Joop Stoutjesdijk

Joop has worked at the World Bank since August 1996 on a wide range of project activities related to irrigation and drainage, dam safety, flood management, and integrated water resources management. Considering the competing uses of water and climate change and realizing that water for other sectors will mostly have to come from irrigation water sources, he has a particular interest in improving irrigation services to ensure that more productivity can be achieved with less water. Improvements will have to be achieved through a mix of institutional changes and modernization of infrastructure and irrigation methods. This is also where his work on integrated water resources management, including dam safety and flood management, is of critical importance. Prior to joining the Bank, Joop worked from 1982 to 1996 for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), mostly on irrigation design and construction and capacity building. He graduated in 1982 from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands with a M. Sc. In civil engineering, with specialization in irrigation and drainage. Joop has worked in about 35 countries all over the world and has lived long-term in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Singapore, and Washington DC.