Keynote Speakers
Dr. Nawaz M Mian
Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore
Brief Introduction:
Dr Nawaz is an experienced Geomorphologist with expertise in GIS, environment, energy, and sustainability. He has served in various universities since 1993, including Punjab University, Pakistan, University of Twente (ITC), Netherlands and Charles Darwin University, Australia. He has extensive experience teaching courses related to Physical Geography, GIS, Earth and Environmental Science.
His research spans over twenty-five years, covering erosion, sedimentation, catchment management and sustainable development. Dr Nawaz has conducted multi-disciplinary research worldwide including Darwin Harbour and Daly River catchment, Australia, Mangla Reservoir catchment, Pakistan and Saddang Watershed, TanaToraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
He holds a doctorate in Geomorphology from Charles Darwin University, Australia, a Master of Science in Geoinformatics from University of Twente (ITC), Netherlands, a Master of Science in Geography from University of Punjab, Pakistan, a Bachelor of Science from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Pakistan, and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching and Learning from Charles Darwin University, Australia.
Keynote speech:
Title: The Trifecta of a Viable Future: Renewables, Ecosystem Conservation, and Sustainability
Abstract：
The rapidly changing world urgently needs to tackle environmental challenges threatening our planet and its inhabitants. Ecosystem degradation, resource depletion, and climate change are critical issues we face today. Renewable energy emerges as a pivotal solution, safeguarding our planet's delicate balance. Renewables offer sustainable alternatives to combat pollution from fossil fuels. Transitioning to renewable energy can mitigate climate change and protect vulnerable ecosystems.
To secure a viable future, we must prioritize ecosystem conservation and renewable energy. This keynote speech will explore the intersection of sustainability, ecosystem conservation, and renewable energy, advocating for collective action and education towards an equitable and prosperous future. Careful planning and sustainable practices are essential for renewable energy development. Robust environmental assessments and stakeholder engagement minimize negative impacts, aligning projects with long-term ecosystem conservation goals.
Renewable energy is a transformative pathway to mitigate climate change, reduce pollution, and preserve ecosystems. Embracing renewable technologies creates a sustainable and resilient future, harmonizing energy production and ecosystem conservation.
Prof. Sandeep Narayan Kundu
Department of Geology, Ravenshaw University, India
Brief Introductiom:
Professor Kundu, is a British Council Fellow and has done his MSc in GIS from University of Leicester, UK and his MScTech in Applied Geology from IIT-ISM Dhanbad. He is an alumnus of Ravenshaw University (then Ravenshaw College) having done his BSc (Honours) in Geology with distinction. He was awarded his PhD in Geology from Utkal University for his thesis on “GIS based Techniques for Quantitative Seafloor Geomorphology”. He has over 20 years of professional experience in Industry and has served for MNCs like Fugro, Reliance E&P and BHP Billiton. His previous role before joining Ravenshaw as Professor was at the National University of Singapore where has taught Exploration Geosciences at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and GIS, Remote Sensing and Geoscience at the Department of Geography. Professor Kundu’s interest includes research on Data Science applications GIS in Environmental, Energy and Sedimentary Geosciences where he exploits the potential of Remote Sensing and Geospatial tools (GIS). He has authored four books, several publications and has delivered keynotes at several international conferences.
Keynote speech:
Title: Submarine Power Cables for Importing Green Power：Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract：
Submarine power cables play a crucial role in the transmission of electrical power between land and offshore locations, such as islands, offshore wind farms, and oil platforms. While they offer significant benefits, they also come with unique challenges and opportunities. Whilst the challenges lie in the installation and maintenance of the cables which needs to be done in an environmentally sustainable manner, the opportunities lie in the capability of harnessing renewable energy, grid integration, regional cooperation, jb creation and related economic activities. Addressing the challenges and leveraging these opportunities can contribute to the expansion of clean energy infrastructure and the transition to a more sustainable energy future.
Dr. Nausheen Mazhar
Geography Department, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan
Brief Introduction:
Dr. Nausheen Mazhar prefers incorporating techniques from different disciplines in her research in order to understand underlying processes behind research interests that mostly encompass, land degradation, desertification, droughts, landfill management, climatic and meteorological phenomena, sedimentation in reservoirs and glacial retreat.
Currently her research falls into four broad categories: (i) desertification and droughts (ii) Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) use in agriculture (iii) resilience calculation among communities at risk in disaster prone areas (iv) disaster risk reduction techniques. I am particularly interested in how people residing in drylands, cope with drought episodes, and how can policy makers play their part in minimizing the impacts of desertification.
