Conflict-Sensitive Conservation

Carl Bruch is Director of International Programs at the Environmental Law Institute and Founding President of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. His work focuses on environmental peacebuilding (especially after conflict), environmental governance, adaptation, and environmental emergencies. He has helped dozens of countries-including many conflict-affected countries-around the world strengthen their environmental laws, institutions, and practices.

Geeta Batra is an evaluation and development professional with a passion for promoting environmental sustainability and accountability and learning with an open mind. She has 28 years of experience in international development across the World Bank Group, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the private sector. She has effectively managed global evaluation teams for 18 years to deliver more than 150 high-quality thematic evaluations, covering public and private sector investments and advisory work, with success in influencing organizational strategies and change. Geeta is currently Chief Evaluation Officer and Deputy Director with the Independent Evaluation Office of the GEF and leads the overall evaluation program covering thematic evaluations on climate change and other environmental areas, as well as institutional themes, such as governance, country strategies, private sector engagement, safeguard policies, gender, and inclusion. Prior to joining the GEF, she managed the program of country and corporate evaluations at the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank. Geeta established the results measurement practice and network at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), setting up the systems for self-evaluation and conducting impact and real-time evaluations, which influenced IFC strategies and programs. She has broad subject matter expertise in development and applied economics and evaluation approaches applicable to public and private sector interventions. She has published several books and articles, built capacity through training, and presented at a number of conferences and forums.

Anupam Anand is Senior Evaluation Officer at the Independent Evaluation Office of the GEF (GEF-IEO). He has over 15 years of experience in evaluation, international development, academic research, and teaching. At the GEF-IEO, he has led evaluations on biodiversity, SFM and REDD+, land degradation, fragility and conflict, and illegal wildlife trade. Anupam holds a Ph.D. in applied remote sensing from the University of Maryland.

Shehla Chowdhury worked for two years as a research associate at the Environmental Law Institute. There, she researched topics including monitoring and evaluation practices for environmental peacebuilding, legal frameworks for mitigating the "green resource curse" in Africa, and local government environmental compliance in the U.S. Shehla is now a J.D. candidate at Yale Law School, studying the intersection of international, environmental, and human rights law.

Sierra Killian is a former research associate at the Environmental Law Institute. While at ELI, she coordinated the environmental peacebuilding program, researched small-scale fisheries management and marine protected area policies, and helped to build the organization's climate resilience work. She holds a B.S. in Earth systems from Stanford University and is pursuing her J.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.