Tamara Avellán is Head of the Water Resource Management Unit at the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resource (UNU-FLORES). A biologist by profession, she has conducted research on the ecological impacts of water quality in aquatic life and on the effects of excess nutrient loads on plant morphology. At UNU-FLORES, Dr Avellán focuses on the linkages of water, soil, and waste for reducing resource loses.