Closing Plenary Session

Thursday, July 30, 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

Dams: the Battleground of Sustainable Development

Dr. Trevor Turpin, Director, Nicholas Pearson Associates

Dr. Trevor Turpin, Churchill Fellow and environmentalist, will talk about the tensions generated by proposed dam development—from pride to anger—using stories from his book, Dam, and his over 35 years of experience in the water industry.

Published in 2008, Dam seeks to raise the profile of dams in the public arena while providing a historical perspective of dams and the ingenuity of the engineers who construct them.

Dr. Turpin has over three decades of experience working for the water industry in the United Kingdom and other locales around the world. He has degrees in economics and environmental production as well as a doctorate on the environmental effects of dams. Dr. Turpin is also joint author of the acclaimed Environmental Impact Assessment Handbook.

A fellow of the UK Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management and member of the British Dam Society, he was awarded a coveted Churchill Fellowship in 2006. He used the fellowship to study traditional water management practices in Sri Lanka.

Currently, Dr. Turpin is a Director at UK environmental consultancy Nicholas Pearson Associates. He is also a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Bath, UK, where he lectures to students in Architecture and Civil Engineering and Integrated Environmental Management.