SARA LOUISE BENNETT, Ph.D.

Contact information In Bangladesh: tel +880(2)881-0760, tel/fax +880(2)988-4081 In Canada: northwest hydraulic consultants, 4823 99th St., Edmonton AB, T6E 4Y1 Canada, tel +1(780)436-5868 Email: sbennett@bicn.com Fax to email: +1(978)418-8132

Last updated 02 Jan 2006

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Oceanography (Physics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, October 1988. Recipient, Carroll L. Wilson Award for post-doctoral research.

B.S. in Chemistry, Colorado State University, June 1977. National Merit Scholar.

Undergraduate Studies, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Recipient, Caroline D. Blanchard Scholarship and National Merit Scholar.

LANGUAGES

Written : English

HISTORY OF EMPLOYMENT AND ASSIGNMENTS

1989 to present - Senior Environmental Management CONSULTANT, water environment international, affiliated with northwest hydraulic consultants.  Assignments:

West Bengal & Bangladesh Arsenic Crisis Information Centre

The West Bengal & Arsenic Crisis Information Centre provides information through the Internet on the contamination of groundwater used for drinking by arsenic in West Bengal & Bangladesh.  The objective is to provide up to date, comprehensive information to the international general public as well as researchers on all aspects of the crisis, including occurrence, hydrogeology, alternative clean water sources & technologies, epidemiology, and medical treatment.  Information is provided through an extensive website (150,000 visitors Jan 19 98-May 2003), and a quasi-monthly email newsletter and online discussion group (over 1000 subscribers).

Creator and head (ongoing since May 1997):

• Design, implement, and maintain the ACIC website and the arsenic-crisis email newsletter & online discussion  group
• Liaise with arsenic researchers, projects, and donors
• Monitor a broad range of information sources for new arsenic-related findings

Sessional Instructor, Human Geography - Landscapes & Human Settlements (at The King's University College, Canada), Winter/Spring Term 2002

Red River Basin Water Resources Management Project, Vietnam (for Asian Development Bank).

This two and a half year (March 1998 to late 2000) ADB Technical Assistance (No. 2871-VIE) to Vietnam addresses basin-based integrated water resources planning and management for the Red River basin, through  (i) support for the creation of a National Water Resources Council and a Red River Basin Organization;  (ii) development of enhanced information and decision support systems to strengthen agencies with RRB  water resources management responsibilities; and (iii) implementation of demonstration-scale integrated water resources management studies.  

As Task Manager, Land & Water Management Study (2 person-months in 2000), I was responsible for one of the demonstration-scale studies, a study of selected land use / water management issues in the Red River Basin.  I mobilized and led a team of three Vietnamese specialists (land use, water resources development, and public participation/social scientist), supported by geographic information system (GIS) and database specialists, to undertake:  extensive literature review; assembly, review, and analysis of basin statistics; field visits using basic rapid rural appraisal techniques; presentation of two workshops to the Project Working Group composed of officials from RRB water resources planning agencies; and preparation of the study final report consisting of findings and recommendations.  

Beneficiary Participation and Project Management, Bangladesh (for Asian Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Netherlands External Development Assistance).

As Environment Specialist (5.5 person-months 1997-2000), had overall technical responsibility for the environment component of the TA.  Duties:

• Advise and assist LGED staff with environmental tasks
• Design improvements to systems and training related to environmental planning, assessment, and management
• Develop a management information and reporting system to produce the 400 subproject appraisal+initial environmental evaluation reports required, integrating inputs from each of the technical disciplines
• Assist in the institutionalization of participatory rapid rural appraisal (PRRA) by independent multi-disciplinary teams, augmenting conventional top-down engineer-led techniques, to improve incorporation of stakeholder input in subproject conceptualization and design
• Field investigations of selected subprojects to identify impact avoidance opportunities
• Development of impact avoidance methods and training tools for inclusion in standard engineering planning methods and training
• Suggest a project newsletter design and distribution to strengthen stakeholder awareness and understanding of the project and basic technical information
• Advise on the development of LGED regional water quality laboratories

Environmental Baseline Characterization and Stakeholder Consultation for Environmental Impact Assessment, Exploratory Gas Drilling (for Occidental of Bangladesh).

Team Leader (Dec 1998 - May 1999). Mobilized and led a six-person team to characterize regional and site-specific terrestrial and aquatic environment and ecology. Team members included a deputy task manager, agronomist/soil scientist, ecologist, sociologist, and GIS analyst.

