Issue 25: June 2003

Water expert Zafar Adeel
joins UNU-INWEH

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:

• Environmental Monitoring and Governance in the East Asian Region

• Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands

• Traditional Water Management Technologies in Drylands

• Master’s Degree Programme in Integrated Land Management in Drylands

• UN Global Conference on the Arsenic Contamination of Drinking Water

“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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