Jeremy Bird

I graduated in civil engineering from Bristol University in 1978, then joined consulting engineer WS Atkins working on projects in UK and the Middle East before becoming a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1982. Two years later I completed a Masters Degree in irrigation engineering from Southampton University and in 1986 joined Hydraulics Research, Wallingford to work on applied research in irrigation and water resources systems in Asia and Africa becoming Group Manager in 1990. From there I moved to the Philippines to join the Asian Development Bank in 1992 where I worked for six years on technical assistance and development funding of water resources projects in Lao PDR, Pakistan, and Viet Nam. In 1998, I joined the secretariat of a global multi-stakeholder policy initiative, the World Commission on Dams, mandated to formulate recommendations on improved planning and governance of dam large projects. In 2004 I was awarded a Masters Degree in Water Law and Policy from Dundee University for research on transboundary rivers basins in Southern Africa. I became CEO of the Mekong River Commission in 2008, before joining the International Water Management Institute where I am currently Director General.