Work included:

• Organizing a programme of water and soil collection and analysis at international and local laboratories
• Assisting ERM-UK to conduct stakeholder consultations at the sites;
• Preparing final baseline environment chapters of the EIAs for the sites;
• Setting up a project website with mirrors on the OBL LAN and a password-protected Internet domain
• Performed final edits on EIAs submitted by other consultants.

Engaged as a subconsultant to Environmental Resources Management UK, reporting directly to the OBL Health Environment and Safety Manager.

Environmental Impact Assessment, Naryanganj-Narsingdi Irrigation Project Engineering Services, Bangladesh (for Bangladesh Water Development Board).

As EIA Specialist (Dec 1998-Jan 1999):

• Prepared an EIA implementation plan for subsequent investigation and analysis by local experts, of area agriculture, soils, and land use; fisheries; socioeconomy; hydrology; and urban, industrial, and transportation development
• Worked with GIS analyst to prepare basic mapping layers and database files
• Brought to the project team's attention an planned major highway development (Roads & Highways Dhaka Outer Bypass) that will pass through the proposed irrigation scheme area and greatly accelerate urbanization.

Initial Environmental Examination, Aquaculture Development Project Appraisal, Bangladesh (for International Fund for Agricultural Development)

Team Leader/Environment Specialist (2 person months in in 1997). Led a two-member team in undertaking:

• Literature review
• Extensive field visits using participatory rapid rural appraisal techniques
• Preparation of the IEE document, including detailed recommendations for project design changes to improve environmental outcomes.

Capacity Building in the Water Resources Sector, Vietnam (for Asian Development Bank).

• Planning and design process
• Irrigation system operation improvement
• Gender aspects of water resources development
• Environmental monitoring
• Development of short courses in engineering topics and environmental monitoring

As Environment Specialist (3 person-months 1995-6) responsible for:

• Reviewing the relevant institutional arrangements for environmental monitoring and training
• Preparing an environmental monitoring programme design
• Recommending lab equipment and training to be procured with ADB loan funds (US$150,000)
• Reviewing drinking water standards and pesticide regulatory arrangements
• Designing and subcontracting training services leading to the development of an environmental monitoring short course.

Fact Finding Mission, Red River Basin Water Resources Management (for Asian Development Bank)

Three-person Fact Finding Mission to design the proposed technical assistance project entitled "Red River Basin Water Resources Management," that addressed institutional development and capacity building related to integrated water resources planning in the Red River basin.

Environment Specialist (0.5 person-month, April 1997).  Attended ADB-GOV meetings, collected information required by ADB project officer, participated in discussions about the design of the proposed TA, and contributed to the aid-memoire.

Irrigation Rehabilitation Project, Viet Nam (for Ministry of Water Resources, World Bank, CIDA Industrial Cooperation)

IRP (1994-6) was a multi-disciplinary feasibility-level study for the preparation of six irrigation subprojects ranging  in size from 5,000 to 50,000 ha located in six provinces. Three subprojects involved gravity diversions for irrigation. Three consisted of flood control embankments, pumped drainage, and pumped irrigation. Design work was in support of project preparation for World Bank appraisal and subsequent implementation under  a US$100 million IDA Credit. IRP  work included assessment of current situation, review of previous studies and database, irrigation planning, hydraulic design, civil design, procurement, environmental assessment, irrigation management, and social impact including resettlement.

As Environmental Advisor, responsible to advise,  review, and provide quality control on environmental assessment procedures and subproject environmental management action plans.

Northeast Regional Water Management Plan, Flood Action Plan Item 6, Bangladesh (for Shawinigan-Lavalin International/NHC Joint Venture, consultants to CIDA).

