Project: CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience "ClimBeR"

Year: 2022 - 2024 | Role: Work Package Lead

Countries: Guatemala, Kenya, Morocco, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Zambia.

Donor(s): CGIAR Multi-Trust Donors

Description: The initiative will transform the climate adaptation capacity of food, land and water systems in six low- and middle-income countries, ultimately increasing the resilience of smallholder production systems to withstand severe climate change effects like drought, flooding and high temperatures. 

• Develop a polycentric governance model that looks across levels, scales, and sectors to help organize decision-making that links adaptation at the local level to policy processes at the national level.

• Integrate climate risk into socio-economic indicators that incorporate gender and social equity to ensure recommendations consider the needs of all groups and leave no one behind.

• Develop a facilitation dashboard "Climate Smart Governance" that combines global-level data and community-identified needs to provide policymakers with informed options for local-scale investments and achieving SDG targets.

• Develop a multistakeholder platform to facilitate coordination for early warning, early action, and early finance (AWARE) to promote proactive/informed decisions for anticipatory disaster mitigation responses in the face of extreme climate events. 

Project: Digital Innovation for Water Secure Africa Initiatives (DIWASA)

Year: 2020 - 2024 | Role: Resilience Lead

Countries: Ethiopia, Ghana and Zambia.

Donor(s): Helmsley Foundation

Description: The assignment is to develop a suite of resilience applications namely flood early warning system for three rivers basins namely Black Volta, Zambezi and Lake Tana; monitoring water risk indicators and developing user guides for disaster response guidelines and capacity development. 

• Develop Flood early warning system using Deltares Wflow model for three river basins and operationalize in AWS cloud platform;

• Develop near real-time monitoring flood and drought indicators using open-source earth observation data namely NASA MODIS and ESA Copernicus S1 data

• Mapping continental scale climate risk mapping (hazard, exposure, vulnerability) for climate investment and planning tool;

• Mapping historical to current NatCat records in developing medium to long-term risk management strategies

• Capacity building and technology transfer to national partners 

Project: Integrated flood and drought management for enhancing resilience and improving food security in the Asian Monsoon region

Year: 2023 - 2026 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Sri Lanka

Donor(s): Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)

Description: The project will develop a multiscale polycentric tool guide and climate-smart governance dashboard to enhance the productivity and diversification of rice-based systems for climate-smart agriculture. For developing these innovations, the project will use advanced technologies, consultation with stakeholders, surveys, and policy coordination across all levels and sectors and scale for transformative adaptation.

• Develop a polycentric governance model that looks across levels, scales, and sectors to help organize decision-making that links adaptation at the local level to policy processes at the national level.

• Consultation with agencies for selection of region/basins for prioritization of adaptation interventions;

• Hydro-economic modeling of river basins to assess potential adaptation interventions for reducing climate risks,

• Multiscale polycentric governance (MPG) tool to guide planning transformative adaptation interventions for enhancing climate resilience, and

• Capacity building of local institutions for using the MPG tool guide for planning multiscale polycentric governance in transformative adaptation interventions for realizing systemic change.

Project: Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project  - INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (43448-013)

Year: 2021 - 2024 | Role: Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Lead

Countries: Nepal

Donor(s): Asian Development Bank

Description: The project will consolidate and improve basin planning and development scenarios and forecasting procedures developed under BRBIP, improve the capacity of staff to use basin and flood forecasting models, adapt small procedures and scripts to run the software and keep the hardware functioning and help the institutions in securing sustainable O&M arrangement for the assets including river environment assets but also FFEWS, DSS, water quality (WQ) monitoring system and associated hardware. The capacity building will also include specific practical troubleshooting of the procedures, scripts and required models as well as the hardware needed to run the models.

• Review JWA reports on the DSS and FFEWS developed during the original project; analyze the functioning of the currently installed FFEWS at WECS, BRMO and DHM, and if needed KRBO; assess current status and reasons affecting the operation of the Bagmati River FFEWS; 

• Re-activate FFEWS operation and monitor performance jointly with DHM; 

• Support WECS with the recruitment of CBEWS nongovernment organizations (NGOs); support the implementation of CBEWS and linkages with DHM including assessing the potential and if possible implement examples for impact based early warning systems; 

• Coach the national FFEWS specialist in training implementation; and ensure that early warning systems provide timely and effective communication channels to reach vulnerable peoples and women.

Project: Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) 

Year: 2021 - 2024 | Role: Climate Services Lead

Countries: Zambia

Donor(s): World Bank Group

Description: The project in Zambia to strengthen the capacity of targeted CCAFS (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) partners and stakeholders, and to enhance access to climate information services and validated climate-smart agriculture technologies.

