He has made a significant contribution to sustainable development policy formulation at both national level and for international agencies in fields such as water management, coastal zone development and the mainstreaming of environmental issues into national development policies.

John has worked in over 50 countries and has expertise in a range of environment and development issues including water resources, energy, strategic environmental assessment, land resources, community forestry, service and infrastructure planning, coastal zone development, livelihoods analysis, poverty reduction strategies and policy development.