The Central Asia Climate Change Conference (CACCC-2024)
“Bridging Climate Goals with Action: Making Ambitions a Reality”

Almaty, Kazakhstan 27-29 May 2024

Date and place of birth: November 11, 1982, Republic of Tajikistan. 
Nationality: Tajik 

Country of citizenship: Republic of Tajikistan 

Country of current residence and work: Republic of Kazakhstan 
Position Name: Executive Director 

Organization: Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) 

Mr. Zafar Makhmudov is the Executive Director of the Regional Environmental 
Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).   

His main areas of professional expertise and activities are related to the mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation into national development plans and strategies. Prior to joining CAREC, Mr.  Makhmudov served as the Head of the Project Implementation Unit at the Committee for Environment  Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, where he coordinated projects on natural  resource management at all levels of their implementation, including project development, structuring,  negotiation, execution and monitoring. He negotiated the initiation of new projects, which are carried out in close cooperation with a number of international development partners, in close coordination with the donor community and concerted actions of the multilateral development banks by providing access to climate and environmental funds with the support of the National Coordinator. The portfolio of implemented projects included the PPCR project in Tajikistan “Environmental Land Management and Improving Livelihoods in Rural Areas” and the “Program for Adaptation to Climate Change and Mitigation of Its Consequences in the Aral Sea Basin”. 

Mr. Zafar Makhmudov also served as the Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Committee on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement of 2030. As a member of the Board of the Climate Investment Funds and Co-chair of the Pilot Program Committee for Climate Resilience, he  has advanced experience in managing and preparing National Adaptation Plans, a National Adaptation  Strategy for Climate Change, National Environmental Plan and extensive experience in conducting  negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other  climate related funds.  

Tatiana Proskuryakova is the World Bank’s Regional Director for the Central Asia region that encompasses five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Prior to this appointment, she served as the Country Manager for Romania and Hungary during 2017-2021, Country Manager in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro based in Sarajevo since 2015, Country Manager in North Macedonia during 2013-14, and Country Operations Adviser for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay during 2010-13.

Ms. Proskuryakova joined the World Bank in 1992 and throughout her career she has held various positions both in headquarters and in field offices, including in operations (in Europe and Central Asia Region and in Latin America and the Caribbean Region), portfolio management (in Latin America Department of Development Effectiveness), and corporate strategy (in Operational Policy and Country Services Vice Presidency). From 2003-2007, Ms. Proskuryakova was Senior Advisor representing the Russian Federation at the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors. Ms. Proskuryakova holds an M.Sc. in Economics/Political Economy from the Moscow State University, Russia, and an M. Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford, UK

Speaker at parallel session A.3: WEF Nexus under Climate Change 

Serik Bekmaganbetov, is the Authorized Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea with an office in Turkmenistan from 2017 till today. Since 2019, he has been a member of the EU Nexus Dialogue in Central Asia project.

Irina Bekmirzaeva have got two university degrees in Linguistics and Law and 25 years of progressive responsible professional experience, 20 years of which are in managerial positions for public and international organizations. She has many years working experience in the State Committee on Nature Protection of the Republic of Uzbekistan and UNDP Uzbekistan managing international projects on sustainable development, including issues of biodiversity conservation, climate change, land degradation and combat with desertification.  

In 2014, she gained recognition by one of the prestigious international Fund “Energy Globe” (Austrian business cycles, UNEP and UNESCO) National ENERGY GLOBE Award Uzbekistan 2014 Winner upon the successful implementation of the multi- disciplinary joint Project of the UNDP and Government of Uzbekistan aimed to improve livelihood and create income generating opportunities for low income households in disaster area of Aral Sea catastrophe (Aralkum and Kyzylkum Deserts).   

Since December 2016 she has hold a position of Environment and Health Program Manager at the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia. The main areas include projects aimed to prevent and decrease the quantity of the diseases related to: water, sanitation and hygiene; climate change; air pollution; waste management.

Since November 2018 till present, she holds the position of Program Manager “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy” at CAREC and Manager for Regional Coordination Unit of the World Bank and EC IFAS Program on Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB).

Vice-Chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Speaker at Panel Session 1: Regional and National policies for climate adaptation and mitigation

Dr. Ladislaus Chang’a is a Principal Meteorologist and the Director of Research and Applied Meteorology at Tanzania Meteorological Authority. Chang’a was elected IPCC Vice-Chair in July 2023.

He has been working in the area of climate and Meteorology since 1995. He is the IPCC Focal Point for Tanzania, Co-chair of the Expert Team on Operational Climate Monitoring and a member of the Implementation Coordination Team on Climate Services Information System (ICT-CSIS) under the Commission for Climatology of the World Meteorological Organization.

Dr. Chang’a is also a Board member of the Centre for Climate Change Studies of the University of Dar es Salaam, and a Part-time Lecturer at the University of Dar Es Salaam, teaching Climatology, Climate Monitoring and Prediction for BSc students, and the Science of Climate Change for MSc students. He is actively involved in supervision and mentoring of MSc and PhD students. He is the Chair of the Project Delivery Team (PDT) for GFCS implementation in Tanzania. The PDT is composed of members from TMA, Vice President Office, Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), Tanzania Red Cross, and University of Dar es Salaam. He has been involved in coordinating the implementation of WISER and HIGHWAY project in Tanzania. He is part of Tanzania delegation participating in climate change negotiation at the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meetings.

He is also involved in research and project activities related to climate variability and change.

Secretary of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Speaker at Panel Session 3: The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB): Achievements, Lessons Learned, and Future Directions

Abdalah Mokssit is the Secretary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has a long experience with the IPCC and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). He was the former Vice-Chair of IPCC Working Group I, which deals with the physical science basis of climate change. He also served as the Third Vice-President of the World Meteorological Congress of the WMO. He was a member of several WMO commissions such as the Commission on Climatology and the Commission for Basic Systems.

Abdalah obtained a Master’s in Mathematics from the University of Rabat and a graduate degree in Meteorology from the National School of Meteorology of Toulouse, Météo-France. He also received a second graduate degree in Telematics and Information Systems from the École supérieure d’électricité (SUPELEC) in France and holds a diploma in High Management Course from the Ministry of Public Works of Morocco.

Speaker at the session “Regional collaboration and climate financing for sustainable development”

Mr. Torsten Brezina serves as the GIZ Cluster Coordinator for Regional Programmes in Central Asia since August 2017. In this position, he holds strategic responsibilities for the implementation of projects and programmes in the areas of climate change adaptation, natural resources management, disaster risk management, and political dialogue on climate and environment.

Since 2001 Mr. Brezina has been working in GIZ in various positions, including Country Director in Uzbekistan 2014-2017 and Head of Programmes in Central Asia, Russia, and Ukraine.

Mr. Brezina draws on more than two decades of professional experience in sustainable development and regional cooperation, strategy, and policymaking.                  With his experience in the fields, Mr. Brezina has built a broad vision of the climate-natural resources-land use- regional dialogue, of its stakeholders, of economic and strategic challenges on the path of sustainable economic development and stability. His assignments included operations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Speaker at the Closing Ceremony 

Svetlana Mogilyuk is the Chairman of the national ecological network "Ecoforum of NGOs of the Republic of Kazakhstan". Coordinator of the Regional Climate Network of Civil Society Organizations of Central Asia, Member of the Public Council of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 2018 - Member of the Board of Governors of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia.