• Monitoring and early warning system with key indicators on floods and drought

• Promote climate information services in agriculture risk management 

• Integrate CIS and Climate Smart technologies in improving production systems and promote SME’s business model on use of CIS

• Implement satellite-based weather index insurance and bundled solutions with drought tolerant crops in selected provinces

• Capacity building and information dissemination for early warning to early action

Project: Development of earth observation for agricultural risk management platform "EO4ARM" and evaluate bundled climate-smart solutions in Sri Lanka

Year: 2021 - 2022 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Sri Lanka

Donor(s): Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Description: The project aim to develop a universal portal for access by any users, including insurance companies, and portal provides historical climate data, analysis for determining agricultural floods and droughts and triggers for insurance claims to process, farmers' socio-economic data, and their cropping patterns. The government agencies can access the portal and design adaptation responses, including weather index insurance, to enhance farmers' resilience against climate change impacts; and be a vehicle for public-private partnerships and entrepreneurs to emerge within or outside farmers' groups or in communities for investments in agricultural development. 

• Develop a universal portal for climate data (esp. floods and droughts)

• Integrate the universal portal with the GeoGoviya platform being developed by IWMI and the Agrarian services department. 

• Assess Weather index insurance solutions with bundled choices and farmer’s willingness to pay (WTP) using digital survey. 

• Capacity strengthening of stakeholders including farmers, insurance companies, and planners, to use the universal portal, GeoGoviya and farmers WTP to promote appropriate insurance instruments.

Project: CGIAR Covid-19 Hub: Water-related risk and crop monitoring tool under the food system dashboard in Bangladesh

Year: 2021 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Bangladesh

Donor(s): CGIAR Multi-Trust Donors

Description: Together with national partners in Bangladesh and CGIAR centers the project will aim to find solutions to mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the agricultural value chain through a ‘systemic approach’. It is also important to understand the combined impacts of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic, and how communities and the government need to respond to these crises. IWMI will aim to develop digital tools to monitor risks from extreme weather events (e.g., floods and drought), and areas of crop planting and harvesting, using Earth observation data in a cloud-based platform to strengthen the creation of a food system dashboard, which is a multi-institutional effort to improve the monitoring and decision-making process.

• To recommend ways to minimize supply chain disruptions; ensuring access to input and output markets; robust monitoring crop risks and harvest areas; 

• To provide access to agricultural extension services; promoting digital services; expanding social safety nets; and promoting sustainable climate investment. 

• Capacity building, information dissemination and technology transfer to national partners

Project: Establishment of a drought early warning systems prototype in Afghanistan

Year: 2020-2021 | Role: Drought Early Warning Specialist

Countries: Afghanistan 

Donor(s): World Bank Group

Description: The project establish a prototype on drought early warning system for Afghanistan using operational remote sensing data and weather forecast inputs to generate drought indices for monitoring and early warning to mitigate drought risks. The prototype DEWS allows government and other users to support in drought response and finance on the wider initiative by World Bank.

• Consultation with stakeholders, data processing, algorithm development

• Selection of drought indices and threshold development

• In-situ data collection, integration to support in drought evaluation process

• Develop prototype DEWS platform using GEE and front-end third party app

• Produce technical report 

Project: Climate Risk Insurance: Development of Index Based Flood Insurance in Northern Bangladesh

Year: 2020 - 2021 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Bangladesh

Donor(s): UN World Food Programme

Description: The project objective is to develop parametric flood index insurance using satellite data for flood damage losses among local communities and farmers. The IBFI framework uses limited ground observation and established index insurance product using high temporal satellite observation and tested over 3,000 households. The index was successfully rolled out in 2020 in collaboration with insurance partners, with a catastrophic event a total of 8.5-million-taka claim was directly provided to beneficiaries using mobile financial services. The main outcome of promoting earth observation data in developing IBFI is that insurance and other ex-ante risk financing mechanisms plays critical role in comprehensive DRM strategy and building resilience. Established close cooperation with insurance partner for a successful scaling over 100,000 household in Bangladesh by 2021.

