Leveraging Science to Promote Environmentally

IN COLLABORATION WITH
Leveraging Science to Promote
Environmentally Sustainable
Infrastructure
Thursday, May 28
3:00 – 4:30
Room # J 1-050
th
701 18 St., NW, Washington, DC
RSVP by email : [email protected]
Watch the session live here
Follow via #accountabilitydialogue
Investments in large infrastructure and extractive projects are expected to increase dramatically
in fragile ecosystems in the coming decades. There is clear evidence that when megainfrastructure projects are not appropriately designed, they can generate harmful unintended
environmental and social impacts. At the same time, there are innovative and participatory
approaches that can minimize project risks and uncertainty, while integrating conservation
needs with development priorities to preserve the environment and reduce poverty. This
session will bring together experts and practitioners to share examples of where science,
engineering, risk mitigation, and adaptive management have been successfully used to promote
accountability and environmentally sustainable infrastructure worldwide. They will also share
lessons learned and discuss whether these approaches can be replicated and expanded to other
countries and regions.
PRESENTER:
Dr. Francisco Dallmeier, Director of the Center for Conservation and
Sustainability (CCS) of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI)
DISCUSSANTS:
Robert Montgomery, Lead Environmental Specialist , Environment and Natural
Resources Global Practice, World Bank Group
Janet Ranganathan, Vice President, Science & Research
World Resources Institute (WRI)
CHAIR:
Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, Chairman, Inspection Panel
*Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served
PANELIST BIOS
Dr. Francisco Dallmeier is Director of the Center for Conservation and Sustainability (CCS) of the
Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI). CCS provides research and conservation
approaches for industry to integrate local development needs of mega-infrastructure projects with
conservation priorities to manage and protect biodiversity and ecosystem services. It also provides
world-class professional and academic programs for industry and conservation professionals as well as
expertise in sustainable infrastructure development. CCS academic programs have trained several
hundred professionals from over thirty countries with emphasis in Latin America, the Caribbean and
tropical Africa. Dr. Dallmeier led the SCBI partnership with the World Bank to implement the Global
Tiger Initiative – Conservation and Development Network and has been an advisor for international
organizations such as UNESCO, international financial organizations, governments and the private
energy sector. He received his Ph.D. and M.S in Wildlife Management from Colorado State University
and his undergraduate degree in Biology from the Central University of Venezuela.
Janet Ranganathan is the Vice President for Science and Research at the World Resources Institute,
an action-oriented global research organization that works in more than 50 countries, with offices in
the United States, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Europe. She works closely with the Managing
Director to strengthen the impact of research across WRI’s six programs: Food, Forest, Water,
Climate, Energy, and Cities. Janet leads WRI’s Information into Action strategy, which combines open
data platforms, information and communication technologies, transparency, and human networks to
drive more sustainable management of the planet’s resources. Prior to joining WRI Janet worked on
business and environmental issues in the U.K. both as a Senior Lecturer at the University of
Hertfordshire and in a regulatory capacity with the Department of Environment and Hertfordshire
Waste Regulatory Authority. Janet received a BSc. (Hons) from Imperial College of Science,
Technology & Medicine, London in 1983, and a MSc. with distinction in Environmental Technology
from Imperial College in 1990.
Dr. Robert H. Montgomery has over 25 years’ experience in sustainable (environmental, social, health
and safety, and labor aspects) risk management and opportunity development for public and private
sector entities and financial institutions. He has worked with a broad range of private sector projects
and financial transactions in over 35 countries in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Middle
East. He specializes in large-scale complex and controversial international projects and in a broad
range of sectors including infrastructure (e.g., energy, transportation, water and sanitation,
telecommunications), oil and gas, construction, and financial institutions. Presently he is Lead
Environmental Specialist at the World Bank. He has a PhD. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State
University, and M.S. in Natural Resources Development and B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from
Michigan State University. Dr. Montgomery has published various articles and reports in English and
Spanish.
Dr. Gonzalo Castro de la Mata was appointed to the Inspection Panel of the World Bank on December
16, 2013 and became its Chairman on November 1st, 2014. He is a US and Peruvian national bringing
to the Panel more than twenty years of international development experience. His career includes key
roles across the private and public sectors and multiple areas of development work, bringing a
balance of interest, authority, experience, and flexibility. He has been involved in highly visible and
complex international projects, including as the Chair of an Independent Panel for the Export-Import
Bank of the US for the Camisea Project in Peru, and as a member of a United Nations Review Panel of
the Barro Blanco Dam in Panama. In 2009 he founded Ecosystem Services LLC, a company specialized
in market-based approaches to conservation and renewable energy. Previously, he was the Head of
the Biodiversity Unit at the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Principal Environmental Specialist at the
World Bank, Director and Vice-President of WWF’s Latin American and Caribbean Program in
Washington, and founder and CEO of Wetlands for the Americas.