Head of the group for the preparation of an alternative people’s report on the implementation of the norms of the Aarhus Convention in the Republic of Kazakhstan for the Third and Sixth Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention. As an OSCE expert, Svetlana developed a national plan for the development of the Aarhus movement in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As an expert of UNDP, she also developed the “Basin IWRM and Water Conservation Plan for the Irtysh River Basin of the Republic of Kazakhstan”.

In 2021 and 2022, she led the preparation of the Central Asian NGOs’ Appeal on Climate Change for COP 26 and COP 27. As an UNDP expert, Svetlana worked on the preparation of the 6th and the 7th National Communication on Climate Change of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Speaker at Parallel Session C.2: Building Climate Resilience on Local Level 

In 2019, Turakul Murodov was appointed as Head of the National Coordination Group of the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4SAB) Project under the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. This project is funded by the Green Climate Fund through the World Bank.

 Mr. Murodov is also Head of the Secretariate of the National Authorized Agency to liaise with the Green Climate Fund. 

Between 2010 and 2019, he headed various projects funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Tajikistan, and worked as a national consultant in UNDP, ADB, JICA and USAID projects.

He has over 13 years of experience in the field of environmental protection and climate change.

Alexey Kokorin has nearly 45 years of experience in climate issues. He is the author of more than 190 scientific and popular works on the underlying physical causes and consequences of climate change, international climate cooperation, education and popularization of scientific knowledge. In 1981, Kokorin graduated with honors from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Physics Department. In 1984, he received his PhD degree in physics and mathematics from the same university. For over 15 years he worked at the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology of Roshydromet (Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring) and the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he progressed from junior to lead researcher.

Since the late 1980s, he participated as a leading author in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for the dissemination of scientific knowledge on climate change among thousands of scientists who contributed to this work. In 2017, Mr. Kokorin was awarded the badge "Honorary Conservationist of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Russia", as well as the certificate of honor of Roshydromet for many years of diligent work.

Since 1994, Alexey Kokorin actively participates in the work of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in the 1990s - as a member of the Russian delegation, and for the last 20 years - as an observer and independent expert. From 2000 till Summer 2023, he was the Director of Climate Program of WWF-Russia (in March 2023, the organization was included in the Russian Registry of Foreign Agents).

Over many years of his work, Alexey Kokorin has been the leader or leading expert on over 30 climate projects of UNEP, UNDP, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, Fund of Presidential Grants and a number of international and national cooperation agencies. In recent years he became involved in activities in the Central Asia, in particular in the promotion of adaptation to climate change. From Summer 2023 till Spring 2024, he was consultant of the Central Asia Regional Ecological Centre. He also represents countries of the region in the special expert group of non-governmental organizations working on climate issues and the UNFCCC (Policy Coordination Group of the Climate Action Network). Since February 2024, Alexey Kokorin has been an expert on climate issues in the Russian “Nature and People” Foundation, where, in particular, he is in charge of preparing analytical materials on different aspects of the climate issues.

Through his work with the media Mr. Kokorin is actively involved in communicating scientific information on climate change to the public at large. Over the past 20 years he provided about 4,000 interviews to Russian and foreign media. Alexey Kokorin is constantly analyzing the activities of the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement; since 2000, twice a year, he has been preparing detailed information reviews for specialists in Russia and neighboring countries. 

a Regional Officer for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund 

Salamat Erejepov is a Regional Officer for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund.

He joined the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in 2017 to support the Accreditation Panel experts. In 2018, he was already appointed to his current role - Regional Officer for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Currently, Salamat Erejepov coordinates the relationships with the countries of Central Asia, Caucasus and Western Balkans (EECA) to implement Readiness projects and build the capacity of country NDAs and implementing partners to enhance their access to the GCF resources. Salamat Erejepov also acts as a focal point from GCF to the NDC Partnership and manages the global initiatives to support the NDC enhancement in countries.

Besides, Salamat Erejepov:

• has more than 10 years of experience related to design and implementation of climate change grant projects and technical assistance;
• holds a master’s degree in Climate Change and Development;
• possesses hands on expertise in grant project development and implementation, GCF accreditation process, national communications and reporting under the UNFCCC.

Panel Session 2: Climate capacity, innovation and financing: needs and opportunities 

Lee Cando is the Programme and Technical Advisor of the GCF’s Regional Desk for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. She has more than 15 years of experience in climate change – mitigation, adaptation, finance and development impacts, based in HQ, regional and country offices. Having worked for various agencies such as the World Bank, United Nations and GIZ, Lee developed a dual profile of analytical and operational skills - managing and implementing empirically-grounded climate projects including those in emergency situations.

The World Bank

Senior Climate Change Specialist

Joe Pryor is a Senior Climate Change Specialist in the Climate Finance and Economics Unit in the World Bank, where he is currently leading the development of the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing Report. Joe has over 15 years’ experience in developing and implementing climate policy—working with both government and the private sector. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked for the Australian Government where he developed a range of carbon pricing instruments and served as a negotiator on Australia’s delegation to the UNFCCC and ICAO. Joe also worked as a consultant, advising governments and large businesses on managing carbon financial liabilities, as well as developing ‘Project Design Documents’ for renewable energy projects in the Asia-Pacific under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism. Joe has Master’s Degrees in Applied Finance and Environmental Policy and degrees in Economics and Forestry from the Australian National University.

the Health Manager, IFRC

Dr. Oyungerel Amgaa (Gerel) is the Health Manager with the International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Central Asia Delegation covering Central Asia. Dr. Gerel has over 18 years of international public health experience in working in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Pacific and Central Asian countries. Dr. Gerel holds a Master of Public Health degree from Boston University, USA as well as medical degree from Mongolian Medical State University, Ulaanbaatar.

Lead Specialist in the Europe and Central Asia Region's Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice 

Andrea Liverani is a Lead Specialist in the Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice of the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region, and the lead author of the WB report: Squaring the Circle: Policies from Europe’s Circular Economy Transition.

He has over 20 years development experience in research and policy assignments as well as financial and advisory support to governments, with a focus on sustainability and climate. Before joining the World Bank, Andrea held positions with the OECD, government, academia, and private consulting. He holds a PhD and an MSc from the London School of Economics.

Nikolaenko Alexander Yurievich holds a Master's degree from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. With over two decades of expertise, he has contributed significantly to the development and execution of international projects focusing on environmental management and water resources across Central Asia. Notably, he has served as a regional advisor for the GIZ Program "Transboundary Water Resources Management" and, since 2020, for the "Green Central Asia" Program.

UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (UNDRP IRH) 

Khusrav Sharifov works with the Climate and Disaster Resilience Team of UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) in the capacity of the Regional Programme Specialist. He has over 25 years of experience working mostly in climate and disaster resilience programming with the United Nations. Before joining the UN he worked with International Non-Governmental Organizations and the private sector.

