Dr. Simon Cook has been appointed Director of the CGIAR’s major new research program to address the urgent challenges of water management, global food security and environmental sustainability. Dr. Cook, a specialist in water, agriculture and rural development, was formerly coordinator of the Basin Focal Projects of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), a USD 10 million initiative to identify the condition of food, agricultural water and poverty in ten major river basins in the tropics.

A native of the UK, now with dual British and Australian citizenship, Dr. Cook gained his PhD in soil science and agronomy at the University of Cambridge, UK. Highlights of his 25-year research career include leading the precision agriculture research group at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), specializing in GIS, remote sensing, soil chemistry and plant physiology. He subsequently joined the geographical information systems (GIS) and land use program at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Colombia, heading a team of 40 scientists, technicians and support staff in the largest GIS lab in the CGIAR.

The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems is a multi-million dollar global partnership that will address the major challenges of feeding the world’s growing population whilst maintaining the integrity of natural systems. It will focus on eight river basins in Africa, Asia and Latin America.