John is president of Pattison Resource Consulting, which specializes in the interaction between environmental conservation and economic development and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta in natural resource economics. John holds a Doctorate in Natural Resource Management from the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Greenwich, UK; a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Science from Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta. John is active in consulting and volunteer roles internationally and in western Canada. Among other things, he is coordinator of the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture Policy Committee and director of the Biodiversity and Research Grants Program of the Alberta Conservation Association. John maintains an active research and teaching schedule and is a professional agrologist. He and his spouse Naomi and their two sons live and raise quarter horses on the family farm near Kingman, Alberta.
During his session, John will provide an overview of the recent work commissioned by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, exploring the current inventories being implemented across North America. He will explore their strengths and limitations in the context of integrating approaches and learning.