Muralee Thummarukudy is the Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction in the UN Environment Programme. An internationally renowned expert in disaster response, Muralee has been involved in post-disaster response and follow-up of almost all major disasters of the twenty-first century. He has completed assignments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza Strip, Liberia, Sudan and Rwanda dealing with the environmental impacts of conflicts. He has published several books and writes articles in leading Malayalam dailies occasionally. Muralee is a winner of the Kerala Sahitya Academi Award 2018 for humorous literature.