Curriculum vitae and Track Record

PERSONAL DETAILS

Family name, First name: Greco Francesca, PhD, MSc.

Current Position:   Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the University of Bergamo, Department of
 2023-2025               Languages, Italy; Visiting Research Fellow at King’s Water Centre, King’s College
                                          London, UK. Name of Supervisor:  prof. Filippo Menga

 

Researcher unique identifier: (0000-0002-1696-3472) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1696-3472

 

URL for website(s) :  www.francescagreco.eu  ; LinkeIn; Linktr.ee/francescagreco78  Academia.edu
                                                                            ReserachGate; Google;       

 

LANGUAGUES:  fluency in English,French, Spanish, Italian

 

EDUCATION

01/12/2021   PhD in Water and Food Policy “Doctor of Philosophy in Geography ,Water and Food   Policy

                              Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy (SSPP)  Department of Geography, School of
                              Global Affairs / King’s Water Center,  King’s College London, UK

                              Name of PhD Supervisor: Tony Allan and Daanish Mustafa

01/09/2004   Master of Science in Development Studies, Department of Development Studies, School of
                              Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK

12/02/2003  Degree “Laurea” in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies, Faculty of Political       Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy.
                              Thesis in Development Studies, thesis in “Transboundary water dispute between Jordan and Saudi Arabia: The Disi Aquifer”

 

PREVIOUS POSITIONS

 

 

2011 – 2017         Position held: “Gender and Water Officer”, UNESCO World Water Assessment
                                      Programme, Villa Colombella, PG, Italy

2006-2011            International Project Officer, WWF Abruzzo, WWF Italia, Italy

2008                          Consultant for FAO, at FAO/Aquastat ( Supervised by Jippe Hogeveen)- 6 months

2005 - 2006          UNV, United Nations Volunteer, UNESCO Ghana, Accra, Ghana
                                      1 year mission as “UN Volunteer in water knowledge and culture”

2002                          Italian Embassy in Amman- Research Grant recipient University of Bologna - Intern
                                      Amman, Jordan

 

INTERNSHIPS in early career

  • 2004 ( Jan-July) Trainee CARE International UK, London: International Cooperation on EU

Project EMPOWERSŤ: a right-based approach to water in the Middle East (EU funds)

  • January-July 2003 Leonardo Internship Solidaridad Internacional (Spanish International NGO)

Sevilla- Leonardo Programme Award for traineeship- International Cooperation (Cuba, Latin

America and Saharawi communities)

  • 1999- 2008 CNR Italia ( Italian National Research Council) with professor Eugenia Ferragina

 

MANAGERIAL SKILLS:

 

MANAGERIAL EXPERIENCE: 20+ years in project and research project management at the UN and academia. European Commission

EPSO CAST FGIV COMPETITION  in programme management successfully passed (competition award: 2022)

 

 

RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS

 

 RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

  • Maria  Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship University of Bergamo Sept 2024-Sept 2025
  • Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London Geography Department
  • M.I.T., Boston 06/2008 - 08/2008: 3 months : Multidisciplinary research team on hydrologic
    synthesis -CUAHSI , supervisor: professor Charles Vorosmarty (U.S.A.)Research Grant
                awardee – Reconstruction f virtual water flow in U.S. Colonial time
  • 2012 – 2014 Member of the Management Committee of the EU COST ACTION “EURO-AGRIWAT” representing the UK in the EU-funded COST Action "Assessment of EUROpean AGRIculture WATer  use and trade under climate change" (EURO-AGRIWAT)

PUBLICATIONS

 

PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES:

 

  • Francesca Greco, Martin Keulertz and David Dent (2022) “Virtual Water” in the Oxford Enciclopedia, Oxford University Press
  • Hussein and Greco F. (2020) How will the COVID-19 pandemic impact food security and virtual water trade? Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 8 (2) June 2020
  • Ferragina E. and Greco F. (2008) : The Disi project: an internal/external analysis , Water International 33 (4), 451-463
  • Hussein, Menga F., Greco F. (2018): Monitoring Transboundary Water Cooperation in SDG 6.5.2: How a Critical Hydropolitics Approach Can Spot Inequitable Outcomes, Sustainability 2018, 10, 3640
  • Pastore CL1, Green MB, Bain DJ, Muñoz-Hernandez A, Vörösmarty CJ, Arrigo J, Brandt S,Duncan JM, Greco F, Kim H, Kumar S, Lally M, Parolari AJ, Pellerin B, Salant N, SchlosserA, Zalzal K.. (2010): Tapping Environmental History to Recreate America’s Colonial Hydrology"Environmental Science&Technology,Vol.44,No.23,8798- 803

 

  • Gilmont M., Antonelli M., and Greco F. (2015), Opportunity costs of virtual water: a justification for green-water based agricultural capacity growth for economic, social and environmental sustainabilityŤ, in Altobelli F., and Dalla Marta A. (eds), The Italian Journal of Agrometeorology, Special Issue 2015, p.49

 

  • Gilmont M., Antonelli M. and Greco F. (2012), A Development Pathway to Optimise Sustainability of Water Investment and Minimise Social CostŤ, in Conference proceedings of Food Security in Dry Lands, DohaŤ, 14-15 November 2012.

