Work Experience

Director Sustainability – Enzo Advisors (March 2021 till May 2022)

Þ I develop the climate risk and ESG framework for the financial advisory firm and provide consultancy on ESG reporting to clients. I have helped a number of companies define their net-zero targets. I have developed a climate risk model that uniquely takes into account both the outward and inward risks for companies. Current risk models conflate these two risks. We have applied the model in various sectors particularly for energy sector clients. I lead reporting on TCFD, GRI, ISSB and other frameworks.

Senior Editor - Nature Energy at Springer Nature (September 2017 to May 2022)

Þ Nature Energy is dedicated to exploring all aspects of the energy transition, from the generation and storage of energy, to its distribution and management, the needs and demands of the different actors, and the impacts that energy technologies and policies have on societies.
As an editor I am responsible for publications in the area of all social sciences, the complex interaction between society and energy transitions, the role of behavioral factors in shaping the energy agenda and vice versa.

Environment Adviser – UNOPS (October 2016 till present)

ÞI have been advising UNOPS on environmental safeguards and in particular compliance with World Bank safeguards policies and framework. I conducted two gap analyses and capacity building for them to bring their system in line with the World Bank system. I helped set up the roster for environmental and social safeguards specialists including development of TOR and communication within my network. I lead the environmental impact assessment for World Bank’s South Sudan Enhancing Community Resilience and Local Governance project. This was one of the first projects fully compliant with the new World Bank safeguards framework in Africa and involved significant capacity building for institutional partners such as UNOPS. A couple of years ago I conducted the environmental and social impact assessment for World Bank’s emergency landslide rehabilitation project in Sierra Leonne again requiring significant partner capacity building. Recently I conducted the technical risk assessment for UNOPS to take over the HYPREP project in Nigeria which is a $ 1 billion oil cleanup project. 

Fellow - Urban Footprint Reduction, WWF Luc Hoffmann Institute and Earth Hour City Challenge (April 2015 to August 2017)

Þ This project brings together an interdisciplinary research team to advance our global knowledge about cities and their potential to design, develop and implement sustainable development practices. As the main project proponent I built a team that includes not only umbrella organizations like ICLEI, NGOs like WWF but more than six different universities and city mayors and officials from Sweden, South Africa, Colombia, US and other countries. Our highly successful work has been cited in writings in the Guardian among other places. I have represented the project in board meetings and in high level environmental conferences (Our Common Future in Paris for instance).


Environment Specialist and Consultant, World Bank (August 2012 to April 2015)

Þ Ensured compliance with international and local environmental laws on World Bank projects especially up to twenty projects from Pakistan portfolio including urban development, energy, transport, water resources, agriculture, community driven development, energy and other sector initiatives. I recruited and trained stakeholders and ensured that standards of environmental compliance rise even in the most the difficult situations in conflict and disaster affected areas. Some of the projects I worked on included, Central Asia South Asia 1000 transmission line, DASU hydropower, Karachi Port Construction, Punjab Cities Development, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan irrigated agriculture reform projects. My work contributed towards reconstruction of the small and medium enterprise industry and marble industry in North West Pakistan in a disaster relief project, ensuring that environmental standards meet trade standards for export. Similar initiatives were implemented in handicrafts industry in Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Project.

PhD Candidate and Teaching Assistant, Central European University (October 2011 to June 2014)

Þ Sustainable Development Indicator Based on Fractality in Human Habitats

Project Description: The research forcuses on exploring and comparing the fractal nature of human habitats to establish corelations between the distribution of population density, utilities and transport networks and sustainability.

Researcher, K-Water Institute, Korea Water Resources Corporation (October 2010 to September 2011)

Þ Decision Support System Development for ADB Funded Integrated Water Resources Management in Citarum River Basin, Indonesia
Client: Asian Development Bank

Project Description: Decision Support System (DSS) for Citarum River Basin (CRB) will be developed for effective IWRM in an area of intense pressure on water resources due to rapid urbanization. The DSS will be extended to the other five Cis (five rivers) in West Java through capacity building and technology transfer

My Role: Development of Rainfall-Runoff Forecasting System for CRB, DSS business process design support, reporting and planning support.