Senior Environmental Specialist in Environment, Natural Resources, and the Blue Economy

 Speaker at the Parallel Session D1 “Resilient Landscapes for Sustainable Development: Strategies, Innovations, and Partnerships” 

Asferachew Abate is Senior Environmental Specialist in Environment, Natural Resources, and the Blue Economy at the World Bank. Asferachew is Task Team Leader for Tajikistan RESILAND and the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin Projects. Asferachew joined the Bank in 2011 in the Ethiopia Country Office where he successfully led operations on sustainable land and forest management in Ethiopia, Sudan, Ghana, and India. He provided environmental safeguards support for many projects and played a key role in building clients capacity on safeguards. Prior to joining the Bank Asferachew had over 15 years of experience in environment and sustainable development by working in governmental and non-governmental organizations that included Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Heinrich Böll Foundation, and Ethiopia Wildlife and Natural History Society.  Asferachew holds a PhD in ecology from Bayreuth University, Germany.

Deputy Director of the Climate Finance Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic

Asel Madybaeva has been working as Deputy Director of the Climate Finance Center under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic since August 2023. Ms. Madybaeva’s responsibility is to maintain effective coordination and communication with development partners and other stakeholders, ensuring their participation in the planning and implementation of climate policy and financing.

Ms. Madybaeva joined the Climate Finance Center in January 2019 as a climate policy and finance expert.

With more than two decades of experience in government service and international organizations in aid coordination and public investment management, Ms. Madybaeva has deep knowledge and broad vision of sustainable development and green financing issues, as well as of public investment management.

Ms. Madybaeva has Master's degree in Public Administration and International Cooperation from Kobe University, Japan, and Master of Business Administration (MBA) in International Economic Relations from the International University of Kyrgyzstan.

Director, Knowledge and Learning, NDC Partnership

Speaker at Opening Plenary and Panel Session 2 “Climate capacity, innovation and financing: needs and opportunities”

Amanda McKee is the Director for Knowledge and Learning with the NDC Partnership Support Unit. She oversees the development of knowledge products and learning activities to support NDC implementation and ambition-raising efforts across the Partnership members and beyond. Previously, Amanda managed the Partnership’s Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP), supporting 67 developing countries to enhance their NDCs as part of the 2020 update process. This included disbursement of the Partnership's $30 million Technical Assistance Fund. Amanda has spent much of her career fostering collaboration to promote learning across sectors and disciplines to tackle policy challenges in the fields of climate change, green growth, and sustainable development.

Before joining the NDC Partnership, Amanda led knowledge management efforts for the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP), helping to shape global research efforts to support policy action on green growth, and encourage collaboration across multilateral organizations and research institutes. Prior to this, Amanda worked on trade and environment issues with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the UN’s International Trade Centre. This included contributions to the WTO/UN Environment report on Trade and Climate Change, development of training materials and delivery of training courses to government officials and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). She is a Canadian citizen and holds a Master’s degree in International Economics from the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

Alessandra Fidanza is an International Environment and Climate Change Advisor, Chartered Architect, Urban Planner, and Programme Manager with over 25 years of experience in sustainability and environmental projects, mainly focused on climate change. 

She is a Senior Expert at the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, dealing with various European and international organizations such as UNFCCC, UN-Habitat, WHO Environment and Health, UNECE, FAO, and IEA. She is involved in several multilateral activities on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Environment, including the initiatives ICAT, the Digital Demand-Driven Electricity Networks (with the IEA), and FAO-IACSA.

Known for her expertise in the UN system, global climate change processes, and multilateral activities, Alessandra is actively engaged in the field. She serves as a vice-chair of the Bureau of the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policies. She also holds Italy's alternate Focal Point role in the European Environment and Health Process and is an Italian UNECE Environmental Performance Reviews Expert Group Member.
Alessandra frequently participates in international environmental and climate change conferences as a speaker or chairperson. Additionally, she organizes high-level events involving government participation. She is consistently recognized for her exceptional performance, contributions to successful UN-level activities, and strong research skills. Alessandra was part of the Italian climate change negotiation unit and the International Panel of Experts, which contributed to drafting the UN New Urban Agenda. She is considered an expert on cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
With her expertise spanning climate change, sustainable cities, international environmental matters, negotiations, and international relationship building, Alessandra has gained significant professional experience through multilateral and bilateral international cooperation. She actively participated in the EU-Central Asia Platform of Environment and Water Multilateral Cooperation. 

In 2023, she was among the co-organisers of the EU-Central Asia High-Level Conference on Environment and Water Cooperation in Rome on behalf of Italy. She chaired the Green Transition Session of the second EU-Central Asia Economic Forum held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Alessandra has further contributed to the elaboration of Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) for several countries, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Morocco, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Additionally, she authored the UNECE Country Profile on Housing and Land Management of Uzbekistan in 2014.

With a solid academic background, Alessandra has lectured at the Universities of Rome (La Sapienza) and Berlin (Technische Universität).

Deo Gabinete is a Regional Manager for the NDC Partnership Support Unit based at the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Center in Bangkok, Thailand. He coordinates the implementation of the Partnership’s activities related to all the stages of country engagement and knowledge strategies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, and represents the Support Unit at national and regional fora relevant to NDC implementation. 

Before joining the Support Unit, he served as a liaison for the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), where he coordinated CTCN's technical assistance, capacity building and networking activities for Asia-Pacific countries. He also led the Climate and Disaster Resilience programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization in the Philippines and supported the development and management of the country office's project portfolio on disaster risk reduction and management, climate change, fisheries, and ICT. He has been supporting government and non-government stakeholders, throughout his career, to increase their capacities to mainstream climate change and disaster resilience into development planning and policy implementation.

Speaker at Parallel Session B.2: Civil Society and Youth: Climate Actions. 

Adisa Dorobekova, from the Republic of Tajikistan, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Central Asia, with an expected graduation in June 2024. She has also studied at Utah Tech University in the USA. Since 2021, Adisa has been actively involved in two major World Bank projects: the "World Bank’s Climate and Environment (CLIENT C4CA) Program in CA" and the "Youth Climate Action in Central Asia Project." These initiatives, partnerships between the World Bank, AnchorEd, Anchor Schools Project, and the University of Central Asia, align with her passion for environmental sustainability and educating youth on climate dynamics.

Red Crescent Society of Kazakhstan (RCS RK)

Nurlan has worked in the RCS RK since 2002. His competences lie in field of: development and implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction projects; response to large-scale emergencies using funds from international (including IFRC Disaster Relief Emergency Fund) and country donors; planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting; development of disaster preparedness and response and first aid manuals, guides, instructions, training materials; development of policies, strategic, national emergency and contingency plans; interaction with government agencies, parliament, NGOs on emergency and first aid issues.

ACTED

Ilhom embarked on his journey with Acted in 1998, assuming the role of a program officer. Since then, he has ascended to the helm of Acted's regional office in northern Tajikistan. Concurrently, he serves as the Regional Technical Coordinator for Natural Resource Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. With a wealth of experience spanning governmental and non-governmental spheres across Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, Ilhom has been managing numerous transboundary projects with a focus on socio-economic development of rural areas, disaster risk reduction programs, and Integrated Water Resources Management in the Fergana Valley region.

