Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

Karen has two decades of experience in researching, teaching and publishing on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster Risk Reduction.  She works with the UN Convention on Combating Desertificaton, the World Bank, and other international organisations to support their technical and outreach programmes on NbS. Prior to this, Karen was a Senior Adviser, Disaster Risk Reduction with the United Nations Environment Programme, Disasters and Conflicts branch in Geneva Switzerland, where she managed several large projects related to ‘Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction’.  She developed the concept of eco-safe roads and has published widely on community-based landslide management in Nepal and Pakistan. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland and Masters’ degrees in international development and forest ecology from Switzerland and the United States.  She continues to give university lectures and mentors students worldwide, notably as an affiliated Senior Scientist with TH-Köln, University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany.

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