My cousin, Robert Goodland, directed environmental and social impact assessment studies on development projects all over the world for more than 40 years. He advised institutions on how to manage those risks and prevent harm. Robert, who has died aged 74, was called the "conscience" of the World Bank.
He was born in Brigg, Lincolnshire, the son of Arthur, an engineer, and Cynthia, a physiotherapist. He went to Taunton school in Somerset and then attended McGill University in Montreal for his undergraduate and graduate studies in biology and ecology. After researching tropical ecosystems in Brazil, he was appointed a professor, in 1974, at the University of Brasilia. Together with Howard Irwin, he wrote the book Amazon Jungle: Green Hell to Red Desert? (1975), a key work in the birth of the international environmental movement.
In 1978, Robert started working as the first full-time ecologist at the World Bank in Washington. Over the next 23 years, in various senior positions, he developed environmental and social policies and procedures, and, more importantly, persuaded the bank to implement them. They gained recognition and were adopted by several other development agencies.
Robert was president of the International Association of Impact Assessment in 1994-95. He later served on the World Commission on Dams and the World Bank Group's Extractive Industries Review, and as co-author of the widely cited article Livestock and Climate Change. With today's threats of the construction of new large dams, and ever-growing numbers of livestock, lessons from Robert's work promise to be useful well into the future.
After his official retirement in 2001, he became a senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, and remained as busy as ever on various environmental and social projects.
In 2008 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature awarded him the first Harold Jefferson Coolidge medal, stating that "with the worldwide impact of development, it is hard to overemphasise Dr Goodland's contributions".
Robert loved walking and gardening. His passion for the environment led him to avoid driving, despite living in a car-dominated American suburb.
He is survived by his wife, Jonmin, whom he married in 1985, and their son, Arthur; his sister, Victoria; and cousin Richard Galloway.