Dr. Avilash Roul (PhD) is presently engaged in PERI-CENE (Peri-urbanisation and Climate-environment change) at IIT-Madras (Chennai) as a Principal Scientist and also teaches at the Department of Humanities and Social Science, IIT-Madras as a guest professor. He was a visiting scientist (March-May 2017) at the Institute of Geography, University of Freiburg, Germany. Dr Roul has been involved in the development and environmental discourse in Asia. Leading several policy developments in intergovernmental as well as national institutions in Asia. He worked as executive director of the Manila-based “NGO Forum on ADB”. He has undertaken extensive travel across Asia to work closely with communities and civil societies to better understand the interface of environmental governance and developmental conflict. He has been engaged in policy research on various areas of interest in the Mekong, Central Asia and Mongolia. Earlier, he worked with Down to Earth (a magazine published fortnightly by the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi, India) and worked as the Assistant South Asia Regional Coordinator for the Washington-based Bank Information Center (BIC-USA). Avilash received his doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University on the subject of ‘Negotiating Water Security. His interest areas include development finance governance, international organisations, environmental negotiations, climate change and resilience, water governance and conflict, forest and conflict, rights of indigenous peoples, the democratization of development, urban and peri-urban sustainability and urban forestry. He has been associated with the Society for Study in Peace and Conflict (SSPC) since its inception and currently exploring a broader understanding of urban security concerning climate change as a senior fellow at SSPC. [Emails:avilashroul@gmail.com]