Madankumar Janakiraman joins the team at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional office in Samoa. Madankumar will be based in Apia as Programme Officer for the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Through its strategic investments, GEF works with partners globally to tackle the planet’s biggest environmental issues.  GEF 's funding also helps reduce poverty, strengthen governance and achieve greater equality between women and men.
 
An Indian national, Madankumar will coordinate the development, implementation and monitoring of projects in the Pacific region which are funded by the GEF.
 
“I am coordinating the GEF portfolio for the FAO Subregional Office”.  Madankumar explained. “A major part of my role is to increase this portfolio and use it as a means to fund and achieve key strategic priorities of FAO in the region”.
 
Before moving to Samoa, Madankumar previously assisted the FAO Subregional Office to develop GEF Projects in the region. He also brings experience as a Forestry Officer for GEF at FAO headquarters in Rome, working predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
 
Madankumar’s previous work experiences include working for the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, a German development agency in Timor Leste, and a Community- based NGO in Gambia, West Africa.
 
Madankumar is happy for the opportunity to work in Samoa. “I like the relaxed atmosphere here in Samoa and the abundant greenery of the island. And I’m very happy that my family is settling in well and adjusting to life here”. 
 
Madankumar has a Master’s degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in Sustainable Resource Management specializing in Resource Economics and Forest Management from the Technical University of Munich, Germany.
 
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