Richard Calawagan is a licensed Environmental Planner in the Philippines, with over 13 years of experience in project development and management in both the private and public sectors. An expert in environmental and urban planning, Richard contributed to the strategic planning of the Philippine government’s ambitious Pasig River rehabilitation and development program from 2015-2019. He also helped implement the Resettlement Action Plan of the Philippine North-South Commuter Railway Project. As consultant for the Asian Development Bank, he conducted infrastructure planning, policy review and advisory, investment programming, and monitoring and evaluation.

Richard joined GGGI in 2022 as Capacity Development Officer, leading the Philippine country office’s capacity development activities with various development partners, successfully implementing ongoing projects such as the ‘Climate-Resilient and Inclusive Green Growth for Poor Rural Communities: Accelerating Implementation in the Agriculture Value Chain in the Province of Oriental Mindoro’ and the ‘Readiness Support to Strengthen Philippines Capacity and Knowledge on Accessing the GCF’.

Richard has an undergraduate degree in Biology, postgraduate diploma in Urban and Regional Planning and a Master’s degree in City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning (candidate) from the University of the Philippines Diliman. His stint as operations manager with international agricultural companies brought him to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Netherlands for trainings on the most advanced agricultural technologies and practices.

Outside of work, Richard likes to spend time travelling to various places and enjoying the beauty of nature. He advocates zero waste and recycling. He also likes playing basketball and has a passion for music. His favorite inspirational quote is, “Don’t just aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference” from Hollywood actor Denzel Washington.