David Parry, from Middlesex, England, is a highly educated Soil Scientist with more than 45 years of experience spanning the Middle East, Africa and Asia. After securing his Bachelor of Arts Honours (BA) in Geography in 1965, and his Master of Science Degree (MSc) in Natural Resource Survey (Soil Science, Geomorphology and Ecology) in 1968 at the University of Sussex, he gained his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Remote Sensing (Satellite Imagery) and Natural Resources Evaluation in 1979 at the University of Aston in Birmingham.

Beginning his career in 1968 as the Soil Scientist, Land-use Planner on the Dallol Maori Irrigation Project in Niger. He continued his exemplary career in countries such as Thailand, Swaziland, Nigeria, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. Between 1971 and 1972, he was the Soil Scientist and Land-use Planner for the Nganjuk-Kediri Groundwater Development Project, DGWRD commissioned by the Ministry of Public Works in Jakarta. Returning to Indonesia in 1980, he was appointed the Soil Scientist and Land-use Planner, for the Lodoyo Irrigation Project and Madura Groundwater Study in East Java, and continued with an impressive list of projects all throughout the country.