John Howell is the Quality Assurance Advisor in the team. John brings to the team a range of expertise that bridges the natural resources, mining, infrastructure development and energy sectors, mainly in rural areas. He is highly acclaimed for his works in bioengineering, particularly in the context of Nepal, and is a lead contributor in developing globally used manuals, handbooks, guidelines and specifications used for bio-engineering works. His technical background is as a soil scientist and a specialist in soil conservation and slope stabilization, but his work has also covered environmental assessment, sustainability, policy and institutional activities. Countries of work are the United Kingdom, Nepal as well as Liberia, Vietnam, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan (AJK), Uzbekistan, India, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guinea. His professional experience in long and short overseas assignments has been continuous since 1985.