{"id":20,"date":"2026-05-29T19:20:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T19:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/keynote-speakers\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:06:07","slug":"keynote-speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/programme\/keynote-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Keynotes"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>Dresden Nexus Conference 2015 · Programme<\/p>\n

Keynotes<\/h1>\n

Each day of the conference starts with two key note presentations related to the theme of the day (climate change, urbanization and population growth). The key notes will provide the floor for the subsequent sessions.<\/p>

The following keynote speakers will be joining us at DNC2015:<\/p><\/div><\/section>\n

<\/span>Day 1 · 25 March 2015<\/p>

Climate Change<\/h2><\/div>

\"Elena<\/span><\/p>

Elena Manaenkova<\/h4>

Elena Manaenkova has been Assistant Secretary-General of WMO since 18 June 2010. Prior to this, she was Director of Cabinet of the Secretary-General and External Relations Department from March 2006. She joined WMO in January 2003 as Director of Atmospheric Research and Environment Department. Ms Manaenkova is a geographer with specialization in hydrology and meteorology graduated from the Moscow State University (1986). She holds Doctor\u2019s degree (PhD) in physics and mathematics from Doctorate of Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia (1993) with specialization in meteorology, climatology, satellite meteorology and remote sensing from satellites. Before joining WMO Ms Manaenkova devoted her career to the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring starting as scientific officer in the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia – WMO World Meteorological Centre, and then worked in the Scientific Research Centre on Space Hydrometeorology \u201cPlaneta\u201d on increasingly responsible positions up to the Scientific Secretary and Director of Department of Science and International Cooperation. Ms Manaenkova was born in 1964 in Moscow, Russia. She is married and is mother of two children.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"Joseph<\/span><\/p>

Joseph Alcamo<\/h4>

Joseph Alcamo is Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Systems Research and Professor of Environmental Systems Science and Engineering at the University of Kassel, Germany. He is active in the climate negotiations as Special Science Advisor to the Executive Secretary of the Climate Convention. He is also Chair of the Steering Committee of the UN\u2019s World Water Quality Assessment. From 2009 to 2013 he served as the Chief Scientist of the United Nations Environment Programme and was the first Chief Scientist appointed within the UN system. At UNEP he worked to strengthen the interface between global science and policy by convening groups of scientists to produce several \u201crapid response reports\u201d for policymaking. These included the series of \u201cEmission Gap Reports\u201d addressing key issues in the international climate negotiations. He also led the production of the report \u201cEmbedding the environment in the sustainable development goals\u201d, one of UNEP\u2019s main contributions to the SDG debate. While at UNEP he helped found the \u201cClimate and Clean Air Coalition\u201d, an alliance of governments and NGOs dedicated to fast action on pollutants that cause both air pollution and climate change. At UNEP he also co-founded a new umbrella organization for climate impact science (PROVIA); initiated an international “Foresight” process for identifying emerging issues; co-organized the World Water Quality Assessment; and helped found \u201cFuture Earth\u201d \u2013 a new international umbrella for global change research. His main scientific contributions have been in the areas of global modelling of the environment, climate impact research, integrated assessment modelling, and environmental scenario analysis. Alcamo led the development of the WaterGAP model used in early studies of global water scarcity, and the IMAGE 2 model, one of the first integrated models of climate change. He has published widely on the subject of climate change impacts on water resources and land use, and produced six books on global environmental themes including the 1998 book \u201cGlobal Change Scenarios of the 21st Century\u201d (Pergamon Press), and the 2012 Wiley-Blackwell book on “Life in Europe under Climate Change\u201d. Alcamo has received the international Max Planck Research Prize and other awards for achievements in global change research. He is an American citizen.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span>Day 2 · 26 March 2015<\/p>

Urbanization<\/h2><\/div>

\"Saeed<\/span><\/p>

Saeed Nairizi<\/h4>

Saeed Nairizi, CEO of Toossab Consulting Engineers Company, was Born in 1946 in Tehran, and graduated from Ahwaz University in 1968. After few years working in soil and water engineering activities he pursued his further education in UK from where he was grunted PhD degree in Civil Engineering majoring water resources in 1977, Southampton University, U.K. Once back in Iran, he started his career as a member of scientific board at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and also as a consultant in water works until 1988. Dr. Nairizi was then appointed by the Iranian Ministry of Energy as the Managing Director and later CEO of Toossab Consulting Engineers Company, one of the major Iranian consultants in water works. He is currently holding the same position while the company has changes his statues to a private joint stock company. Dr. Nairizi was elected as the president of international Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) at the 65th congress of this fraternity held in South Korea in Sep. 2014. He began his collaboration with ICID form 1994, since then he has managed to assist this commission through different capacity including the Vice President, Chairman of Finance Committee and chairing technical Working Group. Dr. Nairizi has been involved as the project manager of several urban water supply and regional integrated water resource management projects in his career at Toossab Company. He has also published and presented many papers internationally and a number of books related to the water and irrigation in Farsi, his mother language.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"William<\/span><\/p>

