The Future of Liquid Waste Management amidst COVID-19: What lies ahead?

India Water Foundation (IWF)

India Water Foundation, New Delhi based non-profit civil society & think tank engaged in enhancing public awareness about SDGs and also emphasizes on familiarizing the people regarding the vital role water, energy and environment play in human lives, their impact on health, economic growth, livelihoods of the people and calamities that wreak havoc due to non-judicious harnessing of these natural resources.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development. UNEP’s work encompasses: assessing global, regional and national environmental conditions and trends; developing international and national environmental instruments and strengthening institutions for the wise management of the environment.

Dr. HarshVardhan is the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Minister of Science and Technology, Minister of Earth Sciences and current Chair of World Health Organization’s Executive Board. His endeavors have pertained to the field of health at national and international level particularly polio eradication, tobacco control, essential drug policy, organ donation, etc.His public life has been marked by outstanding achievements in the fields of health, education, law, science & technology and environment.

Mr. U.P. Singh is a Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti. He has held important assignments in both Central and State Governments and possesses a rich and varied experience. He is deeply involved in policy, planning and management of water resources in India. He oversees the implementation of PMKSY Projects, Inter-Linking of Rivers, two World Bank funded projects, viz. National Hydrology Project and National Ground Water Management and Improvement Scheme. These projects envisage revolutionizing water resources management in the country.

Prof. Ashutosh Sharma is a Secretary to the Government of India since January 2015, heading the Department of Science and Technology (DST), where he helped initiate several new programs related to infrastructure and human capacity building; innovation and startups; R&D in advanced manufacturing, waste processing, clean energy and cyber-physical systems; industry-academia cooperation; science communication; women scientists; and major international  collaborations in the areas of priority for the nation.He has published over 350 peer reviewed papers, filed over 15 patents, given over 150 invited or key note conference presentations and mentored a successful nanotechnology startup.

Ms Payden, is a public health professional with more than 24 years’ experience. Her expertise is in the areas of water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management. She worked in the WHO regional office for south-east asia, as regional advisor for WASH for 11 years. She is currently working in WHO India office as deputy Head of Office and she coordinates health programmes such as communicable diseases, NCDs, maternal and child health, health systems, health security and emergency and environmental health. She has a Masters in Sanitary Engineering and Masters in Public Health.

Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy is the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction, UN Environment Programme.He has dealt with the environmental issues associated with conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Liberia, Sudan and occupied Palestinian territories. He deals with environmental issues caused by tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, oil spill and explosion of ammunition dumps around the world. With more than twenty-five years of international experience in the field of Environmental Management in Crises situations, MrMuralee is one of world’s leading authorities on this topic and frequently lectures in universities around the world on the topic.

Dr. Memon is working with United Nations Environment Programme as a Regional Coordinator for Resource Efficiency in Asia Pacific Office located in Bangkok. He is supporting resource efficiency, sustainable consumption and production, green economy, green financing, sustainable public procurement, sustainable tourism, sustainable industries and various areas for Asia and the Pacific.He is also implementing EU funded SWITCH-Asia Phase 2 component by UN Environment to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production in the region.He has also published various papers in international journals and has delivered various training programmes.

Mr. Shiv Das Meena is 1989 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre heading the Central Pollution Control Board, under Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GoI. His previous stint included Chairman and Managing Director of Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). He is graduated in Bachelors of Civil Engineering earned his Masters of International Studies from Japan.

Dr. Rajnarayan R Tiwari is the Director of ICMR- NIREH (National Institute for Research in Environmental Health). His thrust areas have focused on occupational health, environmental and public health.He is an elected Fellow of Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine and fellow of Indian Public Health Association. A recipient of awardeessuch as Dr. MK Seshadri Prize by Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi and Honorary Associate Fellow in Industrial Health by Mahatma GandhiLabour Institute and Directorate Industrial Safety and Health, Government of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Dr.Tiwari has many renowned publications to his merit.

Mr. Swapan Mehra is the Vice President (Waste to Wealth), Invest India. An Environmental Finance expert with proficiency on developing conservation policies, strategies and projects across Forestry and Biodiversity Conservation, REDD+, Valuation of Ecosystem Services, Agricultural Biodiversity, Renewable Energy, Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Waste Management. Sound experience in the International Carbon Credit Trading/ Markets. Pioneering the development of REDD+ in India as key member of the USAID Forest PLUS project. Co-author of the National REDD+ Strategy Document, REDD+ Policy, TEEB India Scoping Study, TEEB India Western Ghats Case Study and Fourteenth Finance Commission Criterion to reward HCV forests.

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Dr. Arvind Kumar is Governor World Water Council and founder president of India Water Foundation. He has been instrumental in Inter-Sectoral Convergence in Water Sector and Regional Water Diplomacy. He is Member Technical Advisory Committee for India’s Third National Communication and Biennial Update Reports to UNFCCC and member of the ‘National Wetlands Committee’, ministry of environment forest and climate change, Government of India. He is Member Meghalaya State Water Resources Council and the State Council for Climate Change and Sustainable Development, government of Meghalaya. He is PhD Defense Studies has published over 400-plus research articles in reputed journals.

Mr. Atul Bagai joined UN Environment’s Ozone Action programme under the Montreal Protocol as the Regional Officer for South Asia in 2000 and served as Senior Regional Coordinator to build the capacity of sub-regional networks in Asia and enable them to meet the compliance targets under the Montreal Protocol. In that capacity, he spearheaded and led some innovative initiatives with the Executive Committee of the Multilateral Fund. For instance, he was instrumental in designing and developing synergies between Ozone Depleting Substance phase out and climate change in Maldives and Bhutan; green procurement policies in Mongolia taking into account phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substance as a legislation; a study of carbon credits and Ozone Depleting Substance destruction in Nepal; and, most recently, the hydro-chloro-fluoro-carbon phase-out plan for India that included energy efficiency and the cold chain.

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