Expert Details
EU Environmental Policy and Law: Environmental Impact Assessment; Water and Waste Management
ID: 721708
Belgium
Expert has achieved skills in providing decision-makers with informational support to manage their water concerns and to integrate them into business planning and strategy. He holds a comprehensive experience of water management issues (groundwater, surface water quality, flood, ecosystems, drinking water, leisure, etc) and the way they interact (water uses, human impacts, basin planning). He has got a sound knowledge of European water policy and, in particular, the Water Framework Directive. His claim is to set up an analytical framework targeted on the questions at stake and to fill it in with relevant and validated information. Consultant services have consisted in collecting and handling data from a wide range of sources inside and outside of the enterprise, analyzing and discussing information with key actors, remedying gaps and reducing uncertainty and, finally, assessing scenarios and building up conclusions on the issues at stake. These activities are supported by broad networks of contacts amongst institutional, industrial, NGO stakeholders.
Expert notes that although environmental risk remains a very important consideration for political and business communities, decision-makers today also need to examine the potential for generating profits from proactive environmental opportunities. It is his personal conviction that environmental issues is a major field for innovation because of the unquestionable need to face the depletion of natural resources as well as the growing people demand for improved “sustainability” impart. Addressing these issues needs to be supported by intelligence services in order to collect and process data, to determine indicators, to identify external benchmarks and to facilitate decision-making on environmental strategy. Within this framework, Expert proposes information management assistance to decision-makers and planners in order 1) to gain understanding about the environmental issues of strategic importance for them, 2) to build up scenarios on possible ways these issues may evolve and affect their activities and to facilitate 3) to facilitate information sharing and to steer up exchanges of views; 4) to carry out multicriteria assessment of environmental options (legal, costs, implementation schemes, technological alternatives, business impact, corporate image) 5) to watch the environmental policy and law ongoing developments, especially at the European Union level; 6) to report on “sustainable development” related issues.
Expert's expertise in the field of environmental information management is supported by 10 years previous experience as a project officer in environmental management consultancy, as well as by life sciences engineering education and water treatment research experience. This has given him achieved skills in communicating efficiently both with specialists dealing with technical difficulties and scientific uncertainties, and with managers having to put action programme at work and to justify their decisions afterwards. This capacity was further developped through participating in a master degree in strategic information management. The “sustainable development” goal places strong requirement on information processing and cross-functional analysis as it requires to manage and adjust the impact of human activities of all sorts according to the carrying capacities and the resistance of natural ecosystems. This is to be facilitated by someone with a general knowledge of environmental issues, with strong listening and conlict-solving abilities.
Expert was a team leader of Strategic Environmental Assessments of selected Operational Programmes in the Czech Republic. Work took place within the framework of Czech law on EIA and of EC regulations for structural funds intervention--the so-called "ex-ante evaluation." The project focused on the Joint Regional Operational Programme and two sectoral Operational Programmes: Industry and Human Resources Development. His responsibilities included consultation with governmental bodies and methodology conception (with Agrifor Consulting, Wavre, on behalf of EC Commission DG External relations, EC framework contract Environment. He spent 50 days as team leader from January – September 2002). He provided assistance and technical support for the tasks related to actions in the LIFE 2001 Environment. This included evaluation and revision of proposals submitted within the framework of LIFE III – Environment Demonstration Projects 2001. He worked with Prospects C&S, Brussels, on behalf of EC Commission DG Environment for nine days from January through April 2002. Expert is Project Manager in charge of establishing an interregional meeting forum for wastes and co-products exchange between producers and other industries, able to recover wastes as secondary raw material or as substitution fuel. According to the usual questions and sub-questions received by the Chamber’s officers, it also presents news and information about legal prescriptions, recovering industries, environmental management instruments, costs calculation, guide of competencies. These tasks are carried out in collaboration with the Chambers of Moselle in Metz and of Meurthe-et-Moselle in Nancy.
