Giriraj Amarnath is Principal Researcher – Disaster Risk Management and Climate Resilience and Research Group Leader – Water Risks to Development and Resilience at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has over 20 years’ experience of identifying, managing, and scaling-up climate resilience and adaptation projects and programs in partnership with governments, NGOs, communities, and the private sector across more than 25 countries. Giriraj’s key expertise lies in developing innovative digital applications and platforms to support nations to reduce risk from climate hazards; examples include the South Asia Drought Monitoring System, Earth Observation data for Agriculture Risk Management, and GeoGoviya smart farming platform. 

Currently, Giriraj is leading an innovative climate resilience program to promote anticipatory action to mitigate climate shocks. This has involved developing a climate-smart governance dashboard that uses satellite and other data to warn of coming floods and droughts, and promotes early provision of finance for national adaptation planning in Africa and Asia.  Giriraj’s expertise has been recognized through invitations to contribute to many global to regional networks, and committees. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Remote Sensing and Natural Resources Management, and is a Visiting Professor at Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics, in Pune, India. He has published over 85 research papers spanning disciplines including agriculture, water, disaster risk management and forests.

Research Interests

• determining regionally-specific (e.g. catchment scale) impacts of climate variability and/or change

• seasonal/interannual climate & hydrological forecasting

• extreme event (e.g. flood, drought, forest fire) risk analysis

• climate change effects on agriculture and food security

• climate extremes and health risks

• developing frameworks and innovative solutions to short and long-term adaptation strategies for transformative adaptation 

• drought and the future of rural communities

• digital for climate adaptation and resilience of vulnerable communities

• implementing climate change awareness and training programs.