Henry David Venema biography

Staff and Associates

Henry David Venema, PhD

» Vice-President, Science and Innovation

Dr. Henry David (Hank) Venema is a professional engineer with a diverse natural resource background spanning water resources, agriculture, energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, rural development, ecosystem management, environmental economics and environmental finance. He directs IISD’s Water Innovation Centre and Natural and Social Capital Program.

Since 2004, Dr. Venema has led IISD’s research on water and agricultural issues in pioneering the application of Natural Capital principles to water management challenges in Western Canada. In 2009, he led the creation of IISD’s Water Innovation Centre with an initial mandate to build a strategic vision for Lake Winnipeg Basin management based on leading-edge policy, management and technological concepts.

The Water Innovation Centre builds upon Lake Winnipeg Basin research work he has directed at IISD, including ecological goods and service valuation, payments for ecosystem services, decision support systems for ecosystem investments, water quality trading, large-scale nutrient capture through ecosystem restoration and watershed management, and innovative governance models for basin management. Selected Lake Winnipeg-related project descriptions can be found here.

He has collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global Water Systems Project, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). In Canada, he has worked with the federal departments of Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and within Manitoba, for the provincial departments of Water Stewardship and Conservation.

Dr. Venema’s research has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Water Resources, Water International, the Journal of Hydrology, Water Resources Development, the Journal of Environmental Management, Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change and Global Environmental Change, Biomass and Bioenergy, European Journal of Operations Research, and Annals of Operations Research. His research 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.

Dr. Venema's PhD research concerns landscape-based systems models for integrated rural development and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Dr. Venema's field experience includes lengthy assignments with Environment et 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.

Education

PhD in Systems Design Engineering (2004): University of Waterloo.
Master of Science – Water Resources Engineering (1993): University of Ottawa.
Bachelor of Science – Civil Engineering (gold medallist, 1990): University of Manitoba.
Bachelor of Science – Physics (gold medallist, 1987): University of Winnipeg.

Languages

English and French.

