Brian Richter

Brian Richter has been a global leader in water science and conservation for more than 30 years. After leading The Nature Conservancy's global water program for two decades, he now serves as President of Sustainable Waters, a global water education organization. In this role, Brian also promotes sustainable water use and management with governments and local communities, and serves as a water advisor to some of the world's largest corporations, investment banks, and the United Nations, and has...See more

Brian Richter has been a global leader in water science and conservation for more than 30 years. After leading The Nature Conservancy's global water program for two decades, he now serves as President of Sustainable Waters, a global water education organization. In this role, Brian also promotes sustainable water use and management with governments and local communities, and serves as a water advisor to some of the world's largest corporations, investment banks, and the United Nations, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. Brian has consulted on more than 150 water projects worldwide. He also teaches a course on Water Sustainability at the University of Virginia. Brian has developed numerous scientific tools and methods to support river protection and restoration efforts, including the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration software that is being used by water managers and scientists worldwide. Brian was featured in a BBC documentary with David Attenborough on "How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?" He has published many scientific papers on the importance of ecologically sustainable water management in international science journals, and co-authored a book with Sandra Postel entitled Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature (Island Press, 2003). His new book, Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability, has now been published in six languages. See less