Bob Sandford is the author or editor of some 20 books on the history and heritage of the Canadian West. He began his work with UN-linked initiatives as chair of the United Nations International Year of Mountains in 2002. He also chaired the United Nations International Year of Fresh Water and Wonder of Water Initiative in Canada in 2003/04. These celebrations focused on the growing importance of water to ecological and cultural heritage in Canada.

Bob is presently chair of the United Nations International Decade “Water for Life” Partnership in Canada, an initiative that aims to advance long-term water quality and availability issues in response to climate change in this country and abroad. He is also director of the Western Watersheds Climate Research Collaborative, a research and public-policy arm of the University of Lethbridge that promotes understanding of climate impacts on river systems originating in the Rocky Mountains. Bob was the first Canadian to be invited to sit on the advisory committee for the Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, a biennial global public-policy forum that examines solutions to our planet’s water crisis.