Erleyvaldo Bispo dos Santos
Founder and President Águas Resilientes
Erleyvaldo Bispo dos Santos, known as Erley, is an Agricultural and Livestock Technician from IFS and a graduate in Forest Engineering from UFRRJ, whose career is marked by a transformative passion for sustainability, climate, water, and social impact. He has represented Brazil in international forums including the UN Water Conference in New York, COP28 in Dubai, COP30 in Belém, World Water Week in Stockholm, Climate Week NYC, the Brazil Conference at Harvard and MIT, the G20 Finance Track, and the World Water Forum. Erley has led projects with support from the International Secretariat for Water, the governments of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and major European universities including the University of Geneva, and had an urban-resilience solution selected among the top 5 globally in an international challenge run by CERN. In 2024, he co-founded F-20 (Favelas 20), an engagement group for G20 Brazil that gained significant national and international traction. He is also Founder and President of the Resilient Waters Institute, which develops strategies for water access in vulnerable communities. In June 2025, he presented Youth Ambassadors for Water at UNESCO headquarters in Paris during the 1st UNESCO Youth Dialogue. He later received the "Youth for Climate" award from the Italian Government and UNDP Rome, and was recognized by FINEP as one of Brazil's scientists. Erley believes that combining technical knowledge with a global vision is the key to building a fairer and more sustainable future.