ABOUT KAVEH MADANI, Ph.D.

Kaveh Madani, Ph.D. is an environmental scientist, educator, and activist, working at the interface of science, policy, and society. He is the Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), known as the UN Think Tank on Water. He has previously served as the Deputy Vice President of Iran in his position as the Deputy Head of Iran’s Department of Environment, the Vice President of the UN Environment Assembly Bureau, and the Chief of Iran’s Department of Environment’s International Affairs and Conventions Center.

He is a Research Professor at the City University of New York’s Remote Sensing Earth Systems Institute (CUNY CREST). Professor Madani is known internationally for his work on integrating game theory into water resources management models as well as his role in raising public awareness about water and environmental problems in his home country, Iran. He joined the United Nations University in 2021 as the Head of the Nexus Research Programme at UNU-FLORES where he founded UNU's Resource Nexus AID (Analytics, Informatics and Data) Program.

His work is focused on complex human-natural systems. He is an expert in developing and applying mathematical, economic and systems analysis models to complex problems involving water, energy, food, climate and environment to derive policy and governance insights. He has co-authored nearly 200 publications with his students and colleagues out of their work in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Middle East on issues such as water management, environmental policy, energy systems, food security, climate change impacts and adaptation, sustainable development, environmental security/diplomacy, and transboundary-conflicts and negotiations.