William Rees<\/h4>

William Rees is a human ecologist, ecological economist and Professor Emeritus of the University of British Columbia\u2019s School of Community and Regional Planning where he served as Director from 1994 to 1999. His early research focused on environmental impact assessment but gradually extended to the broader policy implications of global environmental trends and the ecological requirements for sustainable development. Along the way, he developed a special interest in cities as \u2018dissipative structures\u2019 and as vulnerable components of the total human ecosystem. Best known as the originator of \u2018ecological footprint analysis\u2019, Prof Rees is also author of over 150 peer reviewed and numerous popular articles on sustainability science and policy. (And sometimes the lack of policy\u2014his recent writing focuses on biological, neuro-cognitive and socially-constructed barriers to progress.) Professor Rees is a founding member and former president of the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics; a Founding Director of the One Earth Initiative; a Fellow of the Post-Carbon Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2012 he received both the Boulding Prize in Ecological Economics and the Blue Planet prize (jointly with his former student, Dr Mathis Wackernagel). Dr Rees was elected a full member of the Club of Rome in 2014.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/span>Day 3 · 27 March 2015<\/p>

Population Growth<\/h2><\/div>

\"Michael<\/span><\/p>

Michael Herrmann<\/h4>

Michael Herrmann is Adviser on Population and Economics, and Manager of the Innovation Fund at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). He is also member of the United Nations\u2019 Lead Economist Network and the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum. He is responsible for assessing the linkages between demographic and economic change, and for informing global policy dialogues on development challenges. His focus is on sustainable development, green and inclusive economic growth, and poverty; employment, social security, and pension; as well as economic trends and prospects, sovereign and private debt, and macroeconomic policies. Previously, Mr. Herrmann worked with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), where he coauthored flagship reports on the world economy and reports on the world\u2019s poorest countries. He lectured economic policy and development, and published on a range of issues.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

\"L\u00e1szl\u00f3<\/span><\/p>

L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Mikl\u00f3s<\/h4>

L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Mikl\u00f3s is currently head of the UNESCO-Chair for sustainable development and ecological awareness at the Technical University in Zvolen (Slovakia) and senior scientist on the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the SAS, Bratislava. Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Researcher in landscape ecology, landscape planning, ecological networks, physical and regional geography, environmental policy, sustainable development. Recently: Minister of the environment of Slovak Republic (1998-2006), member of the Parliament (2006-2010).President of the Governing Council of UNEP (1999 \u2013 2001), president of the Bureau of the 4th Conference of the Parties of the Convention of the Biological Diversity (1999 \u2013 2001),president of the 1st Global Environmental Forum (2000, G\u00f6teborg). Vice- chairman of the scientific council of the ECNC (1995 – 1999), President of the Europeanl Association of Landscape Ecology (2009 \u2013 2011). Coordinator and co-author of more then 60 scientific projects andspatial plans, of more than 900 items of scientific and profesional publications of different character, more than 300 scientific and profesional presentations at the conferences. Editor and co-author of the Landscape Atlas of the Slovak Republic, (2002), of the Atlas of representative geoecosystems of Slovakia. Teaching practice abroad at the Roskilde University Centre, Universit\u00e4t f\u00fcr Bodenkultur, Wien, Technische Universit\u00e4t, Wien, Szt. Istv\u00e1n Egyetem, G\u00f6d\u00f6ll\u0151.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n

<\/span>Dresden Nexus Conference 2015<\/p>\n

Explore this edition<\/p><\/div>

Programme at a glance<\/a><\/p>

Parallel sessions →<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dresden Nexus Conference 2015 · Programme Keynotes Each day of the conference starts with two key note presentations related to the theme of the day (climate change, urbanization and population growth). The key notes will provide the floor for the subsequent sessions. The following keynote speakers will be joining us at DNC2015: Day 1 · […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":7,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144,"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/144"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dresden-nexus-conference.org\/dnc2015\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}