Prof. Kivutha Kibwana first Governor of Makueni County. He has been a Spokesperson of National Convention Executive Council (NCEC) and Associate Professor of University of Nairobi, Dean, Faculty of Law, of University of Nairobi, Senior Lecturer of University of Nairobi, Chairman of Department of private law, Lecturer of University of Nairobi. He previously served as Minister for Defense, Minister for Environment, and a former member of parliament for the Makueni Constituency. Under his leadership Makueni County become the first in Africa to enact a law that incorporates global warming into its development planning. He is a graduate (SJD) of George Washington University, USA: International Law; International Human Rights Law; Comparative Law; Jurisprudence and Legal Theory; a graduate (LLM) of Harvard University, USA: Anthropological Approaches to Law; International Business Transactions; Labour Law; U.S.A. Constitutional Law; Foreign Investment in Natural Resources; and a graduate (LLM) of University of London: Comparative Constitutional Laws of the Commonwealth; Law of Natural Resources Africa South of the Sahara; Principles of Civil Litigation; Jurisprudence and Legal Theory.

Dr Gilbert O Ouma is based at the Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation & Department of Meteorology, University of Nairobi with many years of service at the University. His specific area of specialization is remote sensing and satellite Meteorology. His current interests include the use of earth observation data in improving early warning systems for climate change adaptation; optimizing early warning systems for adoption and use by vulnerable communities; and exploring the role of disaster risk management in the sustainability of food and nutrition security for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. He has run and participated in several adaptation projects working directly with vulnerable communities using participatory action research and transdisciplinary approaches. Some of these projects have focussed on the efficient use of climate information products through the promotion of co-production and collaboration. He has explored the roles that climate information developers and users play in the successful utilization of the information, and how indigenous knowledge enhances the process of adoption of climate information as an adaptation strategy.

Joseph Daniel Intsiful is the Senior Climate and Early Warning Systems Specialist of the Division of Mitigation and Adaptation at the GCF. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics and Computer Science (Ghana), MPhil in Physics (Ghana), PhD in Mathematics and Natural Sciences (Bonn). He manages over $1 billion portfolio of GCF adaptation projects and has over 20 years of experience in supporting developing countries to implement climate change and development projects in over 100 developing countries globally.

Prior to joining the GCF, Joseph was the Senior Climate Science Expert at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, where he provided strategic guidance on climate science and development policy to African countries and regional economic communities. Joseph worked as the Climate Change Impacts, Data Collection and Analysis Expert of the UNDP African Adaptation Programme where he supported the mainstreaming of climate information in long-term adaptation planning and decision-making mechanisms in 20 African countries.

Joseph was also the Liaison and Training Manager of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre’s regional climate model PRECIS (Providing Regional Climates for Impact Studies) where he managed a network of over 280 clients from over 90 countries worldwide to meet their national communications commitments under the UNFCCC conventions

Dr. Sumetee Pahwa Gajjar is a Senior Expert in Climate Change Adaptation, Urban Sustainability, and Ecosystems-based Adaptation (EbA). She has more than a decade’s experience in research and policy advocacy on climate resilience through EbA and is based in Cape Town, South Africa. 

Sumetee is a Fellow and Co-ordination Hub member with PlanAdapt, an independent global network-based organization. She currently leads the Evidence-Review workstream of the ARA (Adaptation Research Alliance). Sumetee has contributed to books on urban planning, climate justice, and transformative climate adaptation, with a Global South focus, through her association with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). Her upcoming publications include Climate Justice for People and Nature; EbA-approaches for Flood Management; Sustainable Urban Design and EbA in Buildings; and Resilient Governance Regimes for Urban Agriculture.