Navin K. Rai, a Nepali national, is the World Bank Indigenous Peoples Adviser. In this capacity, Mr. Rai oversees implementation of the World Bank strategy and policy on Indigenous Peoples. He provides technical advice on the Bank’s corporate vision related to Indigenous Peoples, conducts quality assurance reviews for complex development projects affecting Indigenous Peoples, and supports capacity building for Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and borrower agencies on Indigenous Peoples issues. As the Bank’s principal point of contact on Indigenous Peoples issues, Mr. Rai liaises with the global Indigenous Peoples community, UN-related Indigenous Peoples bodies, as well as other multilateral and bilateral agencies working on Indigenous Peoples issues. Mr. Rai is also Lead Specialist for the Inclusion and Social Safeguards Team in the Bank’s Social Development Department, where he coordinates implementation of the Bank’s social safeguards policies as well as the program on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change. In addition, he leads the World Bank Pilot Initiative on Enhancing Development Benefits to Local Communities in Bank-financed Hydropower Projects and the new initiative on World Bank Direct Engagement with Forest People in Forests and Climate Change Operations. Mr. Rai joined the Bank in 1999 as the South Asia Region Indigenous Peoples specialist. Prior to that, Mr. Rai worked for the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) for twelve years as team leader for multinational teams in the Philippines and Nepal. Mr. Rai holds a PhD. in ecological anthropology from the University of Hawaii (1982) and served as a Fulbright visiting professor at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and Carleton College, Minnesota (1987-1988). To reach this expert, please contact the World Bank's Media Division. Updated March 30, 2009 | 
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