Dr Alexander (Sandy) Bisaro

Sandy is a PlanAdapt Fellow, based in Berlin, Germany.

Sandy has more than 15 years of experience in climate risk, vulnerability and adaptation research, both in Europe and in developing countries. His current work focuses on climate finance and governance solutions in the areas of nature-based solutions, disaster risk reduction and adaptation. He has extensive experience on public financial management, currently leading a Climate Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) study in Iraq on behalf of UNEP, and has authored several scientific publications on national public finance of adaptation, and mobilising private finance for coastal adaptation.

He worked as a senior researcher at the Global Climate Forum and led GCF’s work on climate finance in the GREEN-WIN project on financing win-win climate strategies to address urban transitions, energy poverty and coastal adaptation. Further, he lead a work package in the INSeaPTION project that co-developed global coastal climate services tailored to the needs of global decision-makers, including financial institutions exposed to coastal risk.

He is an author of the UNEP PROVIA Guidance on assessing climate change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation and co-led GCF’s work in the EC-funded MEDIATION project. He also led the development of a PROVIA web-based adaptation decision support tool. Previously, in the EC-funded ADAM and NeWater projects, he has analyzed national level adaptation policy in the water and agricultural sectors.

For several years, Sandy worked closely with Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LDC LEG) to advance national adaptation planning in LDCs.  

Sandy holds a PhD by the Humboldt University, Berlin (magna cum laude, Division of Resource Economics). His thesis focused on applied institutional economics approaches to analyse the impact of climate adaptation discourse and institutional arrangements on national conservation policy and its implementation at the local level in Lesotho.

Sandy led PlanAdapt’s work in several advisory and research projects and initiatives:

For more info, see Sandy’s  ResearchGate page and LinkedIn page