GIZ

Sergey leads the programme “Climate Risk Management in Central Asia” implemented by GIZ on behalf of German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), working across all five countries on the cross-section of climate change, water resources management, DRR and transboundary cooperation. His previous assignments included coordinating regional GIZ projects in South-East Asia, negotiating on topics of climate finance and carbon markets, and working in different roles at the UNFCCC secretariat. He holds Master of Science in Physics and MBA from the London Business School.

MPACT Initiative (moderator for panel discussion)

Ari is the IMPACT Initiatives Coordinator for Central Asia. He has 10 years of experience in humanitarian and development research. His areas of expertise include migration and displacement, climate change, natural resource management, disaster risk management and emergency response, and has conducted research in a variety of contexts, including Uganda, South Sudan, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

*IMPACT Initiatives is a Geneva-based organization, and member of the Acted Group, created in 2010 which seeks to shape practices and influence humanitarian and development settings through evidence-based approaches.

IFRC

Seval, joined the IFRC in 2018 as the Regional Head of Disaster Climate and Crisis in Budapest, then appointed as Head of Delegation for Central Asia in June 2021, holding 23 years of experience of in humanitarian field including IFRC, WFP, TRCS. She combines operational experience in various humanitarian response in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East with her experience in programme management, migration and cash. She holds bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Bilkent University, Turkey) and studied Urbanization and Environmental Problems as part of her post-graduate programme focusing on municipalities` role in disaster management and comparative emergency management systems.

CESDRR

Serik joined the Fire Service Committee of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2006 as its Deputy Chairman. In 2008 he assumed the Chairman position. In 2014, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Committee for Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From 2015 to 2020 - Head of the Department for Emergency Situations in Almaty.

Serik graduated from the Almaty Fire-Technical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, and later from the Almaty High Technical Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Candidate of technical sciences.

UNFCCC-RCC Asia Pacific

Juhi is a qualified international lawyer with significant experience in the field of climate policy, focusing on net-zero and low-carbon transitions as well as mid-century strategies for sustainable development. She is presently engaged as the Regional Expert on NDCs and LT-LEDS at the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand. Her work is centred around country engagement at this critical time as the next round of NDCs is due in 2025.

Juhi has worked with several UN agencies and NGOs, engaging at length with key development issues such as clean, affordable energy, nature-based solutions for development, crisis mitigation and increased resilience as well as governance for peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

CAREC

Rieks is working in all Central Asian countries since 2002 as expert and team leader for a range of development partners. While working on natural resource management but especially on climate change, water management, and risk reduction, he build up a wide network.

He developed common agreed methodologies on climate change risk and vulnerability assessment for the CA countries, like the CRVA for CAREC / World Bank, and CRA for GIZ, making use of his wide scope of experience. He was driver behind the CA agreement on common climate adaptation. He stood in the 90ties at the birth of nature based solution.

Creative building capacity has been serving him in contrasting environments.

IFRC (moderator for keynotes)

Paula is the Senior Officer, Climate and Environment with the International Federation for Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Regional Office covering Europe and Central Asia. Paula has over 10 years of professional experience in scaling-up and mainstreaming climate action including climate and environmental risk reduction, anticipatory action, climate adaptation, green response and environmental sustainability. Paula holds a MSc of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation from Lund University, Sweden as well as a MA of International Community Development from Victoria University, Australia.

CAREC Regional Climate Action Hub (ReCATH) Manager

Speaker and Moderator 

-       Parallel Session B.1: Central Asia’s Readiness in Developing First Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR) under Enhanced Transparency Frameworks of the Paris Agreement

-       Panel Session 3: The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB): Achievements, Lessons Learned, and Future Direction (Session 2: Integrating Regional Efforts and Forward-Looking Strategies)

-       World Bank 3rd RESILAND CA Technical Retreat  

Dilovarsho Dustzoda, Regional Climate Action Hub (ReCATH) Manager of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) that encompasses five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Before this appointment, he served as the Head of the International Relations and Environmental Conventions Department of the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan (2021-2023), Director of the Agency for Hydrometeorology of the Republic of Tajikistan (2020-2021), Director of the National Biodiversity and Biosafety Center (2019-2021). From 2003 to 2019, he had senior positions in the Committee for Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Since 2001, Mr Dustzoda has held management positions in several projects of international organizations (UNDP, World Bank, WWF, UNEP, GIZ), where he supervised projects on environmental protection, biodiversity, biosafety, protected areas, genetic resources and climate change.

He served as the National Focal Point for the UNFCCC and the permanent representative of WMO from Tajikistan. Being a member of COP/MOP UNCBD Bureue and member of several committees under these conventions, he has represented the Central and Eastern Europe region.

Mr. Dustzoda holds an International Relations Master's Degree from the Tajik National University.

Project Manager in CAMP4ASB with the participation of the International Development Association 

Khurshid Ali Tuychiev is the Project Manager in the “Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for the Aral Sea Basin” (CAMP4ASB) project supported by the International Development Association.

Prior to this he worked as the manager and credit line coordinator of the Development of the Value Chain in the Horticulture Sector project supported by the Asian Development Bank. He started his career in government agencies by joining the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan as a leading marketing and export specialist. He then worked in this ministry as an assistant to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources and as a senior specialist in the ministerial office.

He holds a degree in Banking&Investments.

Gender Expert

Associate Professor of the Department of Civil Law and Procedure of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, PhD in Law, gender expert.

She has 25 years experience of teaching and scientific research. She is the author of more than 30 publications, including those on human rights and gender development, climate change, drinking water supply and sanitation, healthcare. Co-author of the Gender, Environment and Climate Change Study.

Developer of a number of training and educational modules, trainer for gender compliance examination of codes, laws, strategic documents, including those in the field of ecology, health protection, gender policy, etc.  for deputies and experts of parliament, officials of the Ministries of Justice, Agriculture, Emergency etc., court staff and judges, prosecutors, journalists, heads of health care organizations, NGO activists. Developer and teacher of the “Medical Law” training course.

Legal expert for the assessment of the Kyrgyz Republic legislation for the compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005), developer of amendments to regulations within the framework of constitutional reforms and inventory, consultant on the development of a gender component for the project “Strengthening Regional Security in the Field of Healthcare”, expert on gender issues and human rights in other projects, including projects of FAO, WHO, IOM, UNICEF, UNDP, etc. implemented in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organizations.

She has more than 15 years of experience in drafting bills and their assessment for compliance with gender and legal norms, e.g. of the draft Social Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Vice-president on International Cooperation Sustainable Development at DKU

Speaker at the Panel Session 3 “The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB): Achievements, Lessons Learned, and Future Directions” 

Dr. Barbara Janusz-Pawletta is vice-president on International Cooperation Sustainable Development at the Kazakh-German University (DKU) and UNESCO Chairholder for water management in Central Asia. Her teaching and research fields cover legal frameworks and institutional interstate cooperation including the water and climate. Dr. Janusz-Pawletta has been dealing with global and best regional practices facilitating sustainable interstate cooperation in the field of natural resources.