• Consultation with stakeholders including microfinance companies for bundled IBFI with credits; 

• Flood data extraction from satellite data and threshold development

• Collaborate with partners for pilot and policy consultation with govt. officials

Project: Bundled Solutions of Index Insurance with Climate Information and Seed Systems to manage Agricultural Risks (BICSA) 

Year: 2020-2021 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India and Sri Lanka

Donor(s): CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Description: The research project is combining a number of different solutions into one climate-smart bundle, helping smallholders prepare for a new climate era, increase their resilience to disasters and improve their opportunities for recovery. The project, known as BICSA, has been introduced in pilot countries in close collaboration with insurance and seed companies by integrating seed systems with insurance, climate information, package of practices for agronomy, and water management in improving smallholder resilience to weather-related disasters (floods and drought) and their opportunities for recovery.

• Concept to project implementation and close coordination with partners; 

• Pilot trails were successful implemented for three crop seasons in India and were scaled out over 25,000 households by WRMS Pvt. Ltd.

• Promote viable business model and scaling among distribution partners and integrate with agriculture-disaster risk management policies for strengthening climate-resilient investments.

Project: Drought Monitoring and Forecasting to Enhance Agriculture Resilience and Improving Food Security in South Asia

Year: 2018 - 2021 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India and Sri Lanka

Donor(s): Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)

Description: The project objective is to foster a better understanding of past droughts/floods (underlying processes, occurrences, incl. frequencies, severities and scales) and in particular to investigate driving factors and characteristics of the most extreme historic events at the sub-continental scale, which will be validated against observed natural hazards at the small scale; Development of flood inundation modelling and its application in IBFI and UTFI to address flood risk reduction measures; Develop an innovative approach for drought monitoring and prediction at the sub-continental scale using the developed suite of indicators, which will help to increase drought preparedness, and to identify and implement appropriate drought mitigation measures.

• Development of methodologies to evaluate techniques on water management, facility operation and water-saving cultivation

• Establish flood inundation model for rivers basin in Sri Lanka and India to develop risk management and mitigation measures

• Strengthening South Asia Drought Monitoring System (SADMS) and develop case studies on drought management measures in close consultation with national partners

• Capacity building and knowledge information dissemination

Project: Next Generation Drought Index Insurance in Senegal (NGDI)

Year: 2019-2020 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Senegal

Donor(s): World Bank Group

Description: This project focuses on combining state-of-the-art satellite-derived variables representing key elements of the hydrologic cycle, complementary socioeconomic assessments, and climate forecasts at different temporal scales to support the next generation of drought risk management tools and related financial instruments specifically targeting severe drought events.

• Contribute to the workshops, and in particular help guide and discussion with partners to implement next-generation index

• implemented for and applied to index-insurance and other financial instruments; 

• support to national partners in implementing near real-time drought contingency plans; 

• and strengthening the drought indices use in national drought policies to manage drought risks in future

Project: Hydromet Optimization and water budget tool for a river basin using Google earth engine application

Year: 2019 - 2020 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India

Donor(s): World Bank Group 

Description: This assignment aims to demonstrate innovative techniques for river basin assessment. The use of Google earth engine technology will showcase how open source can be used to assess real time water resources assessment including the availability of water in water bodies, crop water use and impact on crop production. Once the tool is ready with the display system, the same will be used for training the National Hydrology Project (NHP) team.

• Contribute to establishing comprehensive, nationwide, automated, real-time monitoring and data management systems for surface water and groundwater (both quality and quantity.

• Develop operational knowledge products using earth engine and related datasets and handover to WBG.

• Capacity building and knowledge information dissemination through training events

Project: Strengthening the resilience of the marginal farmers to climate variability in South Asia

Year: 2019-2020 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India

Donor(s): Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Multi Trust Donors 

Description: The project demonstrated innovations across preparedness, emergency planning, risk transfer and climate adaptation to build smallholder’s resilience to climate variability.

• Developed a robust emergency mapping tool using near real-time satellite data and socio-economic data for flood damage assessment in South Asia; Supported operationalizing flood and drought tools in target countries

• Capacity building and knowledge sharing

• Research publication

 Project: Enhancing the benefits of remote sensing and flood hazard model in the development of index-based flood insurance product in South Asia

Year: 2015 - 2020 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India and Bangladesh 

Donor(s): Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Multi Trust Donors 

Description: The project develops meso-level IBFI scheme using flood hazard model and remote sensing data – to pre-determine flood thresholds that trigger speedy compensation payout. This project, apart from being the first such attempt at a large-scale in the two countries, is also a trendsetter for catastrophe insurance in natural disaster prone developing world.

• Scoping report and Potential of Index-Based Flood Insurance Product in South Asia’

• Pilot trial in implementation of index-based flood insurance product

• Develop scaling strategies and business plan for product sustainability;

• Link the role of DRR framework and risk transfer solutions for adaptation measures.

