Crispino Lobo has 34 years of engagement in tackling water challenges, environmental degradation, and the impacts of climate change on agriculture and livelihoods in rain dependant and dryland regions of rural India and internationally. He has co-founded 4 non-profits, one of which is the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR), which collectively and with its partners, have impacted the lives of over 6.58 million people in 10 states in India; trained over 7,00,000 people from 27 states and 63 countries and supported development works in over 6,850 villages. He was the Program Coordinator of the large-scale, highly successful bilateral Indo-German Watershed Development Program (IGWDP) in Maharashtra and has been a member of several Advisory Committees to government at both the state and federal levels. He has contributed to setting up 2 large national public funds to promote watershed development and climate change adaptation in the country. An alumnus of Harvard University and the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Crispino has 5 academic degrees and has authored/ co-authored/ helmed 12 books besides several articles/ chapters in national and international publications/books.

Dr. Marcella D'Souza is a beacon in community resilience and public health. Her journey from medical school to a distinguished Takemi Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health underscores her interdisciplinary approach. Her six transformative years in the South Andean communities of Peru laid the foundation for her profound impact in Community and Public Health. Notably, her tenure as the Coordinator for Women's Promotion in the Indo-German Watershed Program further solidified her commitment to inclusive and sustainable development. In 2009, as WOTR's Executive Director, she pioneered the integrated 'Climate Change Adaptation in Semi-Arid Regions' initiative, which led to WOTR adopting the EbA approach that it employs across its regions of presence. Gaps in understanding the local needs in different agro-ecological regions led her to establish the trans-disciplinary applied research unit, W-CReS, to provide evidence-based lessons from practice to policy. Dr. D'Souza continues to redefine resilience studies, ensuring local voices echo in the corridors of national and global decision-making.

Established in 1993, Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) is an internationally recognised non-profit organization which tackles the key causes of rural poverty by rejuvenating ecosystems and building the community's resilience to climate change. It enhances the availability of water, increase the productivity of land and agriculture, diversify livelihoods, empower women, and strengthen the health and well-being of vulnerable rural communities. Working at the grassroots, WOTR creates resilient rural communities that enjoy a fulfilling life within vibrant and sustainable ecosystems. WOTR has been working with rural communities in India for 3 decades now. It has touched the lives of over 4.95 million across 5,107 villages in 10 states of India. It has included participants from 63 countries in training and exposure programmes.

Liby Johnson has led large-scale, impactful, poverty eradication efforts in his nearly three decades of social development work, with non-profits and government. His multisectoral experience spans water, sanitation, livelihoods, disaster management and community institutions. Liby regularly contributes to policy deliberations in rural drinking water and sanitation and livelihoods sectors, at the National and State levels.

Gram Vikas is a community development organization working with rural communities in Odisha and Jharkhand since 1979, to help them build a dignified life. We do this through building capacities, strengthening community institutions, and mobilising resources. We work on issues related to water, livelihoods and sanitation and hygiene, with use of appropriate technology being a key element. Building village institutions to manage village development and participate effectively in the local governance processes is the cornerstone of the approach. Our work has benefitted more than 12 lakhs households in about 8,195 habitations across 983 Gram Panchayats in 27 districts of the two States.