Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa

Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa is Programme Specialist at UNESCO’s Division of Water Sciences and the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), based in Paris. She leads and coordinates IHP Themes on water quality and water for human settlements.

An active advocate for science and innovation for sustainable development, Sarantuyaa has developed and launched innovative UNESCO projects in the field of water sciences. She launched the UNESCO Project on Emerging Pollutants and microplastics, which resulted in research cooperation, extensive capacity building and new policy developments, making UNESCO a leading UN organization in this field. Sarantuyaa conceptualized the first-of-its-kind innovative UNESCO World Water Quality Portal for freshwater quality monitoring through satellite Earth Observation and led the portal’s operational applications in world’s basins; i.e., Lake Chad in Africa and La Plata in Latin America. She launched IHP activities on source-to-sea management of freshwater and marine ecosystems. She also coordinated IHP projects on Integrated Urban Water Management and leads IHP’s work on water for human settlements and cities of future.

Sarantuyaa is an author of UNESCO, UN, and scientific publications, including the lead author of UN World Water Development Report chapters on: water quality; water reuse and resource recovery; innovation and capacity building on water; nature-based solutions to water quality; and water and climate change. She is Co-Editor of UNESCO Urban Water Series, comprising eight books.

Sarantuyaa has a postdoctoral degree in Environment and Sustainable Development from United Nations University (UNU), Japan, and a PhD degree in Environmental Engineering from “La Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy. She holds a diploma on International Environmental Law-making and Diplomacy.