CORE TEAM
Paul has worked closely with Defra and the Environment Agency and many rural organisations and NGO’s, such as Natural England, The Rivers Trusts, CPRE and RSPB in catchment management. His work focuses on a wide range of soft engineered interventions for diffuse pollution management and flood risk mitigation (including, ponds, wetlands, riparian and ditch management). Awarded the Robert Stephenson prize ICE North East 2015 for the Belford flood management project, Paul also was a Special Advisor to the Houses of Parliament Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 'The Future of Flooding'.
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Philip Franses uses his expertise in holistic thinking to address global challenges through multi-stakeholder processes. He works on different financial mechanisms for communities to help them restore water to its vital place within the cycles of nature. Philip studied mathematics at New College, Oxford, UK and has worked designing intelligent software for a variety of organisations. Philip teaches Holistic Science, is Editor in Chief of the Holistic Science Journal and is the author of Time Light and the Dice of Creation.
David Hetherington is the Global Water Research Manager for ARUP and an ardent and experienced water specialist, fluvial geomorphologist and environmentalist who promotes sustainable development in cities and river basins that works with natural processes through innovative design. He has vast experience of flood risk management and in appraisal and environmental design of hydropower schemes. David is currently advancing industry skills and knowledge relating to river basin process restoration, nature based solutions and digital technology for water. David is the co-lead on Water-Up
INDIA
Also known as the Waterman of India, Rajendra Singh, is a highly respected water warrior and social activist working with water and river issues in India. Over 35years Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), the organisation he set up to further this work, has helped the villagers build more than 12,000 water bodies (called Johads) and revived 9 rivers, dry for eighty years. Rajendra Singh has been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leaders in 2001 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2015.
Sanjay Singh is a social activist from the Jalaun district of Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh. He holds a Master’s in Social Service from Jiwaji University, Gwalior, and a Diploma in Agri-Business from IIM Lucknow. Beginning his social work journey in 1995 in the dacoit-affected Chambal region, he has since dedicated his efforts to water security and environmental sustainability across 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. He serves as the National Convener of the Jal Jan Jodo Abhiyan and is actively involved in various national and state-level committees, including the World Water Council, Association for Democratic Reforms, National Food Security Mission (UP), Bundelkhand Planning Committee (UP), and the District Health and Governing Committees of Jalaun. He holds the position of Secretory at Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan.
Sandeep Kumar Singh is a Water Governance practitioner from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, with a Master’s degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and a background in Civil Engineering. He has worked with leading organizations like the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), WaterAid India, and Caritas India, focusing on water management, climate resilience, and WASH programs. Currently, he serves as Program Manager at Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sanstha, leading initiatives on water security, reforestation, and community-led development in Bundelkhand and Rajasthan.
Pratiksha Tripathi is a development professional with a Master’s degree in English Literature from Bundelkhand University and Leadership training from the Common Purpose India Leadership Academy at Tata Institute of Social Sciences. She currently leads fundraising and communications at Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan and manages the Reforesting Baran project, an ecological restoration project in partnership with The Flow Partnership, focused on regenerating forest covers and restoring degraded landscapes.
Ashok Kumar Meena graduated from the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, India. Working as an Independent filmmaker and freelance cinematographer, he has 7 years experience making social issue documentaries and fiction films. His film KOSA, about land grabs and tribals in India , was screened at the Raindance Festival in 2020 as well as the International Film Festivals of Kerala and Kolkatta.
EUROPE
Mark’s interests include the design, implementation and data analyses/modelling of hydrological catchment monitoring experiments. For these catchment experiments to be successful, he considers local stakeholder involvement and the correct use of data driven hydrological models as vital components towards a successful uptake and a good understanding of the catchment processes at different scales. Mark currently coordinates research providing evidence to the Scottish Government for mitigating and adapting to flood risk using Natural Flood Management techniques.
Michal Kravcík,is a founding member and Chairman of the NGO People and Water International. He promotes sustainable programs for integrated river basin management in Slovakia, “Water for Third Millenium” and Blue Alternative. He is the author of publications including, “New Water Paradigm – Water for the Recovery of Climate” (2007), www.waterparadigm.org . He is an ASHOKA Fellow and recipient Goldman Environmental Prize from 1999.
Mike is a catchment hydrologist with an interest in building natural flood management interventions on the ground. Current works include the Sankey catchment natural flood management initiative and Liverpool’s EU Urban GreenUP programme. As honorary research associate at the University of Liverpool his research interests include Geographic Information Systems, modelling and geomorphological feedbacks.
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Marc is a Senior Scientist at the James Hutton Institute and leads the Managing Catchments and Coasts team at the Institute to develop and apply knowledge and tools for improving delivery of integrated catchment management across issues of water quality, flooding, resource use efficiency and water-energy links. He is also the Lead of the Scottish Government’s research theme on Safe and Sustainable Supply Chains for Water and Renewable Energy and a Member of the Management Committee for the Dee Catchment Partnership.
Dana Kravčiková is an expert in mapping and landscape surveying. She has years of experience in managing projects from concept phase to completion. Her background in project management ranges from publicly financed projects such as from Norway Grants, the EU and Slovak municipal & regional governments to privately funded projects sought out by the private sector. Co-author of a number of publications on climate change topic.
THE AMERICAS
Felipe Medina Poch is a Colombian educator and socio-ecological innovator trained in conflict transformation, deep ecology and the design of complex systems to generate peace and regeneration processes. He founded Origen Circular to work with projects such as Pasos de Agua and SUNA, promoting ecological and climate restoration from childhood and community education. He currently leads Evoluma which is devoted to evolutionary conflict transformation and has worked with multiple national and international organizations facilitating collaborative processes around community building and regeneration.
María Alejandra Camargo is an ecologist from the Universidad Javeriana/Colombia with a background in ecosystem dynamics at the landscape level She researches the relationships between natural and human systems, with special emphasis on food, traditional knowledge and territorial rootedness. She has worked in socio-environmental documentation processes in communities affected by the mining-energy sector, in educational and community strengthening projects in rural contexts as well as the ecological restoration of water in the Senderos del Agua and Pasos de Agua projects.
For over 25 years Minni Jain has been working with communities to regenerate their landscapes and lives. As Operations Director of the Flow Partnership, she works on community-led management of floods and droughts using simple, low-cost traditional methods. She coordinates Waterways World– a practical water school of landscape regeneration skills and methods to achieve replenishment of the world’s water bank and has also helped set up the One Pond Fund to enable communities worldwide to resource their water projects.