UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health
| Abbreviation | UNU-INWEH |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1996 |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Richmond Hill, Ontario |
Head | Kaveh Madani |
Parent organization | United Nations University |
| Website | https://unu.edu/inweh |
The United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is a United Nations (UN) agency responsible for acting as the UN’s "Think Tank on Water". The organization is a research and training institute of the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the United Nations, with a mandate to address water security and access issues internationally. UNU-INWEH was created in 1996 in response to an emerging concern about the growing global water crisis and its harmful impact on human and environmental health and sustainable development.
UNU-INWEH has made major contributions to advancing global policy-relevant water research. UNU-INWEH represents the UNU at UN-Water — an inter-agency coordination mechanism of the United Nations for freshwater and sanitation-related issues. The institute leads UN-Water efforts to support the UN-wide International Decade for Action on “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018–2028).
UNU-INWEH is based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and is hosted by the City of Richmond Hill. In August 2022, Prof. Kaveh Madani, world-renowned environmental scientist and former Vice President of the United Nations Environment Assembly Bureau, was appointed as the Director of UNU-INWEH.