Prof. Mohan Munasinghe advises the government on sustainable urban development in Portugal

Professor Mohan Munasinghe, 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate and co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for Peace, was recently in Portugal to provide advice on sustainable development, a news release from his institute said.

As Head of the Distinguished International Advisory Committee, Prof. Munasinghe has been visiting Portugal regularly, to provide expert advice and guidance on sustainable urban development, including smart sustainable systems (S3) for essential infrastructure services like energy, transport, water, health and education.

During his discussions in the city of Guimaraes, Prof. Munasinghe referred to the well-known sustainable development triangle and the balanced inclusive green growth (BIGG) path he had originally proposed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. He commended Portugal on showing remarkable resilience during the Covid pandemic, and felt confident that the country would achieve sustainability soon using the BIGG approach, despite the poor situation in Europe and the world.

Professor Munasinghe is Chairman of the MIND Group in Colombo, which includes the non-profit Munasinghe Institute for Development (MIND), a UN recognized centre of excellence working globally on all aspects of sustainable development, and MIND AM focusing on data analytics and management. He is Chairman of the Board of Climate & Conservation Consortium (CCC), Board Director of the Eureka Group and Distinguished Guest Professor at Peking University, China. He was Chairman of the President’s Expert Committee on Sustainable Sri Lanka 2030 Vision.