Sandra Postel is the director

Director-general

The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

 and founder of the Global Water Policy Project

Global Water Policy Project

The Global Water Policy Project was founded by Sandra Postel in 1994. The Project is an environmental research organisation based in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States.Its aim is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Earth’s fresh water...

. She is a world expert on fresh water

Fresh Water

Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...

 issues and related ecosystems. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute

Worldwatch Institute

The Worldwatch Institute is a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan Survey of Sustainability Experts.-Mission:...

. In 2002, Scientific American

Scientific American

Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...

 magazine named her as one of their "Scientific American 50" to recognise her contribution to science and technology. Postel's work aims to educate and inspire in order to promote the use and management of fresh water in more sustainable

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

 ways. She has written many papers on water conservation issues, and has made contributions to television presentations of environmental topics related to freshwater. Sandra is currently a Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute

Post Carbon Institute

Post Carbon Institute is a think tank which provides information and analysis on emerging responses and strategies to climate change, energy scarcity, overconsumption, economics and other issues related to sustainability and long term social resilience...

.

Overview

Having obtained her first degree, Postel worked as a natural resources consultant with a private firm in Menlo Park, California. In 1983 she joined the Worldwatch Institute, her first project being the compilation of research on worldwide water issues, which was her first opportunity in her professional life to study international water issues. From 1988 to 1994 she served as Vice President for Research. She left the Worldwatch Institute in 1994 to found the Global Water Policy Project. Starting this major project enabled Postel to collate all of her wide-ranging water interests under one umbrella.

Awards

Scientific American 50. Postel was honoured for promoting "sweeping changes aimed at preserving the world's dwindling supplies of freshwater."

External links

• Global Water Policy Project
• Worldwatch Institute
• Scientific American magazine
• Post Carbon Institute

Further reading

• Last Oasis: Facing Water Scarcity, W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. ISBN 0-393-31744-7
• Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?, W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. ISBN 0-393-31937-7
• Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature, Island Press, 2003. ISBN 1-559-63444-8