Dr Alexander Barinov leads this practice. Here is how he approaches the work.
As Founder and Chief Executive of BAA International, I lead the geotechnical engineering and infrastructure resilience practice.
The work turns on one question: whether infrastructure can withstand the natural hazards it will actually face – and what it costs to build that in, set against what it costs to leave it out.
I approach this from both sides: with the governments, owners and engineers who build and operate infrastructure in hazard-exposed conditions, and with the development banks, climate funds and agencies that finance it and need to understand its natural-hazard exposure.
The work is grounded in the field, not in assumptions – risk assessed on the ground, and design that holds up where it is built.
When infrastructure has to perform in hazard-exposed conditions – debris flows, landslides, rockfalls, avalanches – and the question is how to assess the risk, design for resilience and reduce disaster exposure.
When an institution financing infrastructure – development banks, climate funds and multilateral agencies such as ADB, EBRD and UNDP – needs a rigorous, independent read on a project's natural-hazard exposure, as part of appraisal, safeguards and funding decisions.
Is this infrastructure built to withstand the hazards it actually faces?
Four questions decide the answer:
The work moves through three stages – hazard and risk assessment, resilient design, and on-site implementation support. Where it adds value, long-term monitoring can be offered, using satellite and geospatial data to track exposure as conditions change. At every stage, the standard is the same: experience- and evidence-based solutions matching the project framework and budget.
[Alexander to supply real examples across civil and mining sectors — named or anonymised.]
A doctorate in Geography and more than 17 years of experience in geotechnical engineering and infrastructure risk management, with deep expertise in natural-hazard mitigation and large-scale resilience systems across the civil and mining sectors. An EMBA from ESMT Berlin, Germany's leading business school, connects engineering with financial efficiency and business reality – so resilience decisions stand up not only technically but also commercially.
If you are building, operating or financing infrastructure exposed to natural hazards, I am here at all stages of the project –
from assessment to execution.
