With a background in environmental engineering in Italy and France, in 2008 Maria Cristina Armellin moved to the development sector, to work on environmental protection and disaster risk reduction projects in Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe. She is currently Senior Grants Portfolio Manager at World Vision UK and Subject Matter Expert on Natural Environment and Climate Change at WV International’s Global Technical Resource Network.

Cristina has a MSc in Environmental Engineering with specialisation in Water Resource Management from the University of Trieste and a MSc in Environmental Management from the Imperial College, University of London.

Cristina believes that to reduce disasters’ risks and adapt to climate change more investments should be made in holistic, long-term and cost-effective solutions. She is particularly passionate about ecosystem-based approaches and the integration of traditional knowledge of local communities with modern technology for climate change adaptation.