Senior Manager, Hagler Bailly Pakistan (March 2008 to May 2009)


Þ Assistance to World Bank Mission on Funding for Reconstruction of Karachi Port Trust’s Collapsed Berths

Client: The World Bank

Project Description: Analysis of the potential environmental impacts of the reconstruction of collapsed berths 10-14 at Karachi Port, identification of potential environmental issues in light of MARPOL, UNCLOS and other national and international legislative documents, identification of areas of further environmental examination with focus on prospective issues such as disposal of contaminated dredged soils, meeting relevant personnel across different agencies and devising a concept note.

My Role: Conducted interviews with relevant officials as part of World Bank Mission, reviewed existing reports, documents, environmental management and assessment protocols, reviewed legal requirements, advised mission members and prepared a summary concept note on relevant perceived environmental issues identifying need and scope for further investigations.

Þ Technical Guidance to Asian Development Bank on Karachi Megacity Development Project

Client: Asian Development Bank

Project Description: development of a long-term set of investments, institutional and policy reforms and capacity building to address the infrastructure deficiencies and institutional constraints to Karachi Development; considerations for financing in the subsectors of wastewater, solid waste, water supply and transport; environmental assessment of activities financed under the first phase of the project; production of initial environmental examination reports meeting the requirements of the Bank and the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Assessment and Review Framework for future activities, and Strategic Environmental Assessment for the overall project.

My Role: Identified specific projects for further environmental examinations, designed the environmental assessment plans for a variety of projects including Karachi Mass Transit, Waste Transfer Stations, landfill sites, wrote Initial Environmental Examination reports and strategic environmental assessment report.

Þ Environmental Assessments of Well Drilling, Pipeline Laying and Associated Activities for Eni’s Badhra, Badhra Jabal 1, Rajar and Thar Wells

Client: Eni Pakistan Limited

Project Description: Identification of environment/project interactions, baseline surveys, impact prediction, and proposition of mitigation plans.

My Role: Devised field survey plans, identified project impacts, developed environmental management plan.

Þ Environmental Assessments at Chevron Retail Sites

Client: Chevron Texaco (Caltex Pakistan Limited)

Project Description: Phase I and Phase II soil and groundwater, risk based, hydrocarbon impact assessments to be carried out at more than twenty retail outlets marked for disposal spread all across the country; including soil borings, monitoring well installations, soil and groundwater samples collection and analysis, data interpretation, fate and transport modeling and risk analysis.

My Role: Devised Phase I and II investigation plans, managed field works, analyzed data, conducted fate and transport modeling, performed risk analysis and wrote reports.

Þ Environmental Assessment for Offshore Well Site Location Surveys in Eni’s Indus M, N and C Blocks

Client: Eni Pakistan Limited

Project Description: Documentation of baseline environmental and socioeconomic condition, identification of potential impacts, recommendation for mitigation measures, preparation of Initial Environmental Examination report.

My Role: Devised field survey plans for baseline documentation, identified impacts, devised mitigation measures, wrote Initial Environmental Examination report.

Þ Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for 3D Seismic Survey in Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary

Client: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited

Project Description: Baseline environmental and socioeconomic profile documentation for area of 3D Seismic acquisition in Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary; home to a no. of rare species, identification of potential impacts, holistic analysis of project socioeconomic/environmental consequences, recommendations for impacts mitigation.

My Role: Devised wildlife baseline survey plan in consultation with Sindh Wildlife Department, conducted public consultation, identified potential impacts, devised mitigation measures, prepared environmental management plan, wrote EIA report.

Þ Environmental Assessments for Offshore Seismic Surveys in Indus X, Y, Z and North Blocks

Client: Niko Resources (Pakistan) Limited

Project Description: Documentation of baseline environmental and socioeconomic conditions, identification of potential impacts, recommendation for mitigation measures, preparation of Initial Environmental Examination reports in accordance with World Bank IFC Guidelines and Equator Principles.

My Role: Devised field survey plans for baseline documentation, identified impacts, devised mitigation measures, wrote Initial Environmental Examination reports to satisfy requirements of World Bank IFC Guidelines and Equator Principles.

