Vishwas Chitale PhD

Experience

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  ISRO - Indian Space Research Organization

  Dec 2007 - Jun 2008

  Intern

  - Conducted land use and land cover mapping of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh State for year 2005-07 under an ongoing NNRMS project of ISRO- Conducted mapping of land use and land cover of Chittorgarh mines for EIA

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  NERIL

  Jun 2008 - Dec 2008

  Remote sensing officer

  -Conducted environmental impact of major dams and canals in Maharashtra State, India -Contributed to irrigation and land use related policies -Developed of a decision support system environmental impact assessment for different dams and canals for Central Water Commission, Govt. of India

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  Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

  Dec 2008 - Apr 2014

  My research at IIT Kharagpur mainly focussed on exploring the trends in biological richness and disturbance to natural vegetation ecosystems in Uttar Pradesh using geospatial technology and spatial modelling tools. I also: - worked on estimation of aboveground biomass and carbon using microwave and very high resolution satellite datasets and field measurements. -collaborated with more than 100 high caliber scientists to develop India’s first vegetation database-conducted the first ever study on modelling climate change impacts on 653 endemic plants in India’s biodiversity hotspots -served as Research scholars’ representative to Senate of IIT Kharagpur-organized more than 5 workshops and 3 trainings for participants from within India and abroad- mentored lab mates and other colleagues from IIT KGP Show less

  • Senior Research Fellow

    Jan 2011 - Apr 2014

  • Junior Research Fellow

    Dec 2008 - Dec 2010
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  ICIMOD

  May 2014 - Apr 2022

  Summary: Climate change is affecting forests in Himalayan region. We jointly conducted a project with Dept. of Forests and soil conservation, Govt. of Nepal to assess the climate change vulnerability of forests in Nepal and to identify suitable adaptation options for implementation. Main tasks: Project conceptualization, budget and planning, research and innovation, stakeholder engagement, partnership, team management (team size: 10+), monitoring, evaluation and learning, reporting, and publications. Show less Summary: Nepal experiences large number of forest fires every year. We were jointly working with Department of forests and soil conservation, Govt. of Nepal on reducing the risk from forest fires in Nepal with application of geospatial technology.Main tasks: Needs assessment, planning and budgeting, partnership building, stakeholder engagement, team management (team size: 10+), technology development and delivery, capacity building, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, reporting, and knowledge management. Show less

  • Project Lead-Climate resilient forest management in Nepal (NASA/USAID & Govt. of Nepal)

    Sept 2018 - Apr 2022

  • Remote sensing specialist-Ecosystems

    Sept 2018 - Apr 2022

  • Project lead-Forest fire management in Nepal (NASA/USAID & Govt. of Nepal)

    Aug 2018 - Apr 2022

  • Component lead-Climate Resilient Solutions (Norway & Govt. of Nepal, India, Bhutan)

    Jan 2018 - Sept 2021

  • Component lead-Climate change policy (EU, UNEP, UN Habitat & Govt. of Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar)

    Jan 2017 - Jan 2021

  • Project lead-Climate change vulnerability assessment of Hakha (EU, UN Habitat & Govt. of Myanmar)

    Jan 2017 - May 2020

  • Lead Author-HIMAP Report

    Jan 2017 - Aug 2019

  • Component lead-Vegetation database for Kailash landscape (GIZ, DFID & Govt. of China, Nepal, India)

    Aug 2015 - Jun 2019

  • Consultant

    May 2014 - Jul 2015
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  NITI Aayog

  Jul 2017 - Jan 2019

  Member- working group on “Indian Himalayan Region”

  I was a part of the working group on Indian Himalayan Region formed by NITI Aayog to understand the current status of geospatial and non-geospatial data and identify the needs relating to data for the Indian Himalayan Region. https://www.icimod.org/sustainable-development-in-the-indian-himalayan-region/http://164.100.94.191/niti/writereaddata/files/document_publication/doc6.pdf

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  Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

  Apr 2022 - May 2023

  Advisor-Artificial Intelligence Program, India

  As an Advisor of the GIZ's Artificial Intelligence Program in India my work focussed on following three priorities in AI in India : 1) enhancing the access to open source data and technologies; 2) working on policy frameworks for ethical AI, 3) increasing technical know-how on AI. #ai for climate action.

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  Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

  May 2023 - now

  Senior Programme Lead - Climate Resilience

  As a lead of the Climate Resilience Program at CEEW my work focuses on, but is not limited to 1) assessing climate risks and vulnerabilities in different sectors across India, 2) developing frameworks for climate proofing of infrastructure and Nature based solutions, and 3) providing policy support at the state and national level for reducing climate induced disaster risks.

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  The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

  May 2024 - now

  Research Fellow- Climate change adaptation and resilience