Pham Khanh Nam

Pham Kham Nam received his PhD in Economics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His areas of research interest are behavioral economics, experimental economics and environmental economics with a particular focus on social dilemmas related to the use of common resources; and the role of social preferences in economic decisions. He has published his researches in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Public Economics, Journal of Economic Psychology, or Journal of Development Studies.

Lal Muthuwatta

Dr. Lal Muthuwatta is a hydrologist by training with a specialization in numerical modeling for water resources management. His research and professional background include over 20 years of experience in the fields of GIS, remote sensing, and numerical modeling. He has worked in multiple river basins across Asia and Africa, including Ganges, Salween, multiple river basins in Sri Lanka, and Karkheh in Asia; and Volta, Tana, Nile, and Naiwasha in Africa.

Poolad Karimi

Dr. Poolad Karimi is a water resources & irrigation engineer with more than 10 years international experience in Asia and Africa. He works at UNESCO-IHE as a senior lecturer/researcher in irrigation management. He has worked on a range of issues related to water resources and agricultural water management. This includes having a leading role in the development of the Water Accounting Plus framework. He has been involved in numerous research projects pertaining water accounting, basin and field level productivity, water productivity assessments, and irrigation.

Eline Boelee

Dr. Eline Boelee, senior researcher and advisor for water-environment-health interlinkages at Deltares, discussed how an integrated approach contributes to the understanding of health risks in water systems. She focused mainly on freshwater systems, looking at drivers, pressures, state, impact, and responses. Boelee also provided examples of innovative monitoring and modeling used in forecasting and preventing health risks and spread of diseases.

Collaborating on innovative and sustainable solutions for integrated water management

This presentation discussed ‘The Climate Resilient City Toolbox’ (CRCT), which supports collaborative spatial planning of adaptation measures and/or explores alternatives for a resilient and attractive urban area. Participants learned how a well-balanced plan can best be co-created by multidisciplinary teams and stakeholders in the conceptual phase of planning. A customized CRCT used in an ADB pre-feasibility study of ecosystem-based adaptation measures for Xiangtan (People’s Republic of China) was also discussed.

Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways and Climate Adaptation

Many investments and policy decisions in water management have significant and often long-term consequences. At the same, there are investments being made that influence adaptation requirements and long-term options to adapt. Therefore, making sound near-term decisions is critical—unfortunately, we live in an increasingly unpredictable dynamic world governed by competing and changing beliefs and preferences.