Consultant at the World Bank under the RESILAND CA+ program

Speaker at the Parallel Session D3, "Urban Greening and Ecosystem Restoration"

Anna Gorbacheva is a Consultant at the World Bank under the RESILAND CA+ program addressing land degradation and resilience in rural and urban ecosystems across Central Asia through advisory services, analytics, and support for investment projects aimed at healing degraded landscapes and enhancing productivity. Anna has over 7 years of analytical and research experience that spans over a diverse set of areas, including climate science and urban forestry, food security and agriculture. Moreover, she has operational experience in managing multistakeholder knowledge platforms and capacity strengthening for linking climate change, food security, and land management in Eurasian region. Anna holds an PhD from Lomonosov Moscow State University focusing on the influence of air pollutants on urban forest ecosystem.

a project coordinator for SIPA/OECD at the European Forest Institute

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Dr. Georgy Safonov, currently working as a project coordinator for SIPA/OECD at the European Forest Institute. Prior to joining EFI in 2021, Georgy worked as a director of environmental economics center and associate professor at HSE University. He participated in numerous research and capacity building projects initiated by World Bank, GEF, UNDP, UNEP, OSCE, FAO, and others. Georgy holds a PhD degree in Economics from Moscow State University.

is the Co-lead of the Sustainable Infrastructure Programme in Asia (SIPA) at OECD. She joined OECD in October 2014, working as an economist and team leader. Ms. Atamer has extensive experience in sustainable development projects and climate change mitigation, and holds two Master’s degrees, IAE Lyon University and from ESSEC Business School

the Climate Affairs Adviser at the OSCE Vienna office

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

the Head of Cooperation in the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Johannes Baur is the Head of Cooperation since 1 September 2022 in the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan responsible for a wide portfolio of regional projects in Central Asia as well as for bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. From 2020 to 2022, Johannes was working in DG Energy in the EU Commission in Brussels on the implementation of the European Green Deal and in particular on the revision of the EU Renewables Directive. He was Head of Sector for Economic Cooperation, Energy, Transport and Environment at the EU Delegation in Ukraine from 2016-2020 and worked in the Support Group for Ukraine on energy reforms in Ukraine. Before 2014, he occupied different positions in DG ENER and DG MOVE in the area of human resources, internal markets and international relations, including for EU-Russia energy relations and the negotiations of aviation agreements with third countries. Before starting his career at the Commission in 2000, he was working for the Foreign Ministry of Germany, as well as in the private and academic sector.

Director for the UNESCO Almaty Regional Office

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Dr Amir Piric works for UNESCO since 2004, initially as Head of Evaluation Office, within the Internal Oversight Service (IOS) of UNESCO and lately as Chief Programme Coordinator at UNESCO Institute for Lifelong-learning in Hamburg, Germany. He has been appointed as Director (Officer-in-Charge) for the UNESCO Almaty Regional Office as of 1 April 2023. Before joining UNESCO, Dr Amir Piric worked for various institutions such as the Nordic Institute for Studies on Innovation based in Oslo in 2004, and the Government of New Zealand from 1996 to 2004. He holds a PhD in Public Administration as well as s Masters in European Society, Science and Technology from Roskilde University (Denmark).

a lead economist in the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy global practice

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Urvashi Narain is a lead economist in the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy global practice, with over 20 years’ experience on issues at the intersection of environment and development policy.  Her areas of expertise span from climate change adaptation, air pollution management, and watershed management, to nature-based tourism.  In 2016 she led the World Bank publication: The Cost of Air Pollution: Strengthening the Economic Case for Action that influenced World Bank operations in air quality management across South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Environmental and Resource Economics, and Land Economics. 

the Acting Rector, Dean of the Graduate School of Development (GSD)

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

a Member of the Green Council under the President of the RK

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Dr. Bakhyt Yessekina is a Member of the Green Council under the President of the RK and the Director of the REC «Green Academy». Having graduated from the National School of Public Administration under President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, she has been working as the National Coordinator of INDC development of Kazakhstan, as well as the Leader of Expert Group on development of Low Carbon Strategy for Astana City.

Deputy Chairman of the CEP of the RT

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Abdulkodir Mavlodod, Deputy Chairman of the CEP of the RT, occupying this position since June of 2020. In 1988, he graduated from the Institute of Agriculture of the city of Kirov, Russian Federation, in 2003 he graduated from the Institute of Taxation and Law. Has previously worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan, lead several departments of the CEP since 2008.

Vice Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Speaker at Panel Session “Climate Change and Security: Decarbonization and Adaptation Policies for Central Asia”

Country Consortium Representative/Senior Technical Adviser, Caritas-Switzerland

Speaker at the parallel session D 2 “Navigating the Water-Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Balancing Sustainability, Security, and Resilience” 

Oyture Anarbekov is a broadly trained a water resources management (research for development) specialist with an academic background in water resources governance/management, economics and institutional development. He is a Country Consortium Representative/Senior Technical Adviser at Caritas-Switzerland programme in Uzbekistan funded by SDC. He has more than 18 years of experience in water resources governance, management, transboundary water cooperation, WEF nexus, climate change and innovative digital solutions for agriculture, energy and water resources sectors, as well as rural development and poverty reduction issues. Prior joining Caritas-Switzerland, Oyture served as Country Manager for IWMI’s Representative Office in Uzbekistan from 2016-2024. He is carrying research for development projects on application of WEFE nexus concept within rivers of Central Asia taking into account climate change consequences.

Team Leader for Project “Climate Resilient Integrated Water Resources Management in Zarafshan River Basin in Uzbekistan”, Caritas Switzerland

Speaker at the parallel session D 2 “Navigating the Water-Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Balancing Sustainability, Security, and Resilience”

Higher Education:

1992-1997 Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers, National Research University, Uzbekistan

1998 - 2001 High School of Economics and Politics, University of Hamburg, Germany

2006 - 2007 Natural Resource Economics and Water Management, Colorado State University, US

2019 - 2020 Tashkent State University of Law, Uzbekistan

2021- PhD in Environmental and Climate Law, Tashkent State University of Law, Uzbekistan   

Work experience:

2024 - Team Leader, Caritas Switzerland

2022 - 2024 - Senior Officer on Government Liaison and Policy Development, Global Green Growth Institute in Uzbekistan

2021 – 2022 International Consultant for UN FAO

2015-2021 Consultant for Central Asia, Fairtrade International  

2012-2014- National Coordinator, German International Zusammenarbeit in Uzbekistan, GIZ

2007- 2012- Senior Officer, United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan, UNDP

2001-2007- Senior Lecturer, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers, National Research University, Uzbekistan

Panel speaker at parallel session D3 “Urban Greening and Ecosystem Restoration”

Saidrasul Sanginov received his PhD in 1998. He has more than 30 years experience in the field of environment and sustainable development. He has a lot of practical knowledge in the area of environmental protection, environmental problem solving, climate change mitigation and environmental education.

Over the past three decades, Saidrasul Sanginov has been among the organizers of international, regional and national conferences, seminars, round tables and other environmental forums, solving problems in the area of environment and climate change. He also organized competitions among environmental journalists and students on creating ideas and developments for adaptation to climate change.

He headed the non-governmental non-profit organization Logos (for 16 years), Ecoforum of Uzbekistan NGOs (for 12 years), Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan (for 16 years).

