We are excited to have Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the IPCC, as a speaker at Nobel Conference 45, H2O: Uncertain Resource. Dr. Pachauri was elected chair of the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2002 and re-elected in 2008. The IPCC is an international body that assesses the current status and causes of climate change and projects future environmental and socioeconomic impacts. He oversaw the IPCC’s 4th Assessment Report released in 2007 which had over 600 authors and thousands of other contributing authors. In 2007 the IPCC was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore “for efforts to build-up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, …”
In the area of water resources, Dr. Pachauri is quick to note the challenges posed by glacier melting in the Himalayas for India, China, and other proximate countries. The melting of these glaciers will cause water scarcity for up to 500 million people and could lead to migrations away from the rivers fed by these glaciers in the next two to three decades. He has advocated more efficient uses of water for agriculture in India, but acknowledges that efficiency alone will not address projected water shortages.
If you wish to learn more about Dr. Pachauri, he maintains a great web site which includes a blog.