Þ EIA for 2D Seismic Survey in and around Indus Dolphin Game Reserve

Client: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited

Project Description: Baseline environmental and socioeconomic profile documentation for area of 2D Seismic acquisition covering part of Indus Dolphin Game Reserve; home to the endangered Indus Blind Dolphin, identification of potential impacts, holistic analysis of project socioeconomic/environmental consequences, recommendations for impacts mitigation.

My Role: Devised wildlife baseline survey plan in consultation with Sindh Wildlife Department, conducted public consultation, identified potential impacts, devised mitigation measures, prepared environmental management plan, wrote EIA report.

Þ Environmental Assessments for Offshore Seismic Survey in Eni’s Indus N and C Blocks

Client: Eni Pakistan Limited

Project Description: Documentation of baseline environmental and socioeconomic conditions, identification of potential impacts, recommendation for mitigation measures, preparation of Initial Environmental Examination reports.

My Role: Devised field survey plans for baseline documentation, identified impacts, devised mitigation measures, wrote Initial Environmental Examination reports.

Fulbright Scholar, Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Houston, Texas (January 2006 to December 2007)

Þ Development of Decision Support System for United States Environmental Protection Agency’s BIOPLUME 4 Model

Client: United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

Project Description: Development of a decision support system for hydrocarbon impact bioremediation model BIOPLUME to facilitate and standardize the currently highly subjective calibration process. BIOPLUME III is the industry standard software for fate and transport modeling of hydrocarbon bioremediation in groundwater and soil. The decision support system was developed for BIOPLUME 4 currently under development for US EPA.

My Role: Defined and identified the standardization problem in typical groundwater contaminant fate and transport model calibration, investigated potential solutions, developed algorithms for automating calibration, modified Luus Jaakola algorithm to facilitate parameter optimization, wrote code for decision support module in BIOPLUME 4, documented everything in Master’s Thesis titled ‘Decision Support System for BIOPLUME 4.

Þ Laboratory Analysis and Field Sampling for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Total Maximum Daily Loads Project

Client: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Project Description: Improvement of water quality in impaired or threatened water bodies in Texas; fulfilling the requirements of Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act; restoration of the full use of a water body that has limited quality in relation to one or more of its uses and definition of an environmental target. Based on that target, the state develops an implementation plan to mitigate anthropogenic (human-caused) sources of pollution within the watershed and restore full use of the water body.

My Role: Performed laboratory analysis on and field collection of bacteria samples from water bodies located in and around the Houston metropolitan area; fed the results into a GIS database, to be utilized in models developed in house to identify anthropogenic sources that can be regulated.

Þ Teaching Assistance for Computing for Engineers Course at University of Houston

Client: Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston, Texas, USA.

Project Description: Computing for Engineers course covered programming in Fortran and computations in MS Excel and MATLAB.

My Role: Delivered a lecture on FORTRAN programming, assisted students during laboratory hours, provided individual help, graded assignments.

Project Manager and Consultant, Hagler Bailly Pakistan (January 2003 to August 2005)


Þ Assistance to World Bank National Water Sector Assessment and Program Design

Client: The World Bank

Project Description: Providing professional support services to World Bank’s South Asia Social and Environment Sector (SASES) unit. This project included a national-level research study on the impact of drought on rural communities in Pakistan, support for small dams Drought and Emergency Relief Assistance (DERA) work in Balochistan, off-farm water management support in the Sindh and NWFP provinces, organizing a national workshop on 'Spatial Information Systems for the Sustainable Development of the Indus Basin' for developing decision-support systems necessary for effective management of the nation's water resources.

My Role: developed a skeleton geo-spatial information system and decision support system for documentation ofPakistan’s water resources and identification of areas of potential scarcity.

Þ Environmental Review of Pakistan Highway Rehabilitation Project for World Bank Assistance

Client: The World Bank

Project Description: Assisting the World Bank in carrying out an environmental and social review of the Pakistan Highway Rehabilitation Project (PHRP), under which 12 sections of the National Highway N5 were proposed for major improvement. The development objectives of the project were to reduce transportation-related constraints on national economic activity and to enhance the institutional capability of the National Highway Authority (NHA) in managing road projects, assets, and services. The review process included a sectoral assessment of existing policies, institutions, and development plans relating to the PHRP to determine whether or not the project conformed to an environmentally and socially sound sector-wide strategy, and examined the environmental and social impacts of the project, as well as recommending compensation strategies in accordance with Pakistani law and the World Bank's policy guidelines.

