Hans Guttman

Results oriented senior manager with over 30 years experience in international cooperation spanning environment, livelihoods and sustainable development and disaster risk reduction/climate resilience. Driven by achieving results which benefits millions of people, disproportionately the poor and vulnerable, focusing on equitable and fair development. Work experience across Asia and the Pacific.

Led an international organization focused on DRR and climate resilience (CR) across Asia-Pacific. Managed $15M annual budget, 40+ projects across 20 countries, and 120 staff. Oversaw grant mechanism for innovation in CR, technical quality control, and institutional upgrades (HR, M&E, gender, safeguards). Spearheaded initatives in CR based on anticipatory action, nature based solutions and emerging treats from heatwaves and wildfires.

Provided advisory and technical expertise on international water cooperation, water diplomacy, and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), for Cardno Emerging Markets, FAO RAP (Bangkok), Asia Pacific Fisheries Commission, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)/NELSAP, the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture and the US Department of Interior.

Oversaw strategic implementation of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Managed $20M annual budget and 150 staff. Led negotiations among member states on IWRM, flood/drought, and transboundary water governance. Improved early warning for floods and drought in the Mekong River. Secured $100M+ funding and chaired international stakeholder/donor meetings.

Managed the 50-member programme across 5 countries to strengthen local capacities in sustainable aquatic resources, wetlands, food security and building climate resilience. Expanded donor base (Sida, FAO, UNDP) and the geographic coverage to include Myanmar.

Designed, launched and led the MRC Environment Programme (US$2M/year) focusing on water quality and environmental monitoring. Developed basin-wide criteria, report cards, and supported national-regional integration of IWRM planning. Liaison with government agencies.

Plan and manage the fish and prawn production with over 30 employees and over 6 ha pond area (and a hatchery). Managed joint research projects with the Department of Livestock and Fisheries of Lao PDR.
Took the initiative to introduce the culture of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, (a river prawn native to the Mekong region), into the aquaculture production cycle, and used “green water” to produce natural feed for the fish ponds, thereby reducing production costs. I managed the water quality of the ponds based on the results from my Master’s Thesis from AIT and trained the staff to do so.

technical resource person for fisheries research, training on research methodology, data management and report writing. F

Field work in Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
Research on water quality with the Department of Fisheries in Udon Thani, Thailand

With the AIT Aqua Outreach programme, I co-developed and coordinated rice field fisheries, wetlands and other aquatic resources in Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam and Cambodia.
I published field research results, which was later converted to policy briefs and presentations (lately, the work has been cited in many academic articles).
I liaised with WorldFish Centre (formerly ICLARM), FAO, WWF, IUCN, IRRI and other agencies active in small-scale fisheries, policy and legal analysis on natural resources management.
I co-developed the “Legal and Institutional Framework, and Economic Valuation of Resources and Environment in the Mekong River Region: A Wetlands Approach", published in the WorldFish Journal in 2005.
Together with Rick Gregory, we pioneered work on small-scale fisheries in and around the rice fields/wetlands in the Mekong region, and our work ensured that this fishery was recognised as a central resource for rural livelihoods. This resulted in national policies on “dry season refugees for fish” now promoted by the Fisheries Administration in Cambodia.

Taught conversational English to Primary, Secondary and High School students

Sävenfors Fiskodling was a Salmon farm and School for Water resources studies, where I provided technical services to the salmon farm and taught high school students in Water Resources Management