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Henry David (Hank) Venema, PhD
Director,
Sustainable Natural Resources Management
International
Institute for
Sustainable
Development (IISD)
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Ecological Goods and Service of Sustainable Biofuels
Monday, September 13, 2010
2:00 - 2:30 pm
Abstract:
From Threat to
Opportunity -
Resolving Lake
Eutrophication with
Agricultural
Biotechnology
Ecosystem management
issues such as
non-point lake
eutrophication
present a key
opportunity to apply
biotechnology
portfolios within a
regional strategic
management plan. As
an example in
Manitoba, there are
numerous
opportunities to
produce
environmentally
sustainable
biotechnology
products from excess
nutrient loadings to
Lake Winnipeg.
Research,
development and
commercialization of
bioenergy, biofibres,
and biochemicals
produced by
harnessing nutrient
loads flowing into
Lake Winnipeg has
great potential to
mitigate
eutrophication while
providing business
opportunities to
stimulate the
economy.
A current initiative
of the IISD involves
a two-fold review of
(1) the linkage
between nutrient
management and
sustainable
biotechnology
feedstock production
within the Lake
Winnipeg Watershed
and (2) the
potential for
biotechnology
products in the
Manitoba portion of
Lake Winnipeg Basin.
Bioproduct potential
will be calculated
for predominant
ecozones within the
Lake Winnipeg
Watershed
integrating land use
and nutrient loading
data.
By exploring
nutrient loads and
innovative
bioeconomy
opportunities, this
research will
simultaneously
identify effective
eutrophication
mitigation and
economic
opportunities to
inform policy,
business, and
management
implementation. This
research will be
presented and
discussed with
policy makers,
business leaders,
and other
stakeholders at the
Lake Winnipeg Basin
Summit, hosted by
the International
Institute for
Sustainable
Development`s Water
Innovation Centre on
November 30th and
December 1st 2010 in
Winnipeg.
Biography
Dr. Venema is a professional engineer, natural resource management consultant and expert speaker and presenter, with extensive experience in rural development, environmental economics, water resources planning, and energy sector planning in North America, Africa, and Asia.
He directs IISD's Sustainable Natural Resources Management Program, which has a thematic focus on water and agricultural issues in Western Canada. He also leads IISD's current research on the Valuation of Natural Capital in Prairie Canada, Institutional Linkages between Payments for Ecosystem Services and Integrated Water Resources Management in Prairie Watersheds, and Governance Models for Lake Winnipeg Stewardship.
Dr. Venema is also the principal investigator of the NRCan-funded project, Adaptation as Resilience Building: A policy study of climate change vulnerability and adaptation on the Canadian Prairies, and co-directs the IDRC-funded project, Adaptive Policy-making for Agriculture and Water Resources in the Face of Climate Change. Other relevant Canadian project experience includes leading the first ever valuation of The Full Costs of Thermal Power in Eastern Canada, based on source-receptor modeling and health and climate externalities. In the international context, Dr. Venema was lead IISD researcher on the CIDA-funded project, Climate Change and Economic Changes in India: The impacts on agriculture, in partnership with The Energy and Resources Institute (New Delhi) and CICERO (Oslo).
His research on systems approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation has appeared in the Journal of Environmental Management, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change and Global Environmental Change, and has been widely cited by the IPCC's Third and Fourth Assessment Reports on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.
Dr. Venema also served as an expert consultant on cross-cutting issues and as a Working Group 2 (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability) reviewer for the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. His research has appeared in the international development, water resources, hydrology, operations research and renewable energy literature.
Education
PhD in Physics and Civil Engineering: Universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba (gold medalist).
PhD in Systems Design Engineering: University of Waterloo
Master's Degree in Water Resources Engineering: University of Ottawa.
Dr. Venema's PhD research concerns landscape-based systems models for integrated rural development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. His field experience includes lengthy assignments with Environment and Development Action (ENDA) in Senegal, and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India. Dr. Venema has also lived and worked in Sweden and Ethiopia on research and consulting assignments.
Languages
English and French.
Click to view Henry
Venema's ABIC 2010
presentation
