The Global Adaptation Institute

Dr. Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño Recognized as Young Global Leader

Geneva, Switzerland, 12 March 2013 – the World Economic Forum has recognized Dr. Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño as a Young Global Leader (YGL) Class of 2013. The 199 YGLs represent 70 countries and work in the fields of arts and culture, academia, business, media, civil society and social entrepreneurship. Individuals are selected for their professional achievements and commitment to society. Fellow YGLs include:

Miranda A. Ballentine (USA), who is leading Wal-Mart’s efforts to be supplied 100% by renewable energy, to create zero waste and to sell products that sustain the world’s resources and environment

Chelsea Clinton (USA), Board Member, Clinton Foundation and special correspondent for NBC News

Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), a journalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner

Winston Ma Wenyan (China), Managing Director and Deputy Chief Representative of the China Investment Corporation

Akhilesh Singh Yadav (India), the youngest person to hold the office of Chief Minister of the state of Uttar Pradesh

Sanchez, originally from Spain, is the Global Adaptation Institute’s Director of Science & Technology. Previously, he was a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. National Academies and a space and rocket scientist at the Department of Defense Naval Research Laboratory while also serving as faculty at George Mason University.

In 2008 he obtained his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Goettingen, Germany. His astrophysics career focused on understanding the Sun and the sun-earth relationship, including space weather.

Bruno has a strong passion for science and technology and its practical applications for a better world. In 2011 he was the Project Manager for an application that received an award from the World Bank´s competition “Apps for Development” for its contribution to raise awareness to the Millennium Development Goals.

“The Forum of Young Global Leaders provides a unique effort to engage the younger generation into the management of global affairs, working together and being integrated into the larger Forum community. The Young Global Leaders have an exceptional opportunity to improve the state of the world,” Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.

Sanchez’s participation complements GAIN CEO Dr. Juan José Daboub’s leadership of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Climate Change. Through this forum, GAIN is working with business, NGO and governmental leaders around the world on concrete measures, including recommending metrics and investment strategies, for improving resilience to climate change around the world.

The YGLs convene at an annual summit, which will be held this year in Yangon, Myanmar, on 2-5 June.

UK Government Asks Businesses, Communities to Prepare for Change

The United Kingdom’s Environment Agency wants businesses to proactively engage in building resilience as recently-released data shows 2012 was an extreme year for weather in Britain. Last year, flooding occurred one in every five days and drought conditions were experience one in every four across Britain according to new analysis. 

The Environment Agency chairman, Lord Chris Smith, noted that farmers and businesses were often unable to withdraw water for their operations due to water withdrawal bans and stated that “taking action today to prepare and adapt homes, businesses, agricultural practices and infrastructure is vital.” 

The government is also predicting that Britain could experience severe droughts every 10 years this century. 

While the UK is one of the most resilient countries in the world according to the GAIN Index, its overall resilience is declining, slightly, as economic problems persist and agricultural security weakens. 

USDA Highlights Need for Resilience Across the United States

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released reports that warn of shifting agricultural patterns, weaker ecosystem services and endangered livelihoods throughout the United States. The agency also notes that areas with infrastructure and energy and production systems based on past climatic and ecological conditions will be at risk.

Notably, the USDA recommends implementation of climate change adaptation strategies:

The ability of communities with resource-based economies to adapt to climate change is linked to their direct exposure to these changes, as well as to the social and institutional structures present in each environment. Human communities that have diverse economies and are resilient to change today will also be prepared for future climatic stresses.

To read the reports, visit:

Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States: Effects and Adaptation

Effects of Climatic Variability and Change on Forest Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Science Synthesis for the U.S. Forest Sector

Dr. María de Lourdes Dieck-Assad, President, Graduate Schools of Business and Government, ITESM – Tecnológico de Monterrey

Before her current position, Dr. Dieck-Assad was appointed by President Vicente Fox as ambassador of Mexico to Belgium and Luxembourg, served as chief of the Mexican Mission to the European Union and the permanent representative before the European Council (2004-07). In the public sector, she has been undersecretary of economic affairs and international cooperation in the State Department (2003-04) and chief of advisors to the secretary of the State Department (2003) and to the secretary of Economy (2002-03). In the academic sector, she was director of the doctoral program in management at ITESM (EGADE) (1995-2002), while she was also associated with ITESM’s Center for Strategic Studies. She has been professor of economics at ITESM, professor and chair of the economics department at Trinity University in Washington, D.C., and economics professor at Anahuac University in Mexico City.

Dr. María de Lourdes Dieck-Assad, President, Graduate Schools of Business and Government, ITESM – Tecnológico de Monterrey, has worked to create cross-sector relationships within the business, government and academic sectors for the past 15+ years.

During the Annual Meeting & Scientific Convening of the Global Adaptation Institute (GAIN), Dr. Dieck-Assad, a member of the GAIN Council of Scientists, highlighted the need to more frequently showcase positive adaptation projects on the ground.

GAIN Delivers Adaptation Message at Davos

The task of creating more resilient societies will be front and center during the 2013 World Economic Forum (Forum) Annual Meeting taking place in Davos, Switzerland this week. From January 22 to 26, CEOs of the world’s largest corporations, preeminent scientists and leaders of governments and international NGOs will meet to address the world’s most pressing issues.

This years’ agenda covers three pillars: Leading through Adversity, Strengthening Societal Resilience and Restoring Economic Dynamism. Dr. Juan José Daboub, Founding CEO of the Global Adaptation Institute, is attending events throughout the week and will offer remarks at a private dinner, “Climate Change: The Way Forward?,” and host a roundtable during the World Food Programme’s “Envisaging Sustainable Development Goals.”

Daboub will also highlight the work of the Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Climate Change 2012, for which he is the Chair. The Council convened in November 2012 in Dubai to lay out a road map and mission for the next two years; this road map includes  measuring societal resilience to climate change and disasters, highlighting the urgent need to adapt and exploring effective climate financing.

The annual meeting comes after the release of the Forum’s eighth Global Risks report. GAIN was a contributor and reviewer to the report’s “Testing Economic and Environmental Resilience” chapter. Released in early 2013, the report finds that societies are less prepared to address environmental challenges due to ongoing economic challenges. The Forum devotes significant attention to the need to build resilience in the wake of extreme weather-related events in 2012.

To follow this week’s proceedings, view live streams and recordings of meetings and interviews here.