Project: Developing training module on WRM applications using online tools

Year: 2018 - 2019 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India

Donor(s): World Bank Group

Description: The project will develop training course module using open source and public domain platform capabilities for water resource management, including: (i) pre-processing modules to facilitate the preparation of input data, (ii) modelling tools for the analysis of several processes using Python, Google Earth Engine aimed at supporting water resource management, and (iii) post-processing tools to present knowledge and advisory products for water resource application in India.

• Developed training manual, 

• Deliver training and produce training report

 Project: South Asia climate risk profile and assessment of economic and gender risk analysis (44098-025)

Year: 2018 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: South Asia

Donor(s): Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Description: This regional cluster transaction technical assistance enhanced the commitment of South Asia DMCs in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. The project outcome was strengthened the capacity of DMCs to address gender concerns in planning, design, implementation of programs/projects and increased gender equality results in South Asia Department operations.

• Provide support in generating operationally relevant hazard and risk maps to complement SARD's ongoing climate risk screening efforts 

• Develop elements of exposure and vulnerability based on a range of social development indicators such as population, land use, development, and economic data.

Project: Crop Monitoring using Satellite Data for selected States in India for implementation of PMFBY Crop Insurance Scheme

Year: 2017 - 2019 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India

Donor(s): Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Pvt Ltd.

Description: AgRISE (Agricultural Remote Sensing based Insurance for Security and Equity) is a part of IWMI’s initiative for creating comprehensive agricultural risk management strategies in Indian sub-continent. AgRISE framework integrates satellite data, climate data and field specific crop yield data to generate crop advisory services. In this project, IWMI assessed the extent of crop damage and impact of this disaster on eventual crop production using AgRISE for the implementation of the PMFBY crop insurance scheme.

• Produce precise extent of crop maps using freely-available satellite data at the block/taluk level for selected six districts

• Provide Taluk wise crop yield estimates of selected crops for the selected six districts

• Produce satellite footprint and Crop maps and Statistics at taluk/block level will be supplied

 Project: Rapid emergency response mapping using space technology for relief and post disaster impact assessment in Asia and Africa 

Year: 2016 - 2019 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: South Asia

Donor(s): CGIAR Research Program on Land, Water and Ecosystems (WLE)

Description: The project used wide-range of satellite data to provide flood emergency maps for relief measures. The value-added products were shared to National Disaster Management Organizations and relevant stakeholders to support in rapid measures. The project was also focusing on providing capacity building to all relevant stakeholders on the interpretation of the data and maps and obtain users feedback for improvement. 

• Supported developing operational emergency response maps during and after flood disasters using multisource satellite data 

• Developed value-added products including emergency response map overlaid with administrative and infrastructure layers 

• Supported impact assessment on loss and damage from the floods 

• Built capacity among stakeholders to ensure space technology are utilized efficiently in relief and post impact assessment;

Project: Development of post-flood management strategy for the agriculture sector in Bihar (India)

Year: 2017 - 2019 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: India

Donor(s): Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

Description: The project utilized space-based information and flood models to develop flood parameters on depth and duration. The parameters were analyzed for various crops types and mapping at district to block level to support in Post flood management plan for agriculture development in Bihar through ICAR collaboration. 

• Conducted pilot trial in implementation of post flood management strategy in five villages in Gaighat block of Muzaffarpur district, Bihar 

• Assisted local food security in flood-prone districts in Bihar

 Project: Mapping the water resources availability and drought patterns in SADC in response/during 2015–2016 El Niño and future planning for agriculture and food security through remote sensing Inputs 

Year: 2016 - 2019 | Role: Project Lead

Countries: Southern Africa

Donor(s): Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Description: The project used wide-range of satellite data to provide flood emergency maps for relief measures. The value-added products were shared to National Disaster Management Organizations and relevant stakeholders to support in rapid measures. The project was also focusing on providing capacity building to all relevant stakeholders on the interpretation of the data and maps and obtain users feedback for improvement. 

• Developed an early warning tool to provide information on the potential impact of droughts on water resources in the seven selected SADC countries.

• Developed systems for monitoring availability of water for livestock and agriculture and facilitate capacity building of national institutions to implement the monitoring and early warning system.

• Established a baseline of water sources and develop a framework to facilitate mapping of water bodies for agricultural livelihood activities in drought-affected areas.   

• Evaluated water resources information with reference to the social, institutional, gender and livelihoods arena of the affected communities.

