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UNU Update | |
The newsletter of United Nations
University and its network of research and training centres and programmes |
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Issue 25: June 2003 |
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Water expert Zafar Adeel
An
internationally-respected researcher and expert in the problems of water
management in developing countries has been appointed assistant director of
UNU International Network on
Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). Dr. Zafar Adeel brings to Canada-based INWEH some 13 years’ experience of working on environmental issues, of which the last five have been focused on international challenges. Originally from Pakistan, Dr. Adeel’s career has focused on water-related issues in Asia and Africa. Some of his most recent work has centered on the arsenic pollution problems faced in Asia, where between 50 and 200 million people are drinking water poisoned with arsenic. Based on his work at UNU, he has been asked to head a multi-agency group that will organize a UN Global Conference on the Arsenic Contamination of Drinking Water in 2004. He
also currently manages a coastal water quality monitoring programme that
focuses on nine East Asian countries (China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam).
This monitoring network has provided significant advances in the knowledge
about persistent pollutants in coastal waters. Dr.
Adeel has also worked on water management issues in a wide region that
extends from Northern Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia,
including Iran, India and Pakistan. This work has identified innovative
approaches for effectively managing scarce water resources. At the same
time, parallel research work on traditional water management technologies
has clearly shown that these centuries-old methods reflect the wisdom of
ages and can be successfully adapted to current-day situations. An environmental engineer by training with post-graduate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Iowa State University, Dr. Adeel joins INWEH from UNU Headquarters in Tokyo where he was Academic Programme Officer in the Environment and Sustainable Development Programme. Among Dr. Adeel’s ongoing projects that will now be managed from INWEH's Hamilton headquarters:
“I am very excited to join INWEH. Canada, and especially Hamilton, is an excellent location to continue focused development and research work on water issues," said Dr. Adeel. "Canadian institutions, like NWRI in Burlington, have a wealth of information on water issues that can be shared globally.” Said
INWEH Director Dr. Ralph Daley: "Zafar Adeel brings an extensive
international network of contacts, a large portfolio of important water
projects, and broad global experience to our young organization. I
am delighted he has agreed to join our headquarters staff and look forward
to our work together." |
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