UN Water Speaker List

Chair Address

 Eminent Speakers

Mr. Loïc Fauchon is President of the World Water Council and former President of the Water Supply Company of Marseille. He was President of the World Water Council from 2005 to 2012 and re-elected in 2018. He directly contributed to the organization of various  World Water Forums and now is spearheading the 10^th World Water Forum in Indonesia, Bali.

Dr Arvind Kumar is President and Founder of India Water Foundation and Former Governor of the world water council. He is a strategist and key-influencer in development sector with more than 28 years of experience, author, columnist, Water activist, and specializes in ecosystem-based adaptation, water-energy-food nexus, with specific emphasis on transversality approach of inter-linkages between water, environment and SDGs. He is member of Technical Advisory Committee for India’s Third National Communication and Biennial Update Reports to UNFCCC, member of the Meghalaya State Water Resources Council and Meghalaya Council for Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

Mr. Shombi Sharp is the UN resident Coordinator for India since November 2021. he has devoted more than 25 years of his career to promoting inclusive and sustainable development internationally. Within the organisation, he most recently served as United Nations Resident Coordinator in Armenia, after holding several leadership positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He is a published author of works in health economics as well as a nominee for the UNDP Administrator’s Award.

Mr. Satya S. Tripathi is Secretary-General of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet. A development economist, lawyer and changemaker with over 40 years of varied experience, Mr. Tripathi is also the Chancellor of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences-and Senior Distinguished Fellow on Innovative Finance at the World Agroforestry Centre. He has served with the UN for more than two decades in key positions and was most recently the UN Assistant Secretary-General, Head of New York Office at UN Environment nd Secretary of the UN Environment Management Group.

Dr. David Cooper is Acting Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. David has more than 30 years of experience in environmental and agricultural science and policy, and international negotiations, including more than 20 years with the CBD. He has built strong and productive working relationships with Parties in all regions and with partners in civil society, international organizations, and the scientific community.

Mr. Saroj Kumar Jha is a Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice (GP). He oversees a portfolio of $24 billion in water-related investments, analytical work, multi-donor trust fund and global partnerships. Mr. Jha supports an integrated approach to water security and inclusive service delivery, accelerated climate action and food security through Bank’s Global Water Strategy, and providing policy advice and operational support in response to specific country needs.

Mr. Ruhiza Jean Broto is senior Land and Water Officer at FAO. He develops and manages the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture  in the context of climate change, a Partnership established in April 2017 and hosted by FAO, consisting of government agencies, international organizations, research institutions, advocacy groups and professional/membership organizations all committed to collaborate in identifying priority actions for the adaptation and scaling up of successful responses to increasing water scarcity and climate change threats to agriculture production.

Mr. WATANABE Jun is senior representative of JICA India office. He is handling projects in Water, Forestry, Agriculture and Power sector. He is also involved with north-East Region operations. Prior to this appointment, he worked at the several departments in JICA HQ for more than 20 years.He holds Masters Degree in public administration ​concentrating environmental policy for ​Columbia University and Masters Degree in international tourism from Tokyo University, Japan.

Mr. Vishwa Ranjan Sinha working as a Programme officer, Water and Wetlands, South Asia, and is based at IUCN Asia regional Office in Bangkok. He  has more than 12 years of experience working on regional water governance issues in the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Meghna and the Mekong region. Vishwa has co-authored many IUCN publications, including a) Women as change-makers in the governance of shared waters; b) Opportunities for benefit sharing in the Meghna Basin; c) Governance of the Ganges River Basin; and d) Nature-based Solutions in the GBM river basin: Case studies and lessons learned.

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