IWMI : About IWMI

COLIN JOHN CHARTRES

Director General

Colin Chartres joined IWMI as its new Director General in October 2007. Dr Chartres has 30 years experience in driving research and policy reform in Australia and overseas, across the area of natural resources management, with a focus on water and soils. He holds a PhD in Pedology from the University of Reading, U.K. and a BSc. (Hons) degree in Geography from the University of Bristol. U.K. Colin has Australian and British citizenship and speaks French and Spanish. Colin has spent a considerable part of his career working on international development issues with organizations such as CSIRO, AUSAID and the Australian Geological Survey Organization. He was a Chief Scientist of the Bureau of Rural Sciences and a Past Chair of the Global Research Alliance Water Action Council as well as of Australia’s National Radio-active Waste Repository Advisory Committee. Prior to joining IWMI he was Chief Science Advisor to Australia’s National Water Commission. Colin has also worked as Chief of Division of Geo-hazards, Land and Water Resources at the Australian Geological Survey organization, leading research and providing advice to the government on earthquake risks and groundwater resources. He has also been Director of a major groundwater-irrigation feasibility study in the San Luis Province of Argentina. Colin contributed to and supervised projects for the National Land and Water Resources Audit in Australia and was a member of the Steering Committee of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food. Colin published over 120 papers, book chapters and reports on soil, water and agricultural management issues. He believes that most of today’s water issues cannot be solved without a truly integrated triple bottom line approach, involving environmental, social and economic inputs.

Email: c.chartres@cgiar.org