Regional Workshop on Infrastructure Resilience in BIMSTEC 

Socio implementador: Build Change

 Project name: Regional Workshop on Infrastructure Resilience in BIMSTEC Members

CDRI BIMSTEC Regional Workshop (September 2025, New Delhi) focused on strengthening disaster resilient infrastructure across seven BIMSTEC members facing escalating climate and disaster risks.

Key discussions addressed vulnerabilities, policy gaps, and financing constraints, emphasizing regional collaboration, capacity building, and harmonized standards.

Recommendations included transboundary early warning systems, risk-informed planning, innovative financing, and knowledge sharing. The workshop highlighted resilience as essential for sustainable development and proposed actionable pathways for regional cooperation and investment.

Colaboración:

  • Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Participantes
0
Países
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Impactos

1

The workshop strengthened regional collaboration by uniting BIMSTEC countries to address shared disaster risks, fostering knowledge exchange, harmonized standards, and joint strategies for resilient infrastructure, ensuring sustainable development and reducing vulnerabilities across critical sectors like transport, energy, and health. 

2

Participants identified cross-cutting gaps – ageing infrastructure, siloed governance, and limited financing – leading to actionable recommendations such as transboundary early warning systems, risk-informed planning, and innovative financing mechanisms to enhance resilience and operational continuity during disasters across the BIMSTEC region.

3

Capacity building initiatives and CDRI’s technical tools, including the GIRI model, empowered member states to quantify risks, prioritize investments, and integrate resilience into policies, enabling long-term economic stability and safeguarding lives and livelihoods against escalating climate hazards.

Aishwarya Pillai

Lead Specialist

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes. 

Alpana Saha

Director, Partnerships, Governance, and Resource Mobilisation 

Alpana heads institutional partnerships, governance, and resource mobilization at CDRI, advancing cross-sector collaborations that drive resilient infrastructure programming across Member Countries and organizations. With over 25 years of experience spanning international development, global health, and the non-profit sector, she brings deep expertise in fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and delivering strategic change. 

At CDRI, Alpana has been pivotal in forging strategic alliances with governments, international organizations, and philanthropies. She also plays a key role in fortifying institutional systems and board governance mechanisms as the Coalition transitions into an international organization. 

Before joining CDRI, Alpana held senior leadership roles at The George Institute for Global Health, Plan India, WaterAid India, and SOS Children’s Villages, leading institutional fundraising and cultivating strategic partnerships for social impact. 

She holds a Master’s in Finance & Control from Aligarh Muslim University and completed Executive Education at Harvard Business School (CSR India). Her work is driven by a commitment to building enduring, values-based partnerships that accelerate sustainable development outcomes.