Publications

The Water–Energy–Food Security Nexus: Towards A Practical Planning and Decision Support Framework for Landscape Investment and Risk Management
Paper: Livia Bizikova, Dimple Roy, Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, Matthew McCandless, 2013
Peatland mining in Manitoba’s Interlake: Cumulative Impacts analysis with focus on potential nutrient loading and greenhouse gas emissions
Paper: Kyle Swystun, Xi Chen, Matthew McCandless, Henry David Venema, 2013
Water-Energy-Food Security: New Challenges and New Solutions for Water Management
Paper: Richard Lawford, Karla Zubrycki, Sina Marx, Henry David Venema, 2012
The Role of Water in the Green Economy
Paper: Henry David Venema, Richard Lawford, 2012
EcoHealth: Health, Well-Being and Watersheds
Outreach: Karla Zubrycki, Henry David Venema, 2012
Ecohealth and Watersheds: Watersheds as Settings for Health and Well-Being in Canada
Paper: Karen Morrison, Margot Parkes, Lars Hallstrom, Cynthia Neudoerffer, Martin Bunch, Henry David Venema, 2012
Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit Follow-up Meeting: Our Lake, Our Solutions
Paper: Dimple Roy, Henry David Venema, Darren A. Swanson, 2012
Water–Energy–Food Security: New Challenges and New Solutions for Water Management
Outreach: Richard Lawford, Henry David Venema, 2012
Ecological Goods and Services: A Review of Best Practice in Policy and Programing
Paper: Dimple Roy, Henry David Venema, Matthew McCandless, 2011
Ecosystem Approaches in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): A Review of Transboundary Basins
Paper: Dimple Roy, Jane Barr, Henry David Venema, 2011
Netley–Libau Nutrient-Bioenergy Project
Outreach: Richard Grosshans, Karla Zubrycki, Amanda Hope, Dimple Roy, Henry David Venema, 2011
Water Security in Canada: Responsibilities of the federal government
Paper: Karla Zubrycki, Dimple Roy, Henry David Venema, David B. Brooks, 2011
Agricultural Participation in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Canada: Four case studies
Paper: Dimple Roy, Bryan Oborne, Karla Zubrycki, Rosemary Dohan, Henry David Venema, 2011
Bio-economy offers solution to province's woes
Commentary: Henry David Venema, John Fjeldsted, 2010
Prospects for Mainstreaming Ecosystem Goods and Services in International Policies
Book: M.T.J Kok, S.R. Tyler, A.G. Prins, László Pintér, H. Baumuller, J. Bernstein, E. Tsioumani, Henry David Venema, Richard Grosshans, 2010
Water Quality Trading in the Lake Winnipeg Basin: A multi-level trading system architecture.
Paper: Vivek Voora, Matthew McCandless, Dimple Roy, Bryan Oborne, Henry David Venema, 2010
The Manitoba Challenge: Linking Water and Land Management for Climate Adaptation
Book: Henry David Venema, Bryan Oborne, Cynthia Neudoerffer, 2010
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Canada: Recommendations for Agricultural Sector Participation
Paper: Dimple Roy, Bryan Oborne, Henry David Venema, 2009
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Advancing the geoengineering debate at the Arctic Council
Paper: Bjørnar Egede-Nissen, Henry David Venema, 2009
Indicators of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change for Agriculture in the Prairie Region of Canada: Comparison with Field Observations
Paper: Darren A. Swanson, Jim Hiley, Henry David Venema, Richard Grosshans, 2009
Indicators of Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change for Agriculture in the Prairie Region of Canada: An Analysis based on Statistics Canada's Census of Agriculture
Paper: Darren A. Swanson, Jim Hiley, Henry David Venema, Richard Grosshans, 2009
Understanding Adaptive Policy Mechanisms Through Farm-level Studies of Adaptation to Weather Events in Alberta, Canada
Paper: Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, Christa Rust, Jennifer Medlock, 2009
Multi-Purpose Flood Protection: A rural-urban win-win
Commentary: Henry David Venema, 2009
Understanding Adaptive Policy Mechanisms through Farm-level Studies of Adaptation to Weather Events in Saskatchewan, Canada
Paper: Dimple Roy, Henry David Venema, Darren A. Swanson, Kent Pearce, 2008
Full Cost Accounting for Agriculture (Final Report) – Valuing public benefits accruing from agricultural beneficial management practices: An impact pathway analysis for Tobacco Creek, Manitoba
Paper: Matthew McCandless, Henry David Venema, Stephan Barg, Bryan Oborne, 2008
Ecohealth and Watersheds: Ecosystem Approaches to Re-integrate Water Resources Management with Health and Well-being
Paper: Margot W. Parkes, Karen E. Morrison, Martin J. Bunch, Henry David Venema, 2008
The Natural Capital Approach: A Concept Paper
Paper: Vivek Voora, Henry David Venema, 2008
An Ecosystem Services Assessment in the Lake Winnipeg Watershed: Phase 1 Report – Southern Manitoba Analysis
Paper: Vivek Voora, Henry David Venema, 2008
Research in Support of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission's Hog Production Industry Review: Task 2 - Policy/Process Review - Conclusions/Recommendations
Paper: Bryan Oborne, Henry David Venema, Allen Tyrchniewicz, 2007
Research in Support of the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission's Hog Production Industry Review: Task 1 - Analysis Framework for Total Nutrient Loading
Paper: Bryan Oborne, Henry David Venema, Allen Tyrchniewicz, 2007
Put ecosystem to work: Restoring wetlands, managing watersheds could save Lake Winnipeg
Commentary: Henry David Venema, 2007
Field Testing the Draft Canadian Biodiversity Index: A Report on Applying Real Ecosystem Data to the CBI
Paper: Richard Grosshans, Carol Murray, László Pintér, Risa Smith, Henry David Venema, 2006
Full-cost Accounting for Agriculture – Year 2 Report: Valuing Changes in Agri-Environmental Indicators
Paper: Stephan Barg, Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, 2005
Valuing Changes in Agri-Environmental Indicators
Paper: Stephan Barg, Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, 2005
Paddling upstream – water management on the prairies
Commentary: Henry David Venema, 2005
Seeing the Light: Adapting to climate change with decentralized renewable energy in developing countries
Book: Henry David Venema, Moussa Cisse, 2004
Advancing Sustainable Development in Canada: Policy issues and research needs
Book: Stephan Barg, Aaron Cosbey, Heather Creech, William H. Glanville, Marlene Roy, Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, Konrad von Moltke, 2003
The Full Costs of Thermal Power Production in Eastern Canada
Paper: Henry David Venema, Stephan Barg, 2003
More costly than we think
Commentary: Henry David Venema, Stephan Barg, 2003

Audio/Video

Connecting the Bay – Hudson Bay Inland Sea Initiative
Video: Vivek Voora, Christa Rust, Karla Zubrycki, Darren A. Swanson, Henry David Venema, Richard Altman (Animator), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2012
Our Lake, Our Solutions: Two years of progress and partnerships
Video: Karla Zubrycki, Henry David Venema, Richard Grosshans, Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), Elena Sosa Lerín (Audio), 2012
Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit: Key concepts and summit rationale
Video: Henry David Venema, Karla Zubrycki (Editor), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2011
Netley-Libau Marsh Google Earth Tour
Video: Henry David Venema, Richard Grosshans, Bryan Oborne, Karla Zubrycki (Writer), Richard Altman (Animator), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2011
Hula Valley Google Earth Tour
Video: Henry David Venema, Bryan Oborne, Karla Zubrycki (Writer), Richard Altman (Animator), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2011
Ñeembucú Wetlands Google Earth Tour
Video: Henry David Venema, Bryan Oborne, Karla Zubrycki (Writer), Richard Altman (Animator), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2011
Hank Venema discusses the need to look at water and land management differently than ever before.
Video: Henry David Venema, Dave Wilkins (Interviewer), Jason E.J. Manaigre (Technical Producer), 2010

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