International Hydrological Programme

    Lisa Hiwasaki

    Lisa Hiwasaki

    Lisa Hiwasaki was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1974. She obtained her B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College, Minnesota (USA) in 1996, her M.A. in anthropology from the University of British Columbia (Canada) in 1998, and her Ph.D. in international development, focussing on environmental policy, from Yokohama National University (Japan) in 2005.


    Between 1998 and 2000 Lisa worked at various organizations to promote international cooperation, such as at the International Center for Education, Waseda University (Japan) and the Asia Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU). In 2001 Lisa began working as a researcher at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), where she worked closely with the Ministry of the Environment, Japan to promote sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific region.


    As an environmental anthropologist, Lisa has conducted research on tourism issues in Canada, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand, and has published several articles on ethnic and nature tourism and local communities.


    In 2004 Lisa was recruited as a Young Professional to work at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Currently, she is the officer in charge of the Ecohydrology Programme (jointly implemented with MAB Programme), a project on establishing a transboundary biosphere reserve and a regional ecological network in the Polesie region (involving Belarus, Poland and Ukraine), and activities concerning water and cultural diversity.