Professor Reshma Sucheran, an Associate Professor and Research Chair in the Department of Hospitality at Durban University of Technology (DUT) since 1997, holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Management. With three decades of academic experience, she has significantly contributed to sustainable tourism, climate change mitigation, and environmental management. Her teaching includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Sustainable Tourism Development, Climate Change and Environmental Management, Research Methodology, and Crisis Disaster Management. As Research Chair, she supervises postgraduate students, advises on research ethics, and leads multidisciplinary research. Her research focuses on sustainable tourism, climate change impacts, waste, water, energy management, corporate social responsibility, and crisis management. She has published 19 journal articles, six book chapters, and an edited book, Sustainable Waste Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors (2025). She has collaborated on research in Australia, Vietnam, Portugal, India, and Russia and presented at international conferences. Professor Sucheran leads the CoP in Tourism and People2People Exchange in the BRICS Research Institute, chairs the Faculty Research Committee, and serves on national and international committees. She is an editorial board member for journals like the BRICS Journal of International Relations and Development and the International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Her accolades include the 2022 Faculty of Management Sciences Researcher of the Year Award (Gold Status) and grants from the DUT Women in Research and Innovation Program and Erasmus+ KA107.

I am a Research Associate in the Climate Change, Urbanization, and Sustainability (CCUS) team at ICRIER, New Delhi, India. I have been working on issues of climate change, energy transition, and sustainable development. I am currently involved in projects related to climate change, sustainable environment, circular economy, geospatial sciences, and policy relevance in India. I was part of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and oversaw the work of the Wetland Authority of Delhi. She contributed to the book “States of Wetlands in Delhi, 2021” in coordination with the Member Secretary of the Wetland Authority of Delhi. I completed my master’s in Environment Management from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, and B.Sc. in Life Sciences from Maitreyi College, Delhi University. I did her dissertation at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, on “Forest Fire Susceptibility Mapping of Uttarakhand Using a Machine Learning Approach.” I also worked on the “Solid Waste Management of Upper and Lower Dharamshala” during my internship with EduCare India, Dharamshala. Her areas of interest include climate change and sustainability, disaster management, remote sensing, and GIS.

Ms. Shelja Alawadhi is a PhD scholar specializing in climate resilience and urban wetland systems, with a strong interdisciplinary background in climate policy, adaptation planning, and climate risk governance. She currently serves as Sector Expert (Climate Change/Finance) at the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power, India. Her professional affiliations span premier institutions, including NITI Aayog, IREDA, and the Environment Department, Delhi.

Dr. Janeth Chepkemoi is an accomplished soil scientist with over a decade of experience in soil fertility management, climate-resilient agriculture, and sustainable land restoration. She currently serves as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Nairobi and Lead Soil Scientist at KERA, where she leads research on biofertilizers, nutrient cycling, and agroecological practices. Dr. Chepkemoi has worked extensively with national and international institutions to design field trials, build farmer capacity, and develop evidence-based solutions that support food security and environmental sustainability across Kenya’s climate-vulnerable regions.

Dr. Keshav Kumar Upadhyay is an Assistant Professor (Stage III) of Forestry at Mizoram University in India. He has a Ph.D. in forestry from Mizoram University and an M.Sc. in wood science and technology from FRI, Dehradun. With over 16 years of research and teaching experience, he specialises in dendrochronology, dendroclimatology, wood science, and climate change. He has published over 35 research papers, written a book, and supervised numerous postgraduate and doctoral students. He has international academic collaborations and served as Visiting Senior Lecturer to Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Sirine Dia brings over 12 years of academic and professional experience, holding a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, a specialization in Environmental Engineering & Water Resources, and an MBA in International Business. She has led projects in wastewater treatment, recycling, and clean energy solutions in the UAE, and today works with organizations across the Middle East to drive strategic enterprise growth, enabling digital transformation and market expansion across MENA. She will also be delivering a talk on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), walking through the full journey from capturing CO₂, to transporting it safely, and securely storing it underground — while addressing the region’s unique challenges such as arid climates and leveraging depleted oil and gas fields for long-term storage.

Dr. D.R.Mailapalli is an Associate Professor in Agricultural and Food Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur, India. He has over 15 years of teaching, research, capacity building, and research experience in land and water resources engineering. Prior to his affiliation with IIT Kharagpur, He has three years of post-doctoral experience at UC-Davis (USA) and three years of research experience at UW-Madison (USA). His current work is particularly focused on surface and groundwater quality assessment/modeling, and precision agriculture. He has led/involved in training and capacity building activities, in both online and offline modes, in the areas of irrigation and nutrient management for participants from different colleges and research institutes in India and abroad. He has published over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles, 8 book chapters, and 40 conference articles/proceedings. He is currently positioned as Associate Editor for Nature-Scientific Reports and Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.

Prof. Singh is an agricultural engineer from IIT Kharagpur with a Ph.D. in Finance from IIM Indore. His research focuses on the intersection of advanced econometrics, experimental and quasi-experimental methods, big data, and AI/ML, with a particular emphasis on climate change and its implications for rural and agricultural finance, development policy, and sustainable agribusiness. His work integrates engineering, finance, and data science to address critical challenges in climate-resilient rural development.

Dr. Rayees Ahmed is a Project Scientist at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, specializing in cryosphere science, natural hazards, and remote sensing. He earned his Ph.D. in Geography and has served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, UK. Dr. Ahmed’s research focuses on high-resolution satellite data analysis, hydrological modeling, and geospatial assessment of hazards in high mountain Asia. He is an editor of several leading journals in earth sciences, including Earth Science Informatics, Frontiers in Water, and Discover hazards, BMC Environmental Sciences and Physics and Chemistry of earth. In recognition of his editorial contributions, he was honored with the Editor of Distinction Award by Springer in 2025. He was recently selected as an Early Career Editorial Assistant for the prestigious Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Dr. Ahmed has published over 55 peer-reviewed articles and continues to contribute actively to the advancement of earth and environmental sciences.

Simran Monga is an award-winning designer, researcher, and founder of the Hieco Center for Design and Learning, a UAE-based platform for sustainability-led education, design, and storytelling. She also leads REELIN, India’s first initiative for regenerative entertainment, housed within Hieco. With an MFA in Design for Sustainability from Savannah College of Art & Design, Simran has collaborated with leading organizations including Academy Award-winning Sikhya Entertainment, Women in Film, WRI India, and the Gates Foundation. Her pioneering thesis, Lights, Camera, Climate Action, introduced a first-of-its-kind climate storytelling toolkit for Bollywood filmmakers, offering tangible pathways to embed sustainability in mainstream cinema. Over nearly a decade, she has offered her expertise at the intersection of design, culture, and climate, partnering with renowned filmmakers, actors, entrepreneurs, organisations and advocates to spark systemic change. Through REELIN, she is shaping new narratives of hope and climate action that resonate across India, the UAE, and global diasporas.