Mr. Nazir A. Memon has just returned from UK wherein he was placed in Institute of Development Studies (IDS) university of Sussex UK as visiting Research Fellow. He has been working as Social Development Specialist in Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) since 2002. Mr. Memon is a development professional having long standing in implementing of development and reforms programme and participatory management. He has contributed significantly in organizing farmers community and gender mainstreaming in water management.

 He has Master’s degrees in Economics and also in Rural Development and has earned certificates in advance courses from the renowned institutes of Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands and Turkey. Mr. Memon is an active development practitioner, researcher, trainer, change management agent. He has been admitted for PhD in Development Studies in Europ’s leading development studies centre i.e. Institute of Social Studies, The Hague Netherlands.

He has professional experience of 15 years in the social, irrigation, water and development sector and poverty reduction projects sponsored and funded by the international donors including the World Bank, ADB, UNDP, JBIC, EC, AKF, Oxfam-GB, etc. He has had vast exposure to project cycle management, sustainable development theory and practice; and have gained valuable institutional and capacity development skills while organizing and training farming community and civil society groups, conducting seminars, workshops, study tours, establishing social development cell in SIDA, and playing a central role in conflict resolution, gender mainstreaming and change management at the lowest tier of farmer and community organizations formed under irrigation reforms in Sindh. He is a good writer and there are many articles on poverty, socio-economic development, water management, at his credit.

Mr. Memon has recently presented his paper in the international conference on Participatory Irrigation Management held in May 2007 in Tehran where his topic was poverty and PIM. He is particular interested in poverty reduction aspects of the recent reforms underway in third world countries.