Steven Navon Schonberger is Regional Director for the World Bank Group’s Sustainable Development Department with the Europe and Central Asia region. A native of the State of California in the United States, he has had a life-long passion for issues concerning economic development and environmental sustainability. He studied to become an Agricultural Economist and has worked in all regions of the world in the fields of climate and environmental sustainability, including agriculture, fisheries, water resources management and utility reform, and micro-finance.

In his current role, he is responsible – inter alia – for oversight and support of the World Bank’s $6 billion portfolios of financing and knowledge products for sustainable development programs in climate, agriculture, environment, urban, social, land and water in Europe and Central Asia.

In his former position as Global Director for Water, he worked throughout South Asia, East Asia and Pacific, and Europe and Central Asia regions in water supply and sanitation, irrigation, transboundary waters, and watershed management. In addition to the World Bank, Mr. Schonberger has worked with UN organizations, private companies, and international NGOs in Africa, Latin America, and North America and was a core author of the UN-Bretton Woods High-Level Task Force on the Food Security Crisis report on a Comprehensive Framework for Action.

His current professional focus includes exploring ways to promote the transition towards sustainability through moving to a circular economy approach and the required policy, institutional, financing and technological innovations. He has written for several World Bank publications addressing issues of microfinance, agricultural finance, and natural resources policy and has co-authored journal articles and book chapters on similar topics.