My Role: Conducted socioeconomic surveys and public consultations for development of a database to define compensations framework, conducting desktop identification of environmental impacts using detailed design documents.

Þ Environmental and Socioeconomic Feasibility of Asian Development Bank Funded Combined Effluent Treatment Plants

Client: Asian Development Bank

Project Description: Helping the Government of Pakistan as part of an ADB technical assistance, in formulating an Industrial Environmental Management Program targeted at improving energy efficiency and industrial environmental management for sectors with high effluent discharges. Main project components included policy formulation, needs assessments for capacity building, and feasibility of environmental investments in effluent treatment plants. Leather, textile, and chemical facilities all over the country were assessed with a view to achieving expedited broad-based industrial environmental compliance necessary to protect the country's main exports in a World Trade Organization-liberalized global trade regime effective from early 2005. The program included identification and detailed technical and financial assessment of six combined effluent treatment plants and two hazardous waste handling facilities to be established through private sector participation in the major industrial clusters of the country, and included detailed evaluation of plant design, economics, operational framework, tariff structures, and environmental impacts. The study also reviewed financing mechanisms available to implement a US$ 100 million Asian Development Bank loan for financing the infrastructure required to be developed on a fast-track basis.

My Role: Analyzed combined effluent treatment plant designs, conducted public consultations, identified potential environmental impacts of combined effluent treatment plant, identified waste and effluent disposal options.

Þ Environmental Support for the World Bank Pakistan Country Program

Client: The World Bank
Project Description: Providing inputs for enhancing the environmental design and management of selected projects under the World Bank's program of assistance to Pakistan. The services included supervision of the National Highway Rehabilitation Project, the Sindh On-Farm Water Management Project and assistance in the preparation of the Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project, the Balochistan Small-Scale Irrigation Project, and the Punjab Barrage Safety Project. The project also included the preparation of guidance on environmental and social baselines for river basins and a Strategic Country Environmental Assessment launch seminar.
My Role: Identified measures for enhancing management of water resources, identified water resource issues in coastal areas of Sindh province, suggested recommendations for development and sustainable exploitation of new water resources.

Þ EIA for OMV’s Well Drilling in Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary

Client: OMV Pakistan

Project Description: Baseline environmental and socioeconomic profile documentation for Miano Field located in Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary; home to a no. of rare species, identification of potential impacts, holistic analysis of project socioeconomic/environmental consequences, recommendations for impacts mitigation.

My Role: Identified potential project impacts, and wrote EIA report.

Þ Environmental Assessments at Shell Retail and Operation Sites

Client: Shell Pakistan Limited

Project Description: Phase I and Phase II soil and groundwater, risk based, hydrocarbon impact assessments according to Australian standards, to be carried out at more than forty Shell operational/retail sites spread all across the country; including receptor surveys around site, hundreds of soil borings and monitoring well installations, collection and analysis of thousands of soil and groundwater samples, data interpretation, fate and transport modeling and risk analysis.

My Role: Managed and trained a team of technical writers, data analysts, draftsmen and engineers to produce Phase II, soil and groundwater, hydrocarbon impact, risk based EIAs, developed screening criteria for risk based assessment, developed the data collection and processing protocols, oversaw field works, conducted fate and transport modeling, wrote reports and presented the results.

Þ Environmental Assessment for Offshore Exploratory Well Drilling
Client: Pakistan Petroleum Limited

Project Description: Documentation of baseline environmental and socioeconomic conditions, identification of potential impacts, recommendation for mitigation measures, and preparation of Initial Environmental Examination report.

My Role: Devised field survey plans for baseline documentation, identified impacts, conducted public consultation, devised mitigation measures, wrote Initial Environmental Examination report

Freelance Writer and Editor (2001 to Present)


Þ Through 2003, wrote articles and essays for various publications including The Review, Dawn; English weekly with highest circulation in Pakistan, The Express Tribune, The News blog and Papercuts

Þ Between June and August, 2005, served as the editor of Brainwave; the official newsletter of Mensa Pakistan.