Marieke Nieuwaal

Marieke Nieuwaal is a water resources specialist whose career is driven by a belief that working with nature can help communities respond to some of the world’s most urgent water and climate challenges. She has extensive experience in catchment management, climate resilience and nature-based solutions, developed through projects across the UK, Europe, Asia and Africa.

From restoring rivers and creating wetlands to improving water quality and reducing flood and erosion risk, Marieke leads programmes that are helping to mainstream nature-based approaches across the water sector and deliver change at landscape scale. She is currently Mott MacDonald’s technical lead for a major five-year innovation programme led by United Utilities bringing together 23 partners to overcome barriers to nature-based solutions and deliver greater value for customers, society and the environment. She is also supporting flood and erosion risk management in the Brahmaputra basin in India, exploring how nature-based solutions can work alongside traditional infrastructure to protect vulnerable communities.