FROM CORAL REEF TO WETLANDS PRESERVATION
From coral reef restoration to wetlands preservation, the protection of biodiversity in coastal regions and aquatic environments is an all-encompassing effort. Involving international experts, this hybrid panel will discuss the development of sustainable frameworks for action that have sprung up in different places around the world and how these initiatives are interconnected.
Participants may attend the panel in-person by signing up or join it online here on FB Live.
Register here for for physical attendance and get a complimentary admission to the Science Centre Singapore for the PM session on the day of the conference.
A peek at the speakers:
- Dr Zeehan Jaafar, Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Biological Sciences & Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore
Dr Zeehan Jaafar is a marine biologist with research interests in the evolution and ecology of marine fishes, and the conservation of their habitats. She has led and participated in many international and regional expeditions to enhance understanding of the diversity and distribution patterns of fish fauna. Author of two books Fishes Out of Water: Biology and Ecology of Mudskippers and Endangered Forested Wetlands of Sundaland−Ecology, Connectivity, Conservation, she is also the lead editor of Singapore Blue Plan 2018 that proposes a set of holistic recommendations for the conservation of marine areas in Singapore. A keen diver, she enjoys sharing her passion for Singapore’s marine areas through public engagement and education.
- Dr Katia Nicolet, Doctor in marine biology, Energy Observer
Katia Nicolet is a doctor in marine biology, with a profound admiration for nature and everything that lives and breathes. During her six years researching coral diseases on the Great Barrier Reef, Katia witnessed first-hand the damage and destruction to coral reefs due to direct and indirect anthropogenic activities. Frustrated by the lack of tangible actions being taken to stop climate change, she joined Energy Observer in 2020, the first green hydrogen ship in the world and a company committed to accelerating the energetic and ecological transition so crucially needed to avoid the worst of the climate crisis. Katia now sails the seas to spread her knowledge on marine science and renewable energies.
- Dr Daniel Pauly, Professor, Sea Around Us – UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries
Born in France and raised in Switzerland, Daniel Pauly studied in Germany, where he acquired a doctorate in fisheries biology in 1979. He did his first intercontinental travel in 1971 from Germany to Ghana and has since then experienced a multitude of countries, cultures, and modes of exploiting aquatic ecosystems in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Dr. Pauly became a Professor at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre in 1994, and was its Director from 2003 to 2008. In 1999, Daniel Pauly founded, and since leads, a large research project devoted to identifying and quantifying global fisheries trends called the Sea Around. Daniel Pauly is also co-founder of FishBase.org, the online encyclopedia of more than 30,000 fish species, and he has helped develop the widely-used Ecopath modeling software.
- Dr Samantha Lai, Senior Manager, National Biodiversity Centre, NParks
Dr Samantha Lai is a senior manager in the Coastal and Marine Branch of the National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board, where she works to develop policies on coastal and marine conservation in Singapore. A lover of seagrasses, she focused on seagrass ecology for her PhD at the National University of Singapore and regularly volunteers with the citizen-science group TeamSeaGrass. She believes that scientists have a crucial role in ensuring conservation and environmental management is grounded in data and science. She strives to apply her scientific training to help develop effective marine conservation and environmental solutions, policies and research strategies at both a national and international level.
- Dr Olivier Nsengimana, Founder and Executive Director, Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA)
In 2014, Olivier designed a unique conservation project to abolish the illegal trade of the endangered Grey Crowned Cranes in Rwanda and won the Rolex Award for Enterprise which allowed him to start implementing the work. He established Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association in 2015 to build on the work with Grey Crowned Cranes and expand research and conservation efforts to other endangered and threatened species in Rwanda, and the East African region. Olivier has won numerous awards for his work, he is a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine and has a Master of Veterinary Science, Conservation Medicine from the University of Edinburgh, UK.
4.30PM – 6.30PM
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