Muralee Thummarukudy (born 10 August 1964) is the Director of the 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 t ...

. 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 On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

Cyclone Nargis Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Nargis (; , ) 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 made landfall in Myanmar on Friday ...

(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, the 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'') is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the Ernakulam, eponymous city division in Kochi. ...

of the

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

State in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 A Bachelor of Technology (BTech) is an undergraduate degree that is awarded for a higher education program in engineering. Countries Australia In Australia, the Bachelor of Technology degree is offered by RMIT University, Edith Cowan Unive ...

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 A Master of Engineering (abbreviated MEng, ME, M.E. or M.Eng.) is a professional master's degree in the field of engineering. International variations Australia In Australia, the Master of Engineering degree is a research degree requiring com ...

degree from

IIT Kanpur The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT- Kanpur or IIT-K) is a public institute of technology located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), it was declared an Institute of National Importance by th ...

in 1988. He received his PhD also from

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

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

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 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