Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry portrait
  • Research Professor, Economics Department
  • Global Adviser, Office for Global Engagement
  • Chief of Party, USAID/Pakistan HESSA Project
914-806-9112

Education

  • M.Sc , Agricultural Marketing, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
  • M.Sc, Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA
  • Ph.D, Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA

Biography

Dr. Chaudhry is an experienced Programme Manager and social scientist with expertise in developing, managing and implementing programs and projects to advance the implementation of sustainable development agenda. He is presently working as Research Professor of Economics with concurrent appointment as an Adviser in the Office for Global Engagement at the University of Utah.  Until very recently, Dr. Chaudhry served as the Chief of Party of the USAID funded project that established US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (CAS-W) in Pakistan. Prior to his employment with the University of Utah, he worked for the United Nations Secretariat  for about 24 years in various managerial and advisory positions at different duty stations. These included: Director/Head of the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development in Incheon, Republic of Korea; Chief of Global Policy Branch; Chief of Water, Natural Resources and Small Island States Branch; Senior Water Adviser—all three positions  at the UN Headquarters in New York; and Chief Technical Adviser of several UN executed projects and programmes in developing countries. His UN experience covers a broad range of  normative, analytical and operational aspects of sustainable development. He provided technical assistance and support to several inter-governmental processes related to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UN Economic and Social Council, UN General Assembly, and preparatory process leading to the organization of Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. He also served as Sectretary of UN-Water (2007-2009). Main thrust of his capacity building work was on supporting developing countries in achieving global sustainable development agenda, especially with reference to water management. This involved advising organizational development and change processes, strengthening institutional governance mechanisms,  conducting research and analysis for policy reforms, and engaging stakeholders  to promote participatory & informed decision-making. Countries of his work experience include: Pakistan, Yemen, Ethiopia, Syria, Gambia, Lesotho, Tajikistan, Republic of Korea, and USA. Dr. Chaudhry holds a Ph.D in Agricultural and Natural Resources Economics from Colorado State University, USA, and is the author of several papers, chapters in books, and parliamentary reports for the UN covering different aspects of sustainable development. 

Institutional Development

I led and coordinated several processes leading to the creation and operationalization of several institutions, mechanisms, and processes at country and global levels. In many cases, this also included development and implementation of their governance and capacity building programs. These for example included:

  • National Water Resources Authority in Yemen
  • Strategic Planning Unit in the Syrian Ministry of Irrigation
  • UN-Water (coordination mechanism of 30+ UN agencies); served its Secretary from 2007-2009
  • UN Secretary General Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation
  • Water Operators Partnership currently housed in UNHABITAT, Nairobi
  • The UN Commision on Sustainable Development--its programming and organization (2007-2011)
  • UN Office for Sustainable Development in Incheon, Republic of Korea (Founding Director)
  • US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water in Pakistan