The lecture, entitled “Navigating Rough Waters – Ethical Issues in the Water Industry” was very topical and relevant.

Dr Priscoli is a senior adviser of the USACE at the Institute for Water Resources. He has designed and run social assessment, public participation and conflict resolution research and training programmes for 30 years. He is a skilled mediator and facilitator and works throughout the world. He serves on the Board of Governors and the Bureau of the World Water Council, the Inter-American Water Resources Network and works with and has helped found several other world associations, such as the International Association for Public Participation, the World Water Council and the Global Water Partnership. Dr Delli Priscoli has also been adviser to the World Bank on water policy and to all of the UN water-related agencies on water policy issues. He works closely with many of the water ministers throughout the world and was an original member of the US delegation to the Middle East peace talks on water. He was also Co-Chairman of the DG of UNESCO’s World Commission on Water and Freshwater Ethics. Dr Priscoli is the author of many articles and books, including Water and Civilization, and a new volume from Cambridge University Press, Transforming Water Conflicts. He is a commentator on media programmes and is the Editor in Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Water Policy.

He has played pivotal roles and facilitated many of the dialogues among diplomats and NGOs in each of the five world water forums and in most of the critical key water resources policy meetings over the last 15 years. He was on the international steering committee and the political committee of the WWF5 in Istanbul and has facilitated many US national water policy dialogues. The American Water Resources Association awarded him the Icko Iben award for achievement in cross-disciplinary communications in water. He holds degrees in economics and political science and a postdoctoral degree in theological studies from Tufts and Georgetown universities.