Keynote speech:
Title: Monitoring Water Quality and Sedimentation Trends for Sustainable Hydro-power Production in Tarbela Reservoir, Pakistan
Abstract:
As the energy crisis in Pakistan continues to get worse, the need for the efficient management of current mega power projects becomes essential. The energy sector of Pakistan is facing a shortfall of 7000 MW, and due to CPEC related economic activities, demand for energy especially in industrial and commercial sectors is expected to rise by 136% and 414% till 2030 (as compared to 2013). Although the country is blessed with immense hydropower potential, however, it has not been fully utilized for energy production. Tarbela Dam is the largest natural dam of Pakistan which had an initial capacity of 11, 600 Mm3, and a generation capacity of 3470 MW. The efficiency of the Tarbela reservoir is being challenged because of the increased sedimentation rates, as the Tarbela Dam Project 2009, records a 917m advance of delta per year. Such a rapid advance may cause clogging of the intake tunnels and requires efficient monitoring of water quality and sedimentation trends. This study aimed at monitoring Tarbela reservoir's water quality and underwater delta pivot point advancement used secondary datasets from survey department Tarbela Dam Project, and Landsat imagery (Landsat 4-5, 5, 7 and 8) to perform meaningful analysis. The study concluded that the average sediments deposited in the reservoir for the period of 1980-2012 were 0.1 MAF. Delta pivot point was at a distance of 5.45 miles from the MED in 2012 and will be only at a distance of 0.45 miles from MED in 2032. For water quality monitoring Normalized Difference Chlorophyll Index (NDCI), Normalized Difference Turbidity Index (NDTI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) were calculated for Tarbela reservoir, and its surrounding area from 1990−2020, on decadal interval. The results indicated a significant increase in built-up area, of about 630 km2 , in the western and eastern parts of the reservoir, whereas turbidity level, revealed a substantial decline with 4% decrease observed in the last decade, 2010-2020. The study also presented expanse in the spatial coverage of chlorophyll index and water index, indicating increase in residence time of the water. It is concluded that the water quality continued to deteriorate with time, however, 2020 was a year of environmental healing, and there was an overall water quality improvement of the reservoir observed. In order to enhance the efficiency and life of Tarbela dam, this study suggests that immediate policy formulation for sediment management, either active or passive methods e.g. dredging, hydro suction and flushing must be adopted to enhance the life of this mega reservoir and help Pakistan in meeting its targets of sustainable renewable energy generation.
Dr. Yang Ye
School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, China
Brief Introduction:
Dr. Yang Ye is a lecturer at the Department of Landscape Architecture in Beijing Forestry University and a visiting fellow at the Department of Geography in National University of Singapore. He also registers the practicing qualifications of water environment engineer and associate constructor in China. Dr. Ye's research interests lie in urban ecosystem services, functions and benefits of urban blue-green spaces. He serves as a committee member at the Landscape for Well-being and Short-term Therapy (Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture, CHSLA), as well as at the 2023 International Conference on Renewable Energy and Ecosystem (ICREE 2023). Dr. Ye has led and participated in eight research projects, published numerous core academic papers, as well as authored various patents, monographs, and honor awards. He has been invited to give oral presentations multiple times at important international academic conferences and serves as a reviewer for international peer-reviewed journals.
Keynote speech:
Topic: Environmental and social benefits, and their coupling coordination in urban green spaces
Abstract:
Urban green spaces are crucial components of the urban ecosystem, which has extensive environmental and social benefits. However, researchers usually focused on a particular benefit and poorly understood the multi-function of urban green spaces. First, we investigated an environmental benefit - infectious disease prevention. COVID-19 case numbers in 161 sub-districts of Wuhan were investigated based on landscape epidemiology, and their landscape metrics were calculated based on land use/land cover (LULC). The findings, including a proposed framework to understand and evaluate infection risk, are significant for community management and urban planning for infectious diseases worldwide. Second, we investigated a social benefit - recreation use. Using big data, 70 urban parks in Wuhan were selected as the study objects in the present study. Two groups of linear regression models were developed to examine the effects of various factors on park use. This work provides a way to combine multisource data that reflect the number of park visits and park demands to explore the affecting factors of park use.
Finally, we take urban wetland parks (UWPs) as examples to reveal the coupling coordination mechanism of environmental and social benefits. Through field survey, geographic information system (GIS), text analysis and an AHP-entropy method, the environmental and social benefits of 38 UWPs were determined in Wuhan, China. Eight geographically weighted regression (GWR) models and three coupling coordination models were constructed to explore park attributes and built environment factors that affect UWP benefits and to evaluate UWP coupling coordination. In the future, benefit evaluation frameworks can be further enriched by more potential environmental and social benefits and promoted to improve more extensive urban ecosystem including green spaces.
