Muralee Thummarukudy (born 10 August 1964) is the Director of the G20 Global Land Initiative Coordination Office of

UN Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through ...

(UNCCD). Prior to UNCCD Muralee was the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction in the

UN Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

. An internationally renowned expert in disaster response, Muralee has been involved in post-disaster response and follow-up of almost all major disasters of the twenty-first century, including the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

Cyclone Nargis Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis ( my, နာဂစ်, ur, نرگس ) was an extremely destructive and deadly tropical cyclone that caused the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar during early May 2008. The cyclone m ...

(Myanmar, 2008), Sichuan Earthquake (China, 2008), Haiti Earthquake (2010), Tohoku tsunami (2011) and floods in Thailand (2011). He has completed assignments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, Liberia, Sudan and Rwanda dealing with the environmental impacts of conflicts. Also deployed to China, Japan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Haiti, and Thailand to deal with Disasters. He is a native of

Vengola Vengola is a Panchayat and Village in Kunnathunad Taluk of Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It lies in the bus route from Perumbavoor to Kolenchery. Nearby villages are Kizhakkambalam (4.4 km), Vadavucode/ Puthencruz (6.4 ...

Ernakulam district Ernakulam, ; ISO: ''Eṟaṇākuḷaṁ'', in Malayalam: എറണാകുളം), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, that takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part o ...

of the

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

State in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Alma Mater

Before joining the United Nations, Muralee was an Environmental Advisor to the oil companies of Shell Group in South East Asia and Middle-East. He responded to numerous oil spills and oil well fires during this period. He obtained his B.Tech degree from

Mar Athanasius College of Engineering Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE) is a government aided engineering college located in Kothamangalam, Kerala state, India. The college is affiliated to the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University since its inception in 2015. One ...

, Kothamangalam in Kerala in 1986. He obtained his M.Tech degree from

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) Hindi: भारतीय प्रौद्योगिकी संस्थान कानपुर) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was ...

in 1988. He received his Ph.D from

in 1993. He has published several books and writes articles in leading Malayalam dailies occasionally. Muralee is a winner of Kerala Sahitya Academi awards 2018 for humorous literature. Muralee Thummarukudy wrote a facebook post in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

on terrorism which was published in various Malayalam dailies.

Books

* Veendum Chila Naattukaaryangal * Kazchappadukal * Surakshayude padangal * Perumazha Pakarnna Padangal * Budhanum Shankaranum Pinne Njanum

Awards and honors

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Humour is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing a book of humour of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala ...

2018, for his memoir ''Chila Naattukaryangal''

References

External links

* * * * *
UN Expert Profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thummarukudy, Murali 1964 births People from Ernakulam district United Nations Environment Programme Living people Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award