Charles E. Benjamin

Class of 1946 Visiting Professor of International

Environmental Studies & Environmental Policy

Center for Environmental Studies

Williams College

Address:	Kellogg House (L4)
	Williams College
	P.O. Box 630
	Williamstown, MA 01267
Tel:	(413) 597-4062 (office)
	(301) 481-0869 (cell)
Email:	Charles.Benjamin@williams.edu
Office Hours:	Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 10:00-11:00, or by appointment

Courses

Fall 2005: Environmental Policy [ENVI 270/PSCI 270]

Global Trends, Sustainable Earth [ENVI 313]

Spring 2006: Nature, Wealth and Power: Social Science Perspectives on Conservation and Natural Resource Management in the Developing World [ENVI 246/PSCI 246]

Fall 2006: Environmental Policy [ENVI 270/PSCI 270]

Global Trends, Sustainable Earth [ENVI 313]

CV

Charles E. Benjamin CV

Interests

My research interests lie in (1) the potential of natural resource management in developing countries to reduce poverty and promote democratic governance; (2) the social dimensions of local natural resource institutions, governance and policy development; and (3) the role of intermediary organizations in development and natural resources management. These interests are reflected in my dissertation research on forest governance in Mali and master’s research on the sociopolitical organization of community-based irrigation systems in southern Morocco. My methodological interests focus on the integration of mixed methods from social and environmental sciences. For example, my dissertation research employed surveys, interviews, participant-observation, GIS, and forest inventories to examine the impact of decentralization on livelihood security and biodiversity conservation by local communities.

My current projects build upon these interests:

· Relationship between human ecology, local natural resource management, and rural development in Mali.

· Comparative analysis of the above issues in the context of decentralization trends regionally and globally.

· Organizational dimensions of biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

Background

For the past 18 years, I have been working in natural resource management and rural development in North and West Africa.  Before coming to Williams, I worked for the International Resources Group (IRG), overseeing activities in livelihoods and natural resources governance. My professional activities encompass forestry and natural resource management, rural development, appropriate technology, institutional development, and civil society capacity building. For nearly six years, I directed the Near East Foundation’s Morocco program, based in rural southern Morocco. In that capacity, I established and managed an appropriate technology training center and rural development program that reached 40,000+ people in 120 villages.

In 2004, I completed my Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, where my dissertation focused on livelihood security and institutional development in the context of decentralization in Sahelian West Africa. As a Fulbright scholar in 1990-92, I conducted ethnographic research on the sociopolitical organization of traditional canal irrigation systems in the Drâa Valley of southern Morocco. I also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, where I taught at Hassan II University in Casablanca.

My overseas experience includes work in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe.  I speak Arabic and French. In the past, I’ve had a working knowledge of German, Japanese, and Nepali and a lesser knowledge of Fulfulde and Berber.