 

BOOK

  • Antonelli M. and Greco F. eds. (2015) The Water We Eat: Combining Virtual Water and Water Footprints. Springer 2015. (see chapters under the book chapters session)  ( Also available in Italian as: Antonelli M., and Greco F. [eds] (2013), L’acqua che mangiamo, Edizioni Ambiente, Isola del Liri (FR), Italy,

This is the first book on virtual water and water footprint in Italy. I have equal first-authorship together with the colleague.It was a milestone in my career and opened up collaborations in Italy and abroad. Main authors of the chapters are now well established scholars in the field of virtual water , water footprint and water politics. Among the authors: Tony Allan and Arjen Hoekstra, the two most prominent representatives and creators of the concepts  of virtual water and water footprint, as Francesco Laio, Stefana Tamea, Marta Tuninetti, Elena Vallino

 

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

Greco,F (2020). The hydropolitical cycle as part of the hydro-social cycle in Zeitoun M., Mirumachi N. and Warner J. (2020) Water Conflicts: Analysis for Transformation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Zeitoun, M., Cascão, A. E., Daoudy, M., Greco, F., Mirumachi, N., & Warner, J. (2022). Power plus: Tony Allan’s contributions to understanding transboundary water arrangements. Water International, 47(6), 1001-1015.

 

Greco, F. Gender Mainstreaming and Gender Transformative Approaches Assessing Progress and Potential in Water Diplomacy, Francesca Greco, Routledge Handbook of Water Diplomacy, Edition1st Edition, First Published2025, Routledge, OA FunderThe International Centre for Water Cooperation (ICWC)

 

Peer reviewer for: Water International, Wires Water,UNESCO

 

 

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES 2022-2025 NON EXHAUSTIVE LIST 

 

COP21, Paris; WORLD WATER FORUM MARSEILLE; WORLD WATER FORUM ISTANBUL

WORLD WATER WEEK, Stockholm : Multiple years from 2003 to present times, presenting on

  • On behalf of UNESCO
  • As a member of the LONDON WATER RESEARCH GROUP ( PhD student, Master Student)

More details:
WOCMES 2004: Middle Eastern Conference of Middle Eastern Studies, Amman. The Disi Aquifer in Jordan: main developments and implication for transboundary cooperation, main internal and external dynamics;

2005 “Groundwater governance in Jordan”, invited speaker at the Al Qaddafi Foundation Conference on Water Management, Al Baba Hotel, Tripoli, 2005, Lybia;


2008 World Water Forum 2008, Istanbul, Turkey; Invited speaker at the UNESCO IHE conference on Groundwater Management. “Disi Project: an external internal analysis”;


2011 MEWINA, Monitoring and Evaluation for Water in North Africa ( invited speaker representative of UNESCO: Egypt, Cairo: Sex. Disaggregated Indicators for water monitoring;

2012 World Water Forum in Marseille, France: Womens’ preparation meeting , on behalf of UNESCO; World Water Week: years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, different panels and sessions, presenting on behalf of UNESCO and King’s College London;


UN COP21 in Paris: presenting on behalf of UNESCO about gender roles in water management; Invited speaker and founder at the London Water Research Group / Hydro Hegemony Workshops 2003,2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,2010, based at SOAS, LSE, King’s College London presenting on virtual water , hydrohegemony, transboundary aquifers, water conflict and cooperation. See more at: London Water Research Group / SOAS occasional papers website.; 2024:

Invited speaker at the University of Bath / Geography department : “Hydropolitics in Italy”;

2024 World Water Forum in Bali / Invited speaker at UNESCO panel;

INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER  / OPENING SESSION

2024 First International Congress of Gastronomic Sciences / Opening plenary Keynote speaker: invisible water: virtual water in food trade and groundwater role in irrigation.;Panel organizer and moderator of the session: “Water Sustainability in the Food Supply Chain”, at the First Congress of Gastronomic Science, Turin, 22-25 September 2022;

Invited speaker at the Fist International Congress of Gastronomic Sciences,”Pachino tomatoes: irrigation,hydrohegemony and bad virtual water.” September 2024, Pollenzo, Italy.;

 

March 2023 Invited speaker at the PRIMA project “Leveraging (non conventional) Water for Peace” AG-wAMED on : Virtual water as an instrument of peace in International Political Economy.;

 

August 2024, presentation at the The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), on virtual water hegemony, hydro subaltern and bad virtual water within the panel : “ Mapping Critical Water Geographies”.