As Environment Specialist / Environment Team Manager during Phase I (August 1991 - May 1994), responsible for:

• Environment Team Management
  • Identify and contract a Bangladesh non- governmental organization, the Nature Conservation Movement, for specialists in ornithology, wetland flora, wildlife, and environmental institutions
  • Manage project's environment consultants -- six long-term Bangladeshi consultants, two Canadian short-term consultants, and one British short-term consultant provided by the international non-governmental organization Asian Wetland Bureau) -- responsible for wetland resources, water quality, environment project preparation, and environmental impact assessment
• Wetland Resource Studies
  • Design and manage a one-year field program to identify and characterize internationally and nationally valuable wetlands in the region (result: nine sites meriting Ramsar status)
  • Design and manage a three-month field village social studies program to gain an understanding of local perspectives on wetland resource utilization and management
  • Prepare a Specialist Study of the region's wetland resources, integrating results of the field studies and generating a strategic planning analysis for improved wetland resource management (issues, driving forces, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
  • Develop a quantitative model of impacts of flood control on wetland resources driven by inputs from hydrologic and agricultural analyses
  • Undertake participatory studies in wetland villages, in collaboration with the NERP Social Anthropology Team.  Design and implement studies in six villages in the region characterized by high dependence on wetland resources, using participatory methods to elicit local people's knowledge and perceptions about current and historical patterns of key habitats, resource exploitation and management, and economic valuation of wetland goods and services
• Project Preparation
  • Undertake a programme of formal and informal consultations with a wide range of interested parties, including representatives of central and local Government agencies, non-government organizations, and local communities to discuss options for a Regional Environment Management Institutional Development Project. Based on consultations, prepare a pre-feasibility study of a project priority that included priority actions to address locally-based wetland management, threatened species recovery, water quality management, establishment of a regional environmental NGO.
  • In cooperation with the Social Anthropology Team, prepare a pre-feasibility study of a project addressing development of the over 1000 flood- and erosion-affected villages in the region. The project incorporates among other things habitat restoration for wave erosion protection and the use of dredging spoil to raise homestead platforms and to build new villages.
• Environmental Impact Assessment of Existing and Proposed Water Resources Projects
  • As part of a team evaluating the overall status and impacts of all 65 existing water resources projects in the region, finalize project descriptions and analyse project impacts as a function of project type, area, implementation body, and so on
  • Develop standard formats for project environmental evaluation, including biophysical and social, quantitative and qualitative aspects, of proposed new projects, meeting both the latest Government of Canada/CIDA and GOB/FAP standards
  • Train interdisciplinary prefeasibility study teams in evaluation methodology, making use of example assessments, document templates, and spreadsheet models
  • Final review of all 23 project evaluations Prepare Initial Environmental Evaluation (IEE) of the environmental impacts of the Regional Plan, meeting GOB/FAP and GOC/CIDA requirements

Project Preparation, Northeast Regional Project, Bangladesh (for CIDA, Bangladesh Water Development Board, and SLI/NHC Joint Venture)

Project preparation activities for the Northeast Regional Water Management Project.  Tasked with project preparation activities by project proponents, prior to joining the project implementation team as its Environment Specialist.  Work performed:

• Technical Assistant to the Bangladesh Water Development Board (May 1990). Prepared Technical Assistance Project Pro Forma, the project document required by the Government of Bangladesh for project processing.
• Consultant to the CIDA Project Team (August 1990). Prepared the CIDA Management Plan, the final CIDA project document prior to project approval.
• Environment Advisor (June/July 1989) on the twelve-person In-Country Inception Mission. Designed the project's environment component.

Inception and Subproject Proposal Review Mission, Project Planning, Monitoring, and Review Project, Indonesia (for CIDA).

Small Scale Water Control Structures III, Bangladesh (for CIDA).

As Environment Advisor (intermittently from January 1989 to September 1994), designed and implemented SSWCS III's environment component.  This included initial environmental evaluations of subprojects, environmental field investigations, basic environmental and rapid rural appraisal technique training for engineering staff, participation in the stakeholder consultation program, and environmental to efforst to improve O&M.  Co-authored, with three social anthropologists, the final report of a community-based O&M pilot programme, a two-year effort to investigate the applicability to Bangladesh of  community-based methods to  increase cultivators' participation in the development and management of water resources projects.

Small Water Resources Project Evaluation Mission, Vietnam (for Bread for the World, German non-governmental organization).

As Environmental Specialist (October-November 1991), identified and investigated biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of projects, including: cropping patterns, cultural practices, and crop diversity; soil conservation/erosion measures including afforestation; land reclamation; land tenure and land distribution/redistribution mechanisms; settlement/resettlement issues; operation and maintenance costs and fees, including labour levy; role and management of existing indigenous water control structures; and impacts of projects on adjacent areas. Co-author of final report commenting on each individual project and on overall BfdW development assistance strategy (120 pp).

