Dr Kansal is a leading environmental expert with over 25 years of research and teaching experience in the fields of water resources management, pollution control technologies, urban development, and energy–environment–climate linkages. He has developed bio-methanation-based waste treatment methods and resource recovery technologies, and coordinated several studies on water and sanitation, the water–food–energy–climate nexus, and urban water infrastructure. From 2008 to 2012, he led an international e-learning programme on Sustainable Development Practices in Public Policy for mid-career policy makers under the United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies, Japan. He has won several project grants from international development organizations, the Government of India, corporate bodies, and other foundations.
Dr Kansal completed his PhD from IIT Delhi. He has an MTech in environmental engineering and a BE in civil engineering from VNIT, Nagpur, India. He served as a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Fifth Assessment Report (Working Group III) from 2011 to 2014 and as Chair Professor of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Freie University, Berlin, Germany from 2010 to 2011. He is a recipient of the GGS Indraprastha University, Delhi’s Best Teacher Award and has also received the Best Research Paper Award from the Indian Water Works Association.
Dr Kansal has been an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK (2011–2014); Visiting Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Derby, UK (2015–2018); and Key Technology Partner Visiting Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. He has been the Co-lead of the HUC Thematic Working on Water since December 2019 and developed the group’s strategy paper.
At TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS), New Delhi, Dr Kansal teaches Water Science and Governance and supervises doctoral and post-graduate students. He has published several research papers in international journals, book/monographs, and policy briefs. At the TERI School of Advanced Studies, he served as Dean (Research and Relationships) from 2017 to 2020, and is presently the Head of the Coca-Cola Department of Regional Water Studies.
Contact details
Email: akansal@terisas.ac.in; akansal37@gmail.com
Work plan
During his tenure as co-lead, Dr Kansal aims to promote regional collaboration on integrated water studies in the HKH. He will promote the group in the international arena and network with water groups in other regions. His focus will be on the following:
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Comparative water policies and governance in HKH countries
To bring out country-specific papers on the state of water resources, the institutional and policy landscape, and existing governance frameworks to understand boundary water challenges within country as well transboundary issues.
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Institutional platform for young researchers interested in mountain-specific water studies
To provide graduate students with an opportunity to better understand the spectrum of challenges that underpin water sustainability in the Himalayan region. By assembling these young researchers, the platform will also foster the growth of a network of sustainability scholars and professionals in the HKH region.
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Informal meta-university of water experts of the HKH region
To foster the systematic development of core competencies in water sustainability among people in the HKH region. Water professionals will be able to avail easily accessible, quality-controlled, and relevant learning opportunities through a unique combination of modern web-based technology and pooled resources of experts from TWG network institutions. The collaborative programme is expected to help in the convergence of development programmes and governance frameworks towards a common regional objective and in the creation of water champions.