Saidrasul Sanginov was elected as a member of the Parliamentary Commission, responsible for the management of public funds used to support NGOs and other civil society institutions under the aegis of the Oliy Majlis (the parliament) of the Republic of Uzbekistan (for 6 years), he was a member of the CAREC Board of Governors (for 6 years), and Deputy Chairman of the Council of the National association of non-governmental non-profit organizations of Uzbekistan (for 6 years).

He was the teamleader in 3 grant projects financed by international funds, of 5 projects under social contract and of over 20 grant projects financed by national funds.

He is fluent in Uzbek (native) and Russian.

Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of CAMP4ASB AF 

Bozor Rakhmonov has 40 years of experience in water management, environmental protection and climate change.

He worked as M&E consultant in the projects (i)Public Works and Rehabilitation of Irrigation and Drainage Infrastructure; (ii) project on Rehabilitation of Irrigation and Improved Management in the River Basin Zeravshan

In February 2022, he took office as M&E specialist in the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin Additional Financing (CAMP4ASB AF).

A co-founder and CTO of SCiO

Sotiris Konstantinidis is a co-founder and CTO of SCiO. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Technological Institute of Athens, Greece and MSc in Bioinformatics from Department of Informatics and Telecommunications of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Sotiris has more than 15 years of experience on the design and development of Big Data solutions in the context of European Commission (EC)-funded and commercial projects. He has participated in more than 15 R&D Projects funded by the European Commission, as a developer and system designer. As the CTO of SCiO and an experience full-stack engineer, he has overseen and developed a multitude of software solutions, including platforms for geospatial analysis and environmental and climate data processing and analytics.

Chief Operations Officer (COO) of SCiO

Panagiotis Zervas is business partner and Chief Operations Officer (COO) of SCiO. He is an Electronics & Computer Engineer that holds an MSc degree on computational science, as well as a PhD on Digital Systems. With more than 20 years of expertise in the coordination and implementation of R&D projects funded by the European Commission and other donors, he is frequently working with industry, research and international organizations on managing and delivering, within tight time, budget and quality constraints, ambitious and challenging projects that deal with the digital transformation of the agri-food sector. He has also successfully managed the successful organization of several events such as international conferences, workshops and industrial events. Panagiotis joined SCiO in August 2019 and with his capacity as COO, he supports the growth of SCiO by (a) managing the relationships with strategic partners, (b) upgrading and establishing processes across the company for maximizing efficiency and reliability and (c) evaluating the performance of teams and processes by analyzing data and metrics.

Speaker at Parallel Session “Resilient Landscapes for Sustainable Development: Strategies, Innovations, and Partnerships”

Marta has over 20 years’ worldwide experience in river hydraulics and morphology.  Her areas of expertise include sediment management in rivers, canals and reservoirs, flood risk management including expert witness advise and assessment of flood risk infrastructure, including nature based solutions.

In the team, he is a consultant on the geoportal and the TsAKIP platform. He has over twenty years of experience in satellite climate change research, space monitoring visualization and software development, with a particular focus on drought, snow cover and satellite monitoring.

Dr. Kauazov's work experience includes working at the National Center for Space Research and Technology as Deputy Director of the Department of Remote Sensing of the Earth, the National Hydrometeorological Service Kazhydromet as the Head of the Department of Meteorological Research, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Kazakhstan as an expert on adaptation to climate change and water resources management. Dr. Kauazov has been involved in a large number of projects on a wide range of issues related to climate change, water resources, droughts, emergency situations, satellite monitoring and web GIS monitoring results.

Dr. Kauazov holds a Ph.D. in Geographical Sciences in Hydrology (Postgraduate from the Space Research Institute, Kazakhstan, Almaty), an MSc in Ecology and a BSc in Meteorology from the Kazakh National University.

He also completed internships and training courses at the University of Reading (UK), the Technical University of Berlin (Germany), the Korean Aerospace Institute (Daejeon), as well as a number of courses in Russia.

Senior Capacity Building and Training Economist

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Riznaldi Akbar is a Senior Capacity Building and Training Economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) since January 2022. He covers diverse areas such as creative economy, energy transition and climate financing, ESG and impact investing, fintech, fiscal policy, and result management framework. Riznaldi also manages courses in partnership with several universities including the University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, and Cambridge University. Prior to joining ADBI, Riznaldi worked in various roles at Indonesia's Ministry of Finance, focusing on taxation, macroeconomics, investor relations, and the G20. He also served as a special advisor to the Chairman of Indonesia's Fiscal Policy Agency (FPA), overseeing fiscal policy issues and coordinating with different units and divisions of the FPA and Ministry of Finance. Riznaldi holds an MA in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and a PhD in Economics from the University of Western Australia.

Deputy Dean (CBT and Special Activities)

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Seungju Baek joined ADBI as Deputy Dean (Capacity Building and Training and Special Activities) in March 2021. Prior to joining ADBI, he served as Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea.

He has 30 years of economic and development policy experience. His other previous roles include serving as a senior policy analyst focused on developing countries for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as an international development expert at the World Bank Institute. His capacity building and training interests include post-COVID-19 recovery and inclusive growth for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. He earned his Doctor of Public Administration degree in public policy from Korea University.

President Director, PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero)

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Indonesian Citizen, based in Indonesia. Edwin Syahruzad obtained Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from University of Indonesia in 1993. Previously he served as Financing and Investment Director of PT SMI (2014-2019) pursuant to

the Minister of Finance Decree No. 389/KMK.06/2014 and Executive Vice President/Head of Financing & Investment Division (2009-2014). Before joining PT SMI, he served for 9 years at PT Danareksa (Persero) and culminating in the position of Director at PT Danareksa Sekuritas. In addition, he worked as an Analyst at PT Penthasena Securities (1996-1999), PT Amstel Securities Indonesia (1995-1996), The Industrial Bank of Japan, Jakarta Branch (1993-1995)

and as Audit Committee Member at PT Timah, Tbk. (Persero) (2011-2012). He was appointed as President Director of PT SMI since 13 August 2019 pursuant to the Minister of Finance Decree No. 651/KMK.06/2019. As President Director, he is in charge of overseeing the overall operation of the company, including the development of the company’s long term strategy, and ensuring strict compliance to good corporate governance practices in all of the

company’s operations.

Chief Specialist, Agro-industrial Complex, Nature Management and Emergency Situations Division of the Department of Planning of Expenditures of Economic Sectors, Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia"

Toktor Satybaldiev graduated the Kyrgyz National University with a degree in “Public and Municipal Administration.” He also graduated the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic with a master degree in Digital Economics. Toktor Satybaldiev worked in the Public Procurement Department under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic. Currently, he works at the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, in the Department of the Agro-Industrial Complex, Environmental Management and Emergency Situations of the Department of Expenditure Planning for Economic Sectors. Until 2023, he was in charge of transport and road issues, and from 2023 to the present he is in charge of energy issues.

General Director, LLP Ergonomika, Kazakhstan

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Poleshchuk Sergey founded the Ergonomics company 27 years ago and is CEO. After graduating from the institute, he worked as deputy chief power engineer at the plant. He was a deputy of the Maslikhat of the Karaganda region and a member of the regional council of Ameken. Under his leadership, he has implemented many projects in the field of energy efficiency.

