‘Water for Life’ UN-Water Best Practices Award

2015 edition: Evaluation committee

All submissions complying with the reporting format have been forwarded to an independent international Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for review. The TAC is formed by international experts of proven distinction in the water and communication sector from international organizations, initiatives, universities and Think Tanks, among others.

This advisory committee evaluates the submitted best practices based on a set of selection criteria and forward its evaluation to an international Jury. This international Jury will review all applications and vote for selecting winners of the 2015 edition.

Members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Caridad Canales DavilaCaridad Canales Davila
Economic Affairs Officer, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Caridad Canales entered the United Nations system in June 2010, joining the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) as Economic Affairs Officer. Since starting, Caridad has collaborated on various publications related to the management of water and sanitation services in the region and has participated in several conferences speaking on topics such as water and climate change, the human right to water and various topics related to the provision of sustainable drinking water supply and sanitation services. Prior to joining ECLAC, she was a specialist in corporate social responsibility at the Earthwatch Institute in England for over two years. During this time, she developed research programs in conjunction with companies from various sectors and contributed to the implementation and coordination of projects on sustainable agricultural practices and climate change adaptation. In 2006 Caridad was awarded the Shell-Chevening scholarship to pursue a Masters in Environmental Sciences at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom. She has also completed various postgraduate and specialist courses in sustainable development; water and environmental law and policy and water security, amongst others. She served for more than three years as an environmental specialist and coordinator of one of Latin America's largest telecommunications companies, contributing to the development of one of the pioneering environmental certification programs in that sector in Mexico. In addition to her specialization in water management and sustainable development, Caridad also has training in international relations and politics.


Mr. Er. M. Gopalakrishnan, Secretary General Honoraire, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)Er. M. Gopalakrishnan
Secretary General Honoraire, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)
A Distinguished Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Er. Gopalakrishnan is a Gold Medalist of University of Roorkee with a Master’s Degree in Water Resources Development. Engr. Gopalakrishnan has over 47 years of experience and had handled many aspects of Water Resources planning, development and management. He is well-known to the global community on water with his links with World Water Council (2004-06) (Governor), UN-Water, ICOLD, IWRA, IWRS, Institution of Engineers (India) etc. Er. Gopalakrishnan is a member of the Technical Advisory Committee helping World Water Development Reports. He is a recipient of the ‘Life Time Achievement award’ from the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers with the conferment of the ‘Honarary Diplomate’ Status in the Academy in 2010. He was also honoured by Indian National Academy of Engineering as a Fellow of National Academy of Engineering in 2011.  Mr. Mukuteswara Gopalakrishnan was Secretary General, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage between 2003 and 2011 and has been endeavouring to enhance its partnering roles with other global organizations like IWMI, ICOLD, FAO, WWAP and the Global Water Partnership. He facilitated ICID’s contributions in the previous World Water Fora meetings.


Mr. Junguo Liu, Beijing Forestry University, ChinaJunguo Liu
Beijing Forestry University, China
Dr. Junguo Liu is a professor of hydrology and water resources at Beijing Forestry University (China) and a research scholar at the International Institutes for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, Austria). His main research interests include hydrology and water resources, water-food relations, ecosystem services and management, and the impacts of climate change on water, food and ecosystems. Professor Liu is author of over 20 peer-reviewed papers. He published one original article in PNAS, two correspondences in Nature and one letter in Science. He also serves as an editor of the international journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS). He is a recipient of a string of prizes including a prestigious Outstanding Young Scientists Awards of European Geosciences Union, a winner of the 2011 ProSPER.Net-Scopus Young Scientist Award. He has working experience in many countries including the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the USA and Canada.


Mr. Jayakumar Ramasamy, Programme Specialist and Chief  Natural Sciences, UNESCO Office in Bangkok, ThailandJayakumar Ramasamy
Programme Specialist and Chief Natural Sciences, UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Jayakumar holds a Masters degree in Geology, Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Management, and earned a Doctoral degree in Hydrogeology (1993) from India. His postdoctoral research areas include conjunctive use of surface and groundwater for irrigation (under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India) and remote sensing and GIS application in natural resources management (from Osaka City University, Japan). As a Consultant hydrogeologist he has served with the Ford Foundation and with WS Atkins International Limited, (UK). He was Adjunct Professor of Geology at Anna University, Chennai, India. In July 1997, he joined UNESCO at its New Delhi Office, where he was in the charge of the Geology programme. Subsequently, he took over the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), Geology and Coastal Regions and Small Islands (CSI) programmes and officiating as Regional Hydrologist. Since August 2004 he served with UNESCO Office Beijing as Programme Specialist for Science, Technology, and Environment for East Asian cluster. In this capacity, he was responsible for the implementation of the intergovernmental programmes such as IHP, Man and the Biosphere (MAB), International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and Basic and Engineering Sciences, Science Policy and Analysis. He is currently programme specialist and Chief Natural Sciences at the UNESCO Office in Bangkok. He is also serving as Guest Professor at the Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, China.