Jun 88 - Nov 89 INDEPENDENT RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Impact of Climate Change on the Bengal Delta of Bangladesh (undertaken with funding from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Carroll L. Wilson Secretariat). Independent researcher, January 1989. Assessment of the potential environmental impacts on the Bengal delta of global warming accompanied by rise in sea levels.  Work consisted of literature review and field reconnaissance visits in coastal Bangladesh. Results were published in the proceedings of the Asian Farming Systems Research/Extension Symposium, November 1991, AIT Bangkok.

Global/Regional Sea Level Rise Predictions and Strategic Implications (for the Office of the Geographer, United States Department of State). Independent researcher, June 1988. Summarized current global and regional sea level rise predictions, and discussed possible strategic implications.

Nov 88 - Dec 88 POST DOCTORAL FELLOW, Dalhousie University and Bedford Institute of Technology, Halifax, Nova Scotia

1982 - 1988 GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT, Physical Oceanography Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

1981 - 1982 MANAGER, SOFTWARE TECHNICAL SUPPORT GROUP, Phase One Systems, Oakland California.  Managed a small group of specialists providing technical support to programmers developing software applications to run under Phase One's operating system software product.

1980 - 1981 SOFTWARE TECHNICAL SUPPORT SPECIALIST, Berkeley Solar Group, Berkeley California.  Advised & assisted users of passive & active solar engineering/architecture design & analysis software.

1979 - 1980 HARDWARE DOCUMENTATION TECHNICAL WRITER & FRONT PANEL DESIGNER, Telecommunications Technology Inc., Sunnyvale, California.  Prepared technical documentation for networked telecommunications test equipment, and designed front panel layouts and labeling for new network units.

1978 - 1979 ENGINEERING RESEARCH ASSISTANT, Solar Energy Applications Laboratory, Fort Collins Colorado. Upgraded dedicated real-time data logging & analysis software used to monitor a fully instrumented solar house & evaluate its thermal performance. 

1977 - 1978 SOFTWARE DOCUMENTATION TECHNICAL WRITER, Colorado State University Computer Center, Fort Collins, Colorado.  Contributor to annual revision of the Center's user manual.

PUBLICATIONS

______, 2000: Progress report on  management study on land use and water management.  Internal report, ADB TA No. 2871-VIE, Red River Basin Water Resources Management Project.  35 pp.

______, and Nurul Islam, 1997: Initial environmental evaluation report, Bangladesh Aquaculture Development Project. Internal report for International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). June. ix + 88 pp. + 20 annexes.

______, 1997: Environment final report - summary of activities and reviews of pesticide regulation, water quality standards, and water environmental training. Internal report, ADB TA No. 2233-VIE, Capacity Building in the Water Resources Sector. May, iii + 26 pp.

______, and Nguyen Thai Lai, 1996: Water quality management in Vietnam. In: Reaching the Unreached - Challenges for the 21st Century, 22nd Water Engineering & Development Centre (WEDC) Conference, New Delhi India 1996. Pp31-33, 206pp preprint volume.

_____, 1995: Report of environment specialist - mission I. Internal report, ADB TA No. 2233-VIE, Capacity Building in the Water Resources Sector. November, 58 pp.

_____, Mujib Huq, and David McLean, 1994: Initial environmental examination, Northeast Regional Water Management Plan. Northeast Regional Water Management Project, Flood Action Plan 6, Shawinigan-Lavalin Inc./Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Joint Venture for CIDA. 108 pp. + appendix.

_____, Istiak Sobhan, S.M.A. Rashid, and Anisuzzaman Khan, 1994: NEMREP - Northeast Region environment, management, research, and education project. Pre-feasibility study. Northeast Regional Water Management Project, Flood Action Plan 6, Shawinigan-Lavalin Inc./Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Joint Venture for CIDA. 122 pp. + 4 appendices.

_____, Derek Scott, Ansarul Karim, Istiak Sobhan, Anisuzzaman Khan, and S.M.A. Rashid, 1995: Wetland resources specialist study. Northeast Regional Water Management Project, Flood Action Plan 6, Shawinigan-Lavalin Inc./Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Joint Venture for CIDA. 106 pp. + 4 appendices.

_____, Anisuzzaman Khan, and S.M.A. Rashid, 1993: Potential initiatives for wetland management in the Northeast Region of Bangladesh. In: Freshwater wetlands in Bangladesh - issues and approaches for management. Ainun Nishat, Zakir Hussain, Monoj K. Roy, and Ansarul Karim, eds. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. xii + 238 pp.

