Monday, March 19, 2007

Information on Biography for speaker: Ramaswamy R. Iyer

"Mr. Ramaswamy R. Iyer has had a long association with large-dam projects. In the 80s, he served as Secretary of Water Resources for the Government of India. As Secretary, he worked to shift the Ministry's attention from big projects to resource-policy issues. He was the initiator and principal draftsman of India's first National Water Policy in 1987.

"Mr. Iyer was a member of two high-level committees designated to review the environmental and displacement/rehabilitation aspects of the Sardar Sarovar Project (1993 - 95) and the Tehri Hydro-Electric Project (1996-97). He also served as a consultant to the World Commission on Dams (WCD) from 1998-2000, and joined the team commissioned to write a country study on India's experience with large dams. From 2000-2005, Mr. Iyer intermittently served as World Bank consultant for the review of its Water Sector Strategy.

"Mr. Iyer also serves as Honorary Research Professor for India's Centre for Policy Research, where he continues to educate people on matters relating to water resources (including the dams question), and to expound, clarify and analyze issues for the benefit of the general public, policy-makers, administrators, academics, media personnel and other opinion-makers.

"As a water expert, Mr. Iyer frequently appears on television and in conferences as speaker or panelist. He has also published a variety of articles in newspapers and journals. He published his first book entitled 'WATER: Perspectives, Issues, Concerns' in 2003, and is now in the middle of publishing his second book, tentatively titled `WATER: Limits, Justice, Harmony.'"

Information taken from the following website: http://www.adb.org/Water/Champions/iyer.asp

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