Paolo Manunta is Senior Infrastructure Specialist in ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department (SDCC). He specializes in Earth Observation (EO), online Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). Paolo helps set up geospatial initiatives and has worked on cloud-based integration of EO, GIS, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia.

Paolo has co-authored several knowledge products and is currently working on a project deploying satellite imagery and AI for land use and coastal planning. To ensure financial sustainability in ADB Developing Member Countries, Mr. Manunta promotes ADB digital solutions in collaboration with several potential European donors as part of a joint initiative with the World Bank and the European Space Agency (ESA).

Paolo joined ADB as a secondee from the ESA. His Asia experience started in 2014 with a transport project in Papua New Guinea that eventually led to a full-time secondment to SDCC in 2017. After completing his PhD, Paolo Manunta worked in Canada for the state of Alberta on climate change modelling. He has also worked for Planetek Italia and in the private sector.