Francesca Greco

I am an expert in international hydropolitics,  working at the intersection of water & food politics,  gender&water issues.


I am currently developing a web-baed 3D interface using a GIS dashboard as a   user-friendly  tool,  for improving  water footprint and virual water dissemination and water science communication. Under the section "InvisibleWater" of this webpage, you can ask me for a temporary password if interested.

Over the past decade, I have been in and out from academia and served the UNITED NATIONS World Water Assessment Programme ( WWAP UNESCO ) :  during my time at UNESCO I have contributed to advancing the integration of gender and social equity into water monitoring, reporting, and policymaking, in quality of Gender&Water Officer in charge of coordinading  the development of UNESCO WWAP’s gender-disaggregated water indicators and related toolkit. I coordinated global efforts at UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Programme to integrate gender perspectives in water reporting for the annual editions of the United Nations World Water Development Report  (2011–2017). I continue to engage with international networks on water governance and policy, and I regularly contribute to conferences, expert panels, and multi-stakeholder dialogues on water justice and water&gender issues ( gender roles in water diplomacy, gender mainstreaming of scientific production).

In 2015 I  co-edited  and authored chapters of The Water We Eat, a volume that critically examines how food systems depend on “hidden” water flows, and served as scientific advisor and co-author of The Water Footprint of Italy (WWF-Italia), connecting national consumption to global water resources.

My recent work investigates the political ecologies of water justice, water footprint, virtual water, and the governance of irrigation in water-scarce areas in Italy.  In particular, I am interested in using development theories of subaltern studies in the field of critical hydropolitics.

My work draws on political ecology, feminist political economy, and development studies to explore how virtual water flows, water footprint, groundwater governance, and global food systems shape questions of power, justice, and inequality.

Academically,  after graduating in  Diplomatic Studies and Internatioanl Relations in Bologna ( Forlì Campu) , I  completed a Master in Development Studies at SOAS ( London)  in 2003 .

During this  experience, I started my research activity as an active member of  the  London Water Research Group,  founded by professor Tony Allan. Under his supervision , my early research has informed global discussions on transboundary groundwater disputes in the Middle East, virtual water trade in water-scarce areas and overexplitation of aquifers.  

Later on, my PhD research expanded to  investigating the water–food nexus, with a special focus on export-led agriculture from water-scarce areas in Italy and water justice / water  grabbing issues.

I recently concluded a Marie Sklodowska Curie research Action  at the University of Bergamo and I am currently a visiting researcher in the Department of Geography at King’s College London.I hold a PhD in Water and Food Policies (King's College London, UK) and a Master of Science in Development Studies ( SOAS,  School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK ).

I currently work as a Senior Associate Expert at EMEA in Barcelona ( Euro Mediterranean Economists Association) as a virtual water analyst.

Professionally,I have served a range of international organisations, including UNESCO, FAO and WWF. Academically, I took part in international research groups such as the MIT Boston CUHASI Summer Institute ; participated in COST Action on Water Footprint in Europe.

I am  a founding member of trustees  of the Tony Allan Society