In addition, the project supports the construction of a knowledge repository of best waste management practices (paper & cardboard, plastics, wood, biological sludge, etc.) and an inventory of waste actors. For exceptional wastes, technico-economic assessments about the feasibility of recovery patterns can also be performed with the assistance of a network of experts. Visits to enterprises are carried out to take stock on the enforced waste management practices (legal, technical, costs, organisation) and to point out key issues for possible improvements. Awareness raising actions as well as face-to-face meeting sessions with waste administration’s officers are regularly organised in aid of Chamber's members.He worked on the Luxembourg Master Plan for Water Management. The project provided technical assistance to draft the first official water management plan in Luxembourg. He was in close collaboration with the involved administrations, and his main tasks included methodological procedures, data collection, background evaluation, identification of objectives and action plans, co-ordination procedures. This work was with the Ministry of Environment/Luxembourg wastes management plan. According to the provisions of the amended Directive 75/442/EEC, the project is aimed to set an official draft to be submitted to a consultation procedure and notified to the EC Commission. The plan has to make sure that the produced quantities of waste are properly treated in line with the “proximity” and “self-supporting” principles. It has also to point out possibilities to act on waste flows in order to prevent production, to enhance recovery and to promote safe disposal. He worked on this from 1998-99; he worked 200 days as project leader.Expert also worked on the Luxembourg Master Plan for Water Management, Ministry of Environment/Technical Water Council, from 1996-97, where he worked 220 days as project leader. The project provided technical assistance to draft the first official water management plan in Luxembourg. He worked in close collaboration with the involved administrations, and the main tasks included methodological procedures, data collection, background evaluation, identification of objectives and action plans, co-ordination procedures.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 2000 | Degree: Masters | Subject: Strategic Information Management | Institution: University of Louvain, Belgium |
Year: 1987 | Degree: | Subject: Biological and Organic Chemistry | Institution: University of Louvain, Belgium |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 2002 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Assistant to the Secretary General | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert is responsible for follow-up of a working commission/political group and legal watch/information dissemination (as of September 2002). |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1999 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: | Department: |
Responsibilities:He works as an external consultant with companies and their environmentalinformation management involved in EC projects with the European Union or in Accession countries. An important project on waste management inside small and medium enterprises was done on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Belgian Luxembourg from August 2000 to July 2002. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1992 to 1999 | Employer: EurEco, Luxembourg | Title: Project Officer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert was the project manager in an environmental consultancy that provided decision support to institutions (mainly European institutions) in the field of environmental policy-making and strategic planning. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1989 to 1991 | Employer: Fabricom | Title: Research Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was responsible for a research team in the field of water disinfection by non-oxidizing chemicals. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1989 to 1989 | Employer: City of Orlando | Title: Trainee | Department: |
Responsibilities:He was the assistant in the quality control laboratory at Iron Bridge, a regional water pollution control facility. |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 1992 to 1999 | Country / Region: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany | Summary: Expert traveled to these countries in Western Europe regularly because of consulting activities. |
Years: 1997 to 1998 | Country / Region: Czech Republic | Summary: His experience in the Czech Republic was plus or minus 50 days within the framework of a World Bank project. |
Years: 1989 to 1991 | Country / Region: Spain | Summary: Expert conducted a field test in swimming pools. |
Years: 1989 to 1989 | Country / Region: USA, Florida | Summary: He provided training in a water plant. |
Years: 2002 to 2002 | Country / Region: Czech Republic | Summary: He participated as team leader in a Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) of selected Operational Programmes. Work took place with the framework of Czech law on EIA and of EC regulations for structural funds intervention--the so-called "ex-ante evaluation." |
Language Skills
Language | Proficiency |
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French | |
Spanish | Expert has a basic command of the Spanish language. |
German | Expert has a basic command of German. |
Fields of Expertise
waste assessment, waste auditing, policy, water pollution process, water, water management, environmental management, environmental forensics, cross-functional team, information management, mentoring, knowledge management, water transfer, knowledge base, environmental stress cracking, environmental data, environmental technology, biological waste, environment-related assessment, biomass, water supply, technology management, environmentally friendly product, pollution, human ecology, environmental impact assessment, knowledge, environmental effect, water resource, surface water, river, environmental engineering