Project: Development of post-flood management strategy for the agriculture sector in Bihar (India)

Year: 2014 - 2016 | Role: Remote sensing specialist 

Countries: Nigeria

Donor(s): Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD)

Description: The project was to establish fact-based evidence on historical and current flooding patterns and risks as a guide to decision making on flood response. It also identified flood capture and storage solutions for flood recession agriculture and dry season farming.

• Assessed and analyzed flood inundation and recession patterns over time; 

• Identified locations and economic activities at particular risk of future flood events; 

• Developed early warning flood forecasting tools; 

• Developed flood incidence and soil moisture maps to indicate areas that are suitable for flood recession agriculture

 Project: Smart-ICT for climate and weather information and advice to smallholders in Africa 

Year: 2011 - 2014 | Role: Remote Sensing Specialist 

Countries: Sudan

Donor(s): Government of Netherlands

Description: The main objective of this project was to promote innovative approaches and ICT-based technologies for weather, water and crop-related information and provide advice to relevant end users in Africa for informed decision-making and enhanced negotiation capacity with water and farm related service providers.

• Introduced an innovative approach of quantifying accurately flood prediction and forecast on a 3 hourly and daily time step using hydrological and hydrodynamic model;

• Implemented HEC HMS and HEC RAS models for the selected region that includes river routing, sensitivity analysis (model calibration and validation) for effective flood risk management;

• Developed flood inundation mapping that uses multi-resolution remote-sensing data that provides daily/weekly flood extent, flood duration that address flood flows and maximizing returns in flood-based farming;

• Enhanced the decision making capacity of farmers/water user associations and their service institutions to use rainfall estimation from remotely-sensed data and rainfall forecast to ensure near real-time stream flow information using ICT;

• Capacity building and training event conducted to guide national participants in scaling FFEWS 

Project: Mapping floods in South-East Asia using multi-scale satellite data for UTFI assessment

Year: 2013 - 2015 | Role: GIS and Remote sensing specialist 

Countries: Southeast Asia

Donor(s): CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Description: The project objective was to foster a better understanding of past and current floods (frequency, duration and extent). The project also investigated factors and characteristics of the most extreme historic events at the sub-continental scale, which was validated against observed natural hazards at the small scale.

• Synthesized large-scale global flood events and identification of flood risks hotspots at basin scale for detail flood characteristics

• Developed flood inundation modelling and its application in IBFI and UTFI to address flood risk reduction measures

• Established the typologies of the major river basins of Southeast Asia that have high flood risk and most favour the development of UTFI systems 

• Established and monitor a pilot system in a sub-basin or watershed with high UTF potential that is of sufficient scale to create demonstrable impact to test the technical, environmental and socio-economic feasibility and replicability of the technology and benefits to flood managers and smallholder farming communities.

• Developed guidelines and strategies that foster the uptake of UTFI where the conditions are suitable

 Project: Fine-scale climate hazard mapping and vulnerability analysis in South Asia

Year: 2012 - 2013 | Role: Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist 

Countries: South Asia

Donor(s): CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Description: The overall goal of this project was to advance the quantitative information on multiple aspects and parameters of extensive flood events – the parameters that are particularly relevant for assessment of the GHGs emissions. The approach was tested in selected basins of Ganges and Mekong and included the preparation of a global database for upscaling global scale flood estimates.

• Identified which sub-national areas/units (regions, provinces or districts, depending on the availability of the data) of South Asia countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) are the most vulnerable to multiple hazards (flood, drought, sea level rise, glacial melting, intense precipitation zones)

• Developed socio-economic indicators (poverty, infrastructure, literacy, energy use, irrigation development etc.) for vulnerability assessment

• Produced these vulnerable areas in a map for ease of reference of interested parties

Project: Synthesis of global flood occurrence for hotspot analysis and large-scale flood inundation mapping for risk assessment in South Asia

Year: 2011 - 2012 | Role: GIS and Remote sensing specialist 

Countries: SouthAsia

Donor(s): CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Description: The project objective was to foster a better understanding of past and current floods (frequency, duration and extent). The project also investigated factors and characteristics of the most extreme historic events at the sub-continental scale, which was validated against observed natural hazards at the small scale.

• Analyzed, using literature and online sources, the global state-of- the-art in estimating and spatial mapping of flood-related parameters (hydro-morphometric, climatic and land cover variables)

• Developed the methodology for global and basin-wide mapping of the above parameters using statistical approach

• Estimated and map the above parameters in a basin case study and globally

• Mapped flood-inundated areas for the last 10 years in Ganges basin/Sri Lanka using MODIS data for the monsoon seasons