 

TEACHING

  • 2024 Lecture for the Erasmus Plus Project on Water Diplomacy in Central Asia , at IHE DELFT UNESCO Center in the Netherlands
  • 2023: teaching in the course of Intercultural Geography ( 2 lessons of 4 hours each) on water politcs
  • 2011 – 2017 Guest lecturer in International Water Politics at the University of Foreigners in Perugia ( annual lecture at the International Development Laboratory)
  • Guest Lecturer in water and food politics. from 2018 to present: annual lecture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy
  • Guest Lecturer& Course Coordinator at ISPI: Italian Institute for International Political Studies ( April 2022)

Prizes and Awards, Fellowships

  • Special congratulatory message from the General Director of UNESCO Irina Bokova in 2015 for communication operation with Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti while she was in outer space, in order to promote water stewardship
  • Best Poster Presentation : SIWI, Stockholm International Water Institute, Stockholm, 2008
  • Award for Thesis Abroad, University of Bologna 2002
  • Internship award at the Italian Embassy of Amman 2002


PEER RECOGNITION Invited presentations

As a recognized member of the scientific community in the field of water-in-food, I have been regularly participated as an invited speaker to

  • KEYNOTE SPEAKER : International Congress on Gastronomic Studies. Title of Presentation: Invisible Water

As a recognized member of the scientific community in the field of gender and water, I have been regularly participated as an invited speaker by UNESCO Coalition

  • INVITED SPEAKER by UNESCO at the WORLD WATER FORUM in BALI, INDONESIA 2024

As a recognized member of the scientific community in the field of sex-disaggregated water research, I presented my Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie preliminary findings on women in the water sector of Italy

MEMBER OF SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE at the UNESCO INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON GENDER AND WATER ( Pisa , 30-31 January 2024). As a member of the scientific committee I selected abstract proposal for the workshop and validated the scientific output the event. Which are currently being published by UNESCO and I will be also among the main authors.


SCIENTIFIC COORDINATION OF UNESCO PUBLICATIONS


  • UNESCO WWAP TOOLKIT FOR SEX-DISAGGREGATED AND GENDER TRANSFORMATIVE WATER MONITORING, ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING: how I have reached out and contributed  to the indicators of SDG6 ( water).

My role as the main scientific coordinator of the group of 40+ international experts on Water and Gender at UNESCO produced the first Toolkit for a sex-disaggregated and Gender Transformative Water Monitoring, where I personally wrote and designed , together with professor Joni Seager, a prominent Gender Expert, the sex-disaggregated indicators The toolkit was recognized through time by major UN and International Organizations  as following: September 2016:included in the Guidelinesfor Gender and CC of the UN Framework Convention on ClimateChange - UNFCCC;• March 2016: the 60th Commission on the Status of Women(CSW60) recognizes the importance of sex-disaggregated data,and of the Toolkit for water data;• March 2015:Toolkit is adopted as gender analysis toolfor GEF IW projects (IW:LEARN);• 2015: WWAP indicators are included in the list of indicatorsidentified for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on water;• November 2014 : the African Ministers' Council on Water(AMCOW) officially recognizes the WWAP indicators to be used in water assessments and monitoring. After my resignation from UNESCO WWAP for maternity reasons (I was not permanent staff so I had no unpaid-leave for my twin maternity and breastfeeding time), the toolkit received futher recognition. A second edition has been released and pilot tested in 8 countries.

MAIN RECOGNITION: Indicators are in the main list of SDG6 ( water).


THE LONDON WATER RESEARCH GROUP ( 2003-current)

My research on water conflicts started in 2002 with my thesis in Jordan, regarding the groundwater aquifer which was, at the time, not covered by any bilateral agreement between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. This led me to London, where the first gatherings of the London Water Research Group had been just initiated by professor Tony Allan, who invited me to be active part in the group, still up and running. I am considered a recognized and foundational member of the group, despite being more than 20 years from its foundation. I constantly presented as an invited speaker on the themes of virtual water, water conflicts, transboundary issues and food-water interrelations.
Main outcomes: established member in the CriticalHydropolitics community

 

SCIENTIFIC BOARDS AND OTHER MEMBERSHIPS

 

 

COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH: New Divulgative Book in Italian: “Against BlueWashing”

 


More about me , press media, TV-Interviews, Kommunikation und Outreach unter: linktr.ee/francescagreco78