Dr Michel A. Bouchard is an international expert in Environmental Management and Environmental Policies. He started his career as an Environmental Research Scientist, specialized in climate change and natural resources processes and management, and over the last 40 years, has been associated with the Environmental Assessment of mega projects first in Canada and since then in over thirty other countries.
From 2000 to 2004, Dr Bouchard acted as Director General of the French Secretariat of the International Association of Impact Assessment. Since 2000, he has organized, designed, and delivered training courses, seminars, workshops and international scientific meetings in Environmental Management and Assessment in more than forty countries. Consultancy work has been in the field of Strategic Assessment, Resource Management, including forestry and extractive industries (Mining in particular), Regional Development, Energy, Transport and Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment.
From 2005 to 2009, Dr Bouchard resided in Tunisia, where he acted as Senior Research Associate with the International Technological Center of Tunisia and the World Bank METAP program aimed at technical assistance in Environmental sciences. He has led various assignments for the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the African Development Bank. In 2009-2010, Dr Bouchard acted as collaborator and advisor to the UNEP Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment in DR Congo.
He is currently affiliated to the McGill-UNEP Collaborative Centre for Environmental Assessment while being associated to the civil engineering department of the École Polytechnique de Montréal. He has acted as member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the Sahara and Sahel Observatory. Dr Bouchard has authored more than a hundred publications, reports, papers and communications in the field of Environmental Management and Assessment.
He is generally recognized as a leading expert in the field of Strategic and Integrated Environmental Assessment. He is currently member of the Advisory Committee for the Environmental Assessment of Free-Trade Agreements with External Affairs Canada.