Global Perspectives: Water Resilience

Join us for the 3rd Annual Ramanathan Climate Conversation navigating water management in India, and how it can guide a climate resilient future for all.
This conversation, in collaboration with the Columbia Climate School, will provide comprehensive insights into the complexities of water management in India, a region characterized by diverse climates, rapid population growth, and high water stress. Panelists will explore how climate change is affecting the physical hydrology of South Asia, how resource management and prevailing infrastructure have shaped regional water supplies, and how existing and emerging solutions for sustainable water management can help build resilience in India and beyond. John Matthews (AGWA) will moderate the conversation between Veena Srinivasan (WELL Labs), Upmanu Lall (Columbia Water Center), and Rochi Khemka (World Bank) discussing the unique water challenges of the country and provide key global take-aways.
This session is being held as a part of the Rethinking Water 2024 Conference during Climate Week NYC. To register for in-person attendance, please visit Rethinking Water 2024.
Recognizing that climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions, Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action webinars on Climate Sustainability in South and East Asia in honor of V. Ramanathan focus on Asia while aiming to identify pathways to action relevant to viewers and policymakers around the world. They are annual webinars in honor of National Academy of Sciences member Veerabhadran “Ram” Ramanathan, and are made possible through the generous support provided by Sunanda Basu. They are a part of the Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action monthly webinar series, which aims to convene high-level, cross-cutting, nonpartisan conversations about issues relevant to policy action on climate change.
Participant Bios
Upmanu Lall is an Indian-American engineer and founding director of the Water Institute at the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, a program designed to predict and address water challenges from community to national to global scales. Prior to joining ASU in January 2024, Upmanu served as the founding director of the Columbia Water Center and was the Alan and Carol Silberstein Professor of Engineering at Columbia University. Upmanu's work focuses on water scarcity, hydroclimatic extremes, and water systems.
Veena Srinivasan is the Executive Director at WELL (Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods) Labs. Prior to this, Veena worked for several years on energy and water issues in India, California, and globally in the private and nonprofit sectors. Veena has a PhD from Stanford University's Emmet Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER). She also holds a master's in energy and environmental studies from Boston University and a BTech in Engineering Physics from IIT Bombay.
Rochi Khemka serves as Senior Private Sector Specialist with the World Bank’s 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG), a public-private collaboration platform for water security. She leads the global program and strategy implementation for 2030 WRG, with a core focus on advancing private sector solutions. She co-authored the World Bank Group’s strategic framework on ‘Scaling up Finance for Water’, focused on mainstreaming private sector-led impact and financing. Rochi has a background in private sector development and financing at the global level, and across multiple countries in South Asia, East Asia, and ECA. Rochi holds a Master’s in Financial Economics from University of Oxford, UK.
John Matthews has been a leader in climate adaptation and resilience since 2007, focusing on water-mediated challenges and opportunities. He co-founded the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) and serves as its Executive Director, where he has pioneered new climate risk reduction and resilience building methodologies and influenced over 100 countries' climate strategies. John's work has facilitated over $20 billion in water resilience investments globally in the bonds market alone and continues to shape national and corporate resilience planning. He also holds academic positions at Colorado State University and Oregon State University.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the conversation are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

[@EmmanuelFaleye]

Highly insightful discussion. Kudos to the panelists.