_____, Atiq Rahman, and Saleem ul Huq, 1990: Climate change and farming systems. Proceedings, Asian Farming Systems Research/Extension Symposium, 19 - 23 November 1991, Asian Inst. Tech., Bangkok, 13 pp.

_____ and Uday Sharma, 1989:  Environmental implications of East Rapti Irrigation Project for Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Unpublished paper.

_____, 1988: Where three oceans meet - the Agulhas Retroflection region. MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, 365 pp.

_____, J.M. Toole, and J.R. Luyten, 1988a: Interbasin exchange revisited. S. Atlantic Accel. Res. Initiative Meeting Rep., Lamont-Dougherty Geological Observatory, 67 pp. (abstract).

_____, _____, and _____, 1988b: The Agulhas Retroflection - Agulhas current transport in excess of wind-driven interior flow and multiple Retroflection branches. Abstracts of the Joint Oceanogr. Assem., Mexico 1988, 147 pp. (abstract).

_____, 1986: The relationship between vertical, diapycnal, and isopycnal velocity and mixing in the ocean general circulation. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 16, 167-174.

_____, James R. Luyten, and John M. Toole, 1985: The Agulhas and Agulhas Return Currents - analysis of CTD/O₂ sections crossing the Currents and an XBT survey following the 15^oC at 200 m contour. EOS, Trans. Am. Geophys. U., 66(46), 930 (abstract).

_____, M.S. McCartney, and M.L. Bremer, 1983: Some aspects of the deep circulation of the tropical North Atlantic. EOS, Trans. Am. Geophys. U., 65(52), 1027 (abstract).

Brown, John, S. L. Bennett, Carlos Isles, and Tony Beck, 1994: Community-based operation and maintenance - case studies and lessons learned. Small Scale Water Control Structures III Project. Northwest Hydraulic Consultants/Cochrane Lavalin for CIDA and The World Bank.  58 pp. + 2 appendices.

Gordon, S., H. Wiebe, R. Jacksteit, S. Bennett, 2005:  Water resources management & the energy industry in Alberta, Canada.  Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology, August.  Presented at the 18th World Petroleum Congress, 25-29 Sep 2005, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Islam Q. R. and S. Bennett, 1998: Role of deepwater rice (Oryza sativa) to maintain aquatic environment in deeply flooded wetlands. In: Proceedings, 10th European Weed Research Society Symposium on Aquatic Weeds 1998, Lisbon.

Luyten, J., A. Spencer, S. Tarbell, K. Luetkemeyer, P. Flament, J. Toole, M. Francis, and S. Bennett, 1990: Moored current, AVHRR, CTD, and drifter data from the Agulhus Current and retroflection region (1985-1987), Vol. XLII, Woods Hole Ocean. Inst. Tech. Report 90-30, July.

McCartney, M.S., S.L. Bennett, and M.E. Woodgate-Jones, 1991: Eastward flow through the mid-Atlantic Ridge at 11N and its influence on the abyss of the eastern basin. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 21, 1089-1121.

Northeast Regional Water Management Project Team, 1995:  Northeast Regional Water Management Plan.  Flood Action Plan 6, Shawinigan-Lavalin Inc./Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Joint Venture for CIDA.

Pham Xuan Su, Nguyen Thai Lai, Sara L. Bennett, 1997: Water environment survey of two Red River Delta irrigation schemes. Internal report, ADB TA No. 2233-VIE, Capacity Building in the Water Resources Sector. May, vi pp. + 52 pp. + 7 annexes.

Sobhan, I. S., S. L. Bennett, and A. Karim, 1993: Some uses of aquatic plants in Northeast Bangladesh. International Symposium on Aquatic Weeds, September 1993, Dublin, Ireland (abstract).

Talukdar, Jyotirmoy and S. L. Bennett, 1994: Flood and erosion affected villages development project. Pre-feasibility study. Northeast Regional Water Management Project, Flood Action Plan 6, Shawinigan-Lavalin Inc./Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Joint Venture for CIDA. 34 pp. + 2 appendices.

Wiebe, H. D., and S. L. Bennett, 1991: Water resources mission to Vietnam, final report. Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, N. Vancouver, BC. Prepared for Brot fur die Welt, Stuttgart. 120 pp.

WEBSITES

Bangladesh International Community News

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