CIWEM trustee Nicholas Howden awarded MBE

31 December 2025

Nicholas Howden, CIWEM trustee since 2020, has been awarded Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his outstanding contribution to Water Management and Professional Education

Nicholas Howden, Professor of Water and Environmental Engineering in the School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering at the University of Bristol, has been recognised in this year's King’s New Year Honours list. Professor Howden, whose research focuses on the impact of agriculture on water quality, has been awarded an MBE for his outstanding contribution to Water Management and Professional Education.

Nicholas has served as a trustee of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) since 2020, acting as the 35th CIWEM president in 2021-2022. He has also been a trustee at the Field Studies Council (2008-2022). Nicholas currently chairs CIWEM’s Professional Standards Committee which assesses professional applications for chartered status for professionals in the water and environmental industry.

Professor Howden said: “I’m deeply honoured to have been appointed MBE in the King’s New Year Honours. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside committed colleagues, volunteers and practitioners across the water and environmental sector, and I see this award as a reflection of that combined effort.”

Professor Howden added “I have been fortunate to work across a variety of water and environmental fields in both academia and industry around the world, experiencing different disciplinary and cultural approaches. This has enabled me to appreciate the importance of personal and collective knowledge and skills.

“Water management matters because it sits right at the intersection of people, places, and nature. Whether it’s improving water quality, managing flood and drought risk, or restoring catchments and habitats, the work is increasingly complex — and that makes professional learning and development more important than ever.

“Through CIWEM, I’ve been proud to play a part in strengthening professional standards, supporting lifelong learning, and helping create pathways that welcome and develop talent from a wider range of backgrounds.”

Annie Shepperd OBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees, CIWEM, added: “The Trustees of CIWEM are delighted to see Nicholas’s extraordinary contribution to CIWEM being recognised in the Kings New Year Honours List. Congratulations Nicholas; thank you for all you have done to support our work”.