TNRC Event The impacts of infrastructure sector corruption on conservation: Implications for programming

Virtual Panel:
The impacts of infrastructure sector corruption on conservation: Implications for programming

About the event

Infrastructure is key to national economic development strategies and provides necessary human services. However, infrastructure development and associated corruption have tremendous impacts on conservation efforts. This relationship can be overlooked due to the discrete and hidden ways that corruption occurs and the fact that infrastructure sector corruption is often assessed in relation to economic inefficiencies and losses, rather than through a conservation lens. Understanding the relationship between infrastructure, corruption, and conservation facilitates the elaboration of effective anti-corruption responses and the improvement of infrastructure development and conservation outcomes. In this event, the authors of a new TNRC brief on The Impacts of Infrastructure Sector Corruption on Conservation will join a panel of experts for discussion of anti-corruption approaches that can increase integrity, transparency, and accountability, how they can be coupled with complementary advocacy efforts and direct action, and where our field needs to go next.

About the speakers

Donald R. Nelson, Professor of Anthropology, Institute of Resilient infrastructure Systems, University of Georgia, and Humans and Environmental Change Consulting
Dr. Nelson is an ecological anthropologist who works at the intersection of social and environmental change and human well-being. He is a member of the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) at the University of Georgia, where he leads research teams that study and enable the equitable development of Nature-Based Solutions to overcome infrastructure challenges and promote sustainable climate adaptation. Additional and related research focuses on the human dimensions of climate variability and change, analyzing public and private adaptations and how social and political relations shape decision-making and policy outcomes. As president of Humans and Environmental Change Consulting (HECC) he works across the globe with organizations dedicated to reducing poverty and food insecurity and enhancing climate resilient livelihoods.

J. Scott Pippin, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Institute of Resilient infrastructure Systems, University of Georgia
Scott is an attorney and community planner who joined the Institute of Government's Planning and Environmental Services unit in 2014. He works on issues concerning environmental and natural resource planning, climate resilience, nature-based and green infrastructure practices, land use, community planning and economic development, and updating and revising city and county land use ordinances. In addition to planning and technical assistance, Scott works directly with communities to develop funding and implement projects that provide social, economic, and environmental benefits. He also delivers training courses on a wide variety of subjects, such as stormwater management, planning and zoning practices, community resilience and sustainability, and preparing for large-scale solar installations. Prior to joining the Institute of Government, he worked as a local government attorney and an environmental consultant.

Adriana Ramos, Coordinator, Policy and Law Program, Instituto Socioambiental (ISA)
Adriana Ramos coordinates the Policy and Law Program of the Instituto Socioambiental in Brazil and has been working on advocacy to improve social and environmental legislation and policies related to indigenous peoples' rights, tropical forests, and other ecosystems in Brazil for over 25 years. Former representative of NGOs in the Guidance Committee of the Amazon Fund, she was also a member of the National Environmental Council of Brazil as elected representative of Brazilian NGOs in the period between 2002 and 2006 and member of the Brazilian NGO Association (ABONG) board of directors until 2018.

Bernadine Fernz, Global Head of Infrastructure and Regional Head of Asia Pacific, Open Contracting Partnership (OCP)
Bernadine Fernz is the Global Head of Infrastructure and Regional Head of Asia Pacific at the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP). Before joining OCP, she was Associate Director and Regional Manager for Latin America and Southeast Asia at CoST — the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative. She began her development career at Deloitte & Touché, working on mega-infrastructure projects before further specialising in climate governance at the Overseas Development Institute. A barrister by trade, she has over 20 years of experience across the legal, consulting and international development sectors. Full profile here.

Roberto de Michele, Principal Specialist, Innovation in Citizen Services Division, Inter-American Development Bank
Roberto de Michele leads the IDB's Cluster on Transparency and Integrity, responsible for providing support to public sector reforms in transparency, integrity and anti-corruption. In this capacity, he leads the Bank's efforts in preparing lending operations, technical assistance and knowledge products related to transparency and integrity. He is the Secretary of the Transparency Fund of the IDB and responsible for the program "Strengthening the Integrity of Financial Systems: Improving the Capacity to Prevent Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing". His articles and blogs are published widely in Gobernarte, and in the Transparency in Finance Infoguide, among others. Roberto is a Member of the Senior Advisory Board of the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Academy, IACA. Before joining the IDB, he was the Director for Transparency and Preventive Policies at the Anticorruption Office of Argentina. He served as President of Fundación Poder Ciudadano, (TI Chapter Argentina) and is a founding member of the Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC). Roberto is a law graduate from the University of Buenos Aires with an LL.M. from Yale Law School.

Evan Freund, Senior Director, Sustainable Infrastructure and Finance, Freshwater, WWF-US
Evan Freund is a senior director for sustainable infrastructure and finance on the WWF-US Freshwater Team. In this role, he supports the team on issues associated with infrastructure design, finance, and development. Prior to joining WWF, Evan managed the Government and Public Sector Practice for CiBO Technologies, a venture-backed agricultural technology start-up. Previously, Evan worked for over a decade at the US Government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in a variety of capacities. He began his career at MCC as a technical specialist in the agency's Infrastructure practice, designing and overseeing investments in water supply, sanitation, transportation and energy systems in Ghana, Namibia, Honduras, and Lesotho. He served as MCC's Deputy Resident Country Director in Maputo, Mozambique, where he helped manage MCC's 5-year program focused on improving economic opportunity through targeted investments in water supply and sanitation infrastructure, transport infrastructure, agriculture, and land tenure. Upon his return to Washington, DC in 2014, he served as a director and country team lead, leading MCC's programs in Liberia and the Philippines.

Kate Newman, Vice President, Sustainable Infrastructure and Public Sector Initiatives, WWF-US (Moderator)
As vice president for sustainable infrastructure and public sector initiatives, Kate Newman specializes in supporting large-scale conservation planning and policy development with a focus on promoting and enabling the global shift to sustainable and nature-based infrastructure. In her three decades with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Kate has worked with WWF colleagues around the world to facilitate the integration of cutting-edge conservation science into socio-economic development through marine and terrestrial ecoregion planning, community-based conservation, protected area management, and conservation finance. Pre-WWF, she supported civil society organizations in farm-to-market road, mini-hydropower, and rural clinic development with the US Agency for International Development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.