Economic Affairs Officer, Sustainable Energy Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Jeneva

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Nadejda Khamrakulova is the Economic Affairs Officer at the Sustainable Energy Division, UN Economic Commission for Europe. She is focusing on activities to enhance capacities of countries to develop and implement projects on low-carbon hydrogen production, water-energy nexus, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and leading activities across Europe and Central Asia. Prior to this, Nadejda was consulting FAO, UNEP and UNECE on various projects in the area of sustainable development. From 2007 to 2014, she was implementing projects on financing energy efficiency and renewable energy investments, enhancement of transboundary water cooperation, and assessment of economic policies in Central Asia. Education: Executive Master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, and Master’s degree from the University of Geneva (UNIGE). Languages: Russian, English, French.

Senior Fellow, Energy and Sustainable Development Program, Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD), ADA University, Baku

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Ahmad Humbatov is an international affairs and energy policy professional focusing on the region of post-Soviet Eurasia. Currently, he is a Senior Fellow at the Energy and Sustainable Development Program of the Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD) at ADA University. He is also a faculty member of the ADA University’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), where he teaches energy policy, sustainable development, and economics and politics of post-Soviet Eurasia. Before rejoining ADA University in October 2019, Mr. Humbatov worked at the World Bank office in Singapore, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) office in New York, and the British Embassy in Baku. He holds a BA degree in International Relations from St. Petersburg State University in Russia and an MPP degree with honors in Development Economics from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) of the National University of Singapore and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., United States.

Regional Economist, Central and West Asia Department, ADB, Manila

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Altynay Arapova is an Economist at Central and West Asia Department’s Regional Cooperation and Integration unit. Before joining ADB, she worked at public policy and strategy consulting firm where she led projects in various sectors, including energy sector policy reforms, ESG standards, trade policy, agriculture and food security and other sectors. Altynay has more than 15 years of experience in macroeconomic research, trade policy, export promotion, agriculture, and other sectors. She has Master’s degree in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University and Bachelor’s degree in Economics from American University.

Senior Project Officer, Kazakhstan Residence Mission, ADB, Kazakhstan

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Mr. Kenzhekhan Abuov is a Senior Project Officer working on a special assignment in the Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit of the Central and West Asia Department (CWRD) of the Asian Development Bank. He is responsible for Climate Change Vision and cross-sectoral assessments, as well as for the energy and tourism sectors in CWRD. Mr. Abuov led the work on promoting the Energy Transition Mechanism in Kazakhstan. He was also part of the team that prepared legal and structural reforms in the Heating sector reforms in Kazakhstan. Mr. Abuov led technical assistance projects in water efficiency, productivity and irrigation and agriculture development. He has more than six years of experience working in ADB and seven years of experience in regional cooperation being part of the CAREC Secretariat. He participated in the establishment of the first economic corridor development project in Central Asia. Prior to joining ADB, he took management positions in the ministries of economy and budget planning, labor and tourism development of Kazakhstan and was responsible for policy and strategy development and international cooperation. He holds a Master of Public Policy from KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Republic of Korea, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kazakhstan University.

Senior Research Fellow, Asian Development Bank Institute, Japan

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Dina Azhgaliyeva is a Senior Research Fellow at the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). Before joining ADBI in July 2019, she worked as a Research Fellow in the energy economics division of the Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore. She was also a Research Fellow at the Henley Business School, University of Reading (UK) where she worked on a project ‘Kazakh-British Centre for Competitiveness’. She also worked as a leading and chief specialist for the Tax Committee at the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on energy policy, particularly renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage.

Regional Head, Regional Cooperation and Integration, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Philippines

Speaker at ADB-ADBI Special Session "Advancing Energy Transition and Carbon Neutrality in Central Asia" 

Lyaziza Sabyrova leads the regional cooperation and integration team (CWRC) in the Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank. It hosts the Secretariat for the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program.

After obtaining her PhD degree in Economics from Indiana University (Bloomington, IN, USA), Lyaziza joined ADB in 2000. She worked on infrastructure projects in the People’s Republic of China, and in Central Asia and South Caucasus regions. She was posted in ADB’s Resident Mission in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2006-2008. In the following three years, she was on a special leave from the ADB, during which she was a Deputy Director of an independent private economic think tank in Kazakhstan, the RAKURS Center for Economic Analysis. She led the preparations of ADB's Country Partnership Strategies for several Central Asian and South Caucasus countries and was involved in the Department’s analytical work and knowledge management.

Senior Economist with the Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy (ENB) Global Practice in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region at the World Bank

Arno Behrens Senior Economist with the Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy (ENB) Global Practice in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region at the World Bank. He is co-author of the World Bank report "Squaring the Circle: Policies from Europe’s Circular Economy Transition " as well as several other national reports on the circular economy in the ECA region. For over 20 years Arnault's main focus has been on circular economy, green growth, climate change and energy transition. Prior to joining the World Bank, Arnault worked for UNDP, OSCE, UNIDO, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission. For more than 10 years he was the head of the Energy, Resources and Climate Change Unit at the Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels, Belgium. He is also a visiting professor at LUISS University in Rome, where he leactures on environmental and energy policy. Arno holds a doctorate and a master's degree in environmental economics.

Director, Research Institute of Environment and Nature Conservation Technologies, Ministry of Natural Resources of Uzbekistan

Bakhtiyor Pulatov is a distinguished scientist with a PhD in GeoBiosphere Science, specializing in Physical Geography and Ecosystem Analysis. With a decade of expertise in diverse areas such as climate change, agriculture, environmental and sustainable development, food security, and ecosystem services analysis, Bakhtiyor has made significant contributions in Europe, Central Asia, and China. He currently serves as the Director of the Research Institute of the Environment and Nature Conservation Technologies under the Ministry of Natural Resources. In 2020, he was appointed as the Director of the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development in the Republic of Uzbekistan, operating under the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. As of 2022, he also acts as an Advisor to the Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Ecology and Environmental Protection.

Advisor to the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan

a Senior Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management Specialist at the World Bank

She has more than 15 years of experience in integrated urban planning and design, urban resilience, public policy, city management, municipal services and finance and sustainable development. She led and contributed technical expertise to numerous operation projects and analytical studies in more than 15 countries across four regions (ECA, AFR, SA, EAP). Prior to joining the World Bank as a Young Professional, she was an Executive Planner with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore's national urban planning agency. At the URA, she led various international urban planning/management consultancies and government-to-government collaborations notably with China, oversaw planning initiatives in Singapore, and conducted capacity-building activities and training for international participants. Chyi-Yun holds a M.Sc. in Urban Planning from Columbia University, New York and a B.A. in Architecture from the National University of Singapore, and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Lead Natural Resources Management Specialist in the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region Environment, Natural Resources, and Blue Economy Global Practice (ECA ENB)

Senior Urban Planner MLA+  

MLA+ works on urban planning, landscape design, architecture and consultancy projects globally, with more than 30 years of experience and offices across Europe and Asia. 

