agencies such as Ogilvy and Mather and TBWA Anthem among others. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WWF, Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Pedigree, Dabur and DuPont are some of the esteemed names he has supported through his communications skills. A Mass Communications graduate from Y.M.C.A. Delhi, Rittyz also holds a bachelor in English Literature. Other than work, he takes interest in watercolour, whistling, community art and clean ups.

Sandeep Bhattacharya is involved in enabling access to finance for climate and SDG related causes. His background in the recent past has been responsibility for strategizing and executing access to finance for climate causes in South Asia. He has helped many corporates and Financial Institutions find preferential access to capital by helping them understand the grammar and dynamics of the “green/ social/ sustainability debt financing” market. On financing climate action, he has also written several columns in leading journals like the World Economic Forum, Financial Express, Business India, The Hindu Business Line, etc.

Sarat is an agri-environmental science/policy professional with a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. His work with GIZ India focuses on developing adaptation impact monitoring frameworks at state and national level and implementing measures to scale-up climate adaptation interventions in agriculture sector. Previously, he worked with an international NGO in rural Bihar quantifying economic and environmental benefits associated with improved agriculture value chain efficiency for >10,000 SML farmers.

Sasmita Nayak is a development sector professional with 9 years of experience at different levels of competency in the field of rural development especially with the marginalized and tribal farming community of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh. Her expertise lies in project management, developing community-based organisations, training & capacity building, integrated natural resource management. She has worked extensively with Bihar Rural Livelihood Mission on use of ICT tool to help SHGs adopt improved agriculture practises. She holds a master’s degree in Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation from North Orissa University. Currently, she is working with GIZ as Junior Climate Change Advisor in a project called “From Local to Global creating a model for eco-villages”.

Saurab is a climate and sustainable landscapes practitioner with core competencies in climate change, forestry, sustainable landscapes, and climate finance. He has 4+ years of experience in supporting stakeholders - public and private sector players, government actors at national, state and local levels, and rural communities - through technical advisory, resource mobilisation, and capacity building to implement initiatives that will support climate action and sustainable landscapes management.

Sauvik Dey is a Junior Climate Change Advisor-Innovative Climate Risk Insurance at GIZ India. Prior to GIZ, he worked with Satin Creditcare Network Limited, supporting their financial inclusion initiatives in West Bengal and Jharkhand, catering to over 1.29 lakh low-income clients. His area of focus is project management and communication, micro-insurance and finance, and climate risk insurance. Sauvik holds an MBA degree from Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar specializing in rural and development management.

Dr. Shailendra Dwivedi is presently the Director of Climate Change and Circular Economy team. His core area of work has been on application of result oriented capacity development and impact monitoring in the field of climate change, climate finance, decentralisation, and rural development. His publications primarily captures transformative impact models, capacity development and participatory approaches.

Siddhant Malhotra is currently working under the NAMA Facility-funded project ‘Waste Solutions for a Circular Economy in India’ implemented by GIZ India as a Junior Climate Change Advisor. Siddhant has been working in the Solid Waste Management sector for more than 5 years now with a focus on technical and financial advisory to various State Governments. In his current role, he is assisting the team with the preparation and operationalisation of grant agreements with Urban Local Bodies and consultancy tenders for various studies and events under the project, implementation of the Risk Sharing Facility component, strategy and timeline preparation, monitoring and evaluation of NGOs & consultants implementing various ongoing activities under the project. In his previous roles, Siddhant has worked with EY India supporting State Governments with Solid Waste Management project planning, execution, and other local policy work. He has also worked previously with IL&FS Environment on business development of projects, viability and financial modeling of projects, and, deal management.

Apart from his passion to improve the waste and plastic sector of India, he is passionate about music mixing, traveling, videography, and occasional cooking.

Thomas Lennartz is the Director/Co-Lead of the Climate Change & Circular Economy Group in the Environment, Climate Change & Natural Resource Management Cluster of GIZ India. In addition, he is the Head of the projects “Support to the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership” (GSDP) and “Protection and Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources in the North-Eastern Himalayan Region of India” (NERAQ).

Before joining GIZ India he supported the Global Programme “Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change” as an Advisor at GIZ HQ in Bonn, Germany. Previously, Dr. Lennartz served as Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and as an Advisor for disaster risk management in the GIZ Sector Programme “Peace and Security, Disaster Risk Management”. Prior to that he worked as a Project Coordinator in the Africa Unit of the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Resources (BGR), where he supported projects on groundwater and mineral resource management in several African countries.

Mr. Lennartz holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Heidelberg (South Asia Institute) with a specialisation on natural hazards and disaster risk management and a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Bonn, Germany.

Tim Pfefferle works as an advisor in the project Support for the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership. He was previously an advisor in two sector projects, working to support the German EU Council Presidency 2020 and the German G7 Presidency in 2022. He has also worked in Grenada and Brazil, mostly on climate adaptation and climate finance issues. Tim is a political scientist by training, with degrees from the University of London and the University of Oxford.

Usha Dewani Das is a communication professional with about 14 years’ experience in varied forms of media - text, photographs, film and social media in the development sector, particularly in issues concerning the environment, climate change, agriculture and gender. She supports NERAQ as Communication Advisor.

Vaibhav Rathi is working as a Senior Advisor in GIZ. He is a deputy team lead of Indo-German Support Project for Climate Action in India. The project focuses on assessing climate co-benefits of various national and state policies and programs to enhance India’s NDC achievements. He has an experience of about 11 years in waste management and circular economy. He has worked extensively on low-carbon development of construction sector in India. He has also worked on issues related to waste management and has contributed to Swacch Bharat Mission nationally and locally. He has written widely on waste management and circular economy.

Vivek J M is a sustainability professional and environmentalist currently working as a waste management advisor in GIZ India supporting the CES project. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science & Engineering from the IIT Bombay and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the CET Trivandrum, India. His main areas of interest include waste management, resource efficiency and circular economy. In 2018, he was selected as a German Chancellor Fellow supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to work in the area of sustainable urbanisation and circular economy.

Hauke Waszkewitz works as an advisor for climate finance in the Climate Adaptation, Resilience and Climate Finance in India-II (CAFRI II) project. He has 6 years of experience in project management, economic reforms and international trade. He joined GIZ 4 years ago and worked in Nigeria and Iraq before coming to India to join the CAFRI II project.