Consuelo Diaz-Baez: Doctor of applied science honoris causa
Consuelo is a passionate and committed environmental scientist who has been at the vanguard of environmental toxicology in Colombia for many years. She was the first biologist to work in the field of environmental engineering in Colombia as a result of her being requested by the Ministry of Health to participate in writing the first regulations on drinking water in 1983 – these regulations are still in place. She has also pioneered the use of anaerobic wastewater treatment technology which she did by advising governments, conducting workshops for senior staff of treatment plants and by troubleshooting problems based on her fundamental understanding of the scientific principals involved. She also became qualified in this area and later, through a fellowship from the British Council, obtained a Master’s degree in Environmental Technology at Imperial College in London.
CONSUELO’S work then expanded into the area of environmental protection. Prior to 1995, the Colombian Government, like many others, had used simple physico-chemical tests to assess the environmental impact of industrial discharges. Through committed effort, coupled with scientific credibility, she has been able to convince the Colombian Government to use bioassays to monitor actual toxicity in industrial effluents and receiving waters. This allowed risks associated with chemical toxicity to be assessed for the first time. The Research Division of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia has financed her research efforts NOT ONLY TO evaluate and select a set of bioassays for these methods – It is expected that the results of the research will show the advantages of these methods to the government agencies in charge of environmental research as an academic activity, as well as its promotion and implementation at a more practical level to respond to the needs of society as a whole. Further, she has been able to use her international connections as well as her own research students to develop and validate a range of simple and inexpensive bioassays which could be used by non-technical people in the resource-poor countries of Latin America.
The Canadian-based International Development Research Centre has provided some funding to establish the WaterTox network. This is a network of toxicologists in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, India and THE Ukraine, who have helped develop a battery of simple toxicity testS which could be cross-validated between all the countries involved. Consuelo was the lead author on the very large publication which reported their work and was also a key person in disseminating the techniques to municipal laboratories in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina.
This network has now been expanded as the AquaTox project which has introduced simple toxicity testing techniques into schools in Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile and Mexico. This project aims to allow school children in local communities to learn about practical sciences, to learn something about their local environment and in particular their water supplies, and to share their fIndings and experiences with other school children in the network via the internet. Again, Consuelo has been a pivotal part of this project.
CONSUELO’S environmental crusade haS won the support of governments, both in Colombia and internationally, as well as the utmost respect from her scientific colleagues. Her personal safety has often been a concern because of political friction inside Colombia but her zeal has not been diminished. Her achievements would be substantial under any circumstances. However, the difficulties introduced by being a women in an Engineering faculty in a country racked by social problems and instability make her commitment and passion all the more admirable and her achievements genuinely inspirational.