Creating change in cities requires more than design skills. Processes and people are crucial to secure success. Every day, Nastia goes beyond design. Her ambition to work for and with people lets her organize inclusive events and workshops that bring together people as the driving forces behind the plans MLA+ is developing.

Nastia graduated from Belarus National Technical University with degree in Architecture, studied at Budapest University of Technology and Economics on Urbanism program, trained “Planning and design with water resources” at Delft Technical University. For the last 5 years she has been working for MLA+, where she leads various urban and landscape spatial planning projects, river regeneration and tourism strategies projects.

Head of the Center for the Study of Climate Change and the Ozone Layer of the Agency for Hydrometeorology of the Committee of Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan

Speaker at panel session 2: Harnessing the regional cooperation potential in a changing global political environment 

Sattor Saidov – Head of the Center for the Study of Climate Change and the Ozone Layer of the Agency for Hydrometeorology of the Committee of Environmental Protection under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

He holds the diploma of the Tajik Technological University in programming and a qualification in satellite meteorology and global climate of the Indian Space Research Organization.

Since June 2022 he has been coordinating the release of National Communications of the Republic of Tajikistan under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. He is also an expert of the working group on the implementation of the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change of the Republic of Tajikistan until 2030. He was appointed as the person responsible for the release of the annual climate review of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Sattor Saidov is a representative of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Working Group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as the national coordinator for the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services (CSIS).

Speaker at parallel session B.3: WEF Nexus Next Steps

Takayoshi Kato is an Environmental Economist at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). His current work focuses on climate resilience and the water, energy and food nexus in Central Asia. Takayoshi has also led several OECD projects, including on: climate change adaptation and development cooperation as well as green and sustainable finance in the region of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. Before joining the OECD, Takayoshi worked at the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in Japan, where he worked with his clients in the private and public sectors on energy efficiency and renewable energy financing.

Speaker at parallel session B.3: WEF Nexus Next Steps

Dmitry Petrin is a Senior operations officer of the World Bank Central Asia Regional office responsible for coordination of regional engagement agenda, development and update of the Regional Engagement Framework for Central Asia, operational support and policy guidance in connection with the preparation, approval, implementation, and evaluation of operational products and analytical works at regional and cross-regional levels. Serve as focal point to coordinate the Bank's high-level dialogue with other regional entities (e.g., other IFIs, CAREC, etc), internal and external parties (e.g., cooperation agencies and other international organizations) and monitor other regional engagements e.g., EU CA Strategy, China Belt and Road, US CA Strategy etc.

From 1993 contributed to preparation and implementation support of projects of the WB, EBRD, EU, DFID, New Development Bank, Foundation for Enterprise Restructuring. He was responsible for coordinating the activities of the project implementation team with partners and government agencies. 

Speaker at parallel session A.3: WEF Nexus under Climate Change 

Ms Lyudmila Kiktenko, Programme Manager, Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC)

Education in Economics and Business Administration, Economics of land degradation. Since 2016, she is the Manager of the European Union's "Central Asia Nexus Dialogue Project: Fostering Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus and Multi-Sector Investment".

Laying the foundation for the adoption and institutionalization of the water-energy-food security Nexus, today she leads implementation of the demonstration projects in 5 CA countries to prove the benefit of Nexus application for different types of tasks: 1) To tackle the sedimentation issue at Tuyamuyun Hydro-Complex (TKM-UZB) 2) To decrease the energy consumption by pumping stations (TAJ) 3) To plant dried bottom of Aral Sea Basin (KAZ)

Speaker at Panel Session 3: Climate financing: needs and opportunities

Étienne Espagne is Senior Climate Economist at the World Bank EFI chief economist office and an associate researcher at CERDI. His research focuses on building theories, models, and methodologies to assess the macro-financial aspects of low-carbon policies as well as climate and nature impacts, especially in the developing and emerging economies context. He co-leads two major programs at the World Bank on analytical tool development and capacity development for finance ministries. Prior to this, as a senior economist at AFD (Agence Française de Développement), the bilateral development bank for the French government, he developed and contributed to a research program on the modelling and evaluation of climate damages, adaptation, and mitigation strategies in developing and emerging economies. Dr. Espagne holds a PhD in environmental economics from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and is also a graduate from the French École des Mines de Paris and the Paris School of Economics. He has published several papers in academic journals in the field of climate change and energy economics and regularly teaches at Paris 1 University, EHESS, Ecole Polytechnique and ENSTA Paristech. He has previously worked at France Stratégie, CEPII and CIRED.

Speaker at Panel Session 2: Leveraging regional collaboration in 

a changing global policy environment

Firuz Ibrohimov has a BSc in Agriculture, an MSc in Land Management, and a PhD. in Environmental Science. With over 20 years of experience in sustainable development and urbanization. He has hands-on knowledge of forest management, grazing, protected areas, policy and planning, and sustainable use of natural resources.

Over the past two decades, he has spearheaded several legal initiatives on a national, regional, and international scale. He has a strong track record in managing and monitoring project portfolios, designing, advising, and evaluating multilateral-funded projects related to capacity development, agriculture, climate change, disaster risk management, and water resource management (both national and transboundary), as well as energy efficiency. He has worked as an independent consultant in more than 10 countries, including conducting midterm and final/terminal evaluations for UNDP-GEF, UNEP-GEF, and EU in Uzbekistan, Georgia, Russia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, Montenegro, and Botswana.

He is fluent in Tajik (native), English, Russian, Persian, Uzbek, Kazakh, and Turkish.

Evetta Zenina, a specialist with broad experience in climate change, natural resources and sustainable management, from January 2019 taking up duties as Natural Resources Officer (Climate Change) in subregional office of FAO (Turkiye and Central Asia).  She is technically supporting countries of the region in the area of climate change and sustainable management of land and water, disaster risk reduction (DRR) to respond to the challenges posed by climate change and to implement and deliver on their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.

She has expertise on managing the projects on   sustainable and resilient agrifood systems that provide a variety of solutions that respond to the climate crisis challenges and contribute to restoring degraded natural and managed ecosystems. Through the research, preparation of publications and supporting tool and methodologies development, she tailors and pilots good practices and innovative solutions, in the diverse range of regional, country and community to transform agrifood systems, policies supported by sustainable governance and appropriate legal and institutional frameworks.

Evetta holds Masters degrees in Economics from the Lomonosov Moscow State University and Sustainable Natural Resources Management from the Humboldt University of Berlin. She was also engaged as an Intern at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and wrote her master thesis there with the research focus on the global agricultural efficiency respective to the GHG emissions by applying quantitative analysis, qualitative methodologies and data collection methods.

Before joining FAO, Evetta worked in United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in the Chemicals and Health Branch in Geneva. She supported the management of the Special Programme projects on Institutional Strengthening (Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata Conventions related projects) with developing, least developed countries and economies in transition. Also, she is the co-author of several publications. 

Ms. Nailia Timerkhanova (Mustaeva) has 15 years of professional experience in climate change and sustainable development. She has been working with UNDP, CAREC and UNEP on climate resilience, transparency and climate reporting under the UNFCCC in all five countries of Central Asia. At present, she cooperates with ICAT/CAREC and UNEP-CCC on regional and global initiatives on capacity building for transparency in Central Asia and the Caucasus.