Mr. Sonam Phuntsho Wangdi is Secretary of the National Environment Commission, Royal Government of Bhutan, following 31 years in the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
He was responsible for formulating Bhutan’s Environmental Standards (2020), National Environment Strategy (2020), the updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the third National Communication to the UNFCCC, the National Climate Policy (2019), amongst other key policies.
Mr. Wangdi graduated magna cum laude with a Master of International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute, University of Bern, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with honours from the University of Delhi. With a background in commerce, Mr Wangdi has deep negotiating experience and was the deputy chief negotiator for Bhutan in WTO negotiations from 2005 to 2012.
He remains the Co-Chair of the UNCDF’s Board of Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, Chairman of Bhutan’s Climate Change Coordination Committee, and has been a member of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission since 2018.
In 2019, Mr. Wangdi was selected as one of the 100 most influential people in climate policy by apolitical.
An economist by training, he has previously been posted at the Swedish embassies in Santiago de Chile (2002-2004) and New Delhi (2004-2008), apart from serving at the International Trade Policy, Asia & Oceania and Human Resources departments, respectively, at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. In 2009-2010, he worked for the Public Affairs consultancy firm Springtime AB, setting up the India operations of that company. Between 2011-2013, he worked for Marivent Research, a consulting firm specializing in investigative due diligence in the Indian and other emerging markets.
Outside work, he has devoted most of his energy towards organizing and engaging with the Indian diaspora in Sweden and globally, and social work more generally. Apart from his native Swedish, English and Bengali, he also speaks Spanish, French and German and some Hindi. He has two children.
Mr. Khurshid Alam is the Deputy Resident Representative. A passionate advocate for an equitable, multilateral and resilient world, Khurshid Alam's (Bangladeshi) work spans over 25 years in 50 countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe.
He contributed significantly to advancing the theory and practice of climate and disaster resilience and played a critical role in responding to numerous international crises.
His career combines an array of leadership, consulting, and brief media roles. Before his UN career, he was the Managing Director of ThinkAhead Limited, a UK-based consulting company; and at ActionAid, also based in the UK in various roles, including as the International Tsunami Programme Director and Global Policy Advisor.
Prior to joining UNDP Bhutan, he was with UNDP Bangladesh Country Office, holding a dual role of the Assistant Resident Representative and Head of the Inclusive Growth and Resilience Portfolio with eight practice areas and an annual delivery of over US$50 million.
A frequent keynote speaker, he authored three books and numerous journal articles - and has been engaged in major inter-governmental processes.
He is a self-proclaimed post-humanist and futurist - believes in planetary health first philosophy. He loves collecting arts and antiques – is an admirer of world music, politics, and history.
In 1998, he married Farzana Afrin, a statistician by training. They are proud parents of two daughters.
Mr. Dhendrup Tshering is the Assistant Program Coordinator with the Development Cooperation Division, Gross National Happiness Commission Secretariat.
He handles the portfolio of UNDP with a wide range of coverage across climate resilient development and environmental actions, in sync with national aspirations to pursue Gross National Happiness.
Besides, Mr. Tshering takes charge of all developments circling the vertical funds such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, Adaptation Fund and Climate Investment Fund in view to specialize on the climate finance components.
He has been engaged as the Royal Government of Bhutan’s co-facilitator for the UN Outcome Group 3 (Governance) of the United Nations Strategic Document for Partnership Framework (UNSDPF). He is also a member of the UK-Fiji Led Taskforce working group on Access to Climate Finance for Climate Vulnerable Countries, initiated as part of COP26.
Mr. Tshering is a keen public speaker and content writer.
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