Land Use/Cover Changes, Environment and Emissions in South/Southeast Asia – An International Regional Science Meeting

Meeting Image: 
Meeting Location: 
Johur Bahru, Malaysia
Meeting date: 
07/22/2019 to 07/24/2019

Training dates:
Thursday, July 25 to Saturday, July, 27

Meeting Objectives

Several countries in South and Southeast Asia are undergoing rapid changes due to urbanization and industrial development. The population growth together with rapid economic development is causing immense pressure to convert land from forest to agriculture and from agricultural areas to residential and urban uses with significant impact on ecosystem services. Increased Land Cover/Land Use Change (LCLUC) in the region is disrupting and perturbing atmosphere, forest resources, biodiversity, regional climate, biogeochemical cycles, water resources, and other ecosystem services. The aim of this meeting is to review the availability, potential, and limitations of different data sources and methodologies for the monitoring and the study of LCLUC, and quantification and its impact on the environment. The meeting presentations will focus on synergies among various approaches and provide recommendations on how to improve the use of earth observations, ground data and modeling techniques for the improved understanding of land use sources and sinks.

The purpose of this international meeting is to provide a forum to discuss LCLUC and its impacts, with a regional focus on South and Southeast Asian countries. The meeting will be organized around the following themes:

  • LCLUC and impacts on the atmosphere;
  • Agriculture and water resources,
  • Biomass burning, including land-atmosphere interactions
  • Urbanization
  • Land use in forests and mountain regions
  • Land use in the coastal zone

Day-1 – Plenary LCLUC sessions on Agriculture; forests; Land atmospheric interactions;

Day-2 – Full Day Parallel sessions on two different themes, i.e., Atmosphere and Agriculture

Theme-1-Atmosphere

Session-1 – GHG emissions and inventories

Session-2 – GHG impacts on the environment

Session-3 – GHG modeling

Session-4 - Discussion Session on Atmospheric Research Needs and Priorities            

Theme-2-Agricultural land use

Session-1 – Mapping and monitoring of crops

Session-2 – Crop yield and prediction

Session-3 - Decision Support Systems

Session-4 – Discussion Session on Agricultural Research Needs and Priorities

Day-3 – Plenary LCLUC sessions on Urban and Coastal areas

Overview presentations will present recent research accomplishments and the state of the art on these topics in South/Southeast Asia, and formulate future research directions and applications development needs for the region. The meeting will explore opportunities for coordination and collaboration among research scientists and teams and ongoing projects aimed to advance our understanding of the spatial extent, intensity, social consequences, and impacts on the environment in South/Southeast Asian countries.

International Steering Committee

Dr. Krishna Prasad Vadrevu, Remote Sensing Scientist, SARI Lead, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, Phone: 256-321-9492; and Adjunct Associate Professor, Dept. of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, USA; Email: krisvkp@umd.edu

Dr. Garik Gutman, Program Manager, NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change Program; Landsat Program Scientist, Washington D.C. USA; Phone:1-202-358-2770; Email: ggutman@nasa.gov

Dr. Chris Justice,  NASA LCLUC Program Scientist, Harvest Science Lead,  Professor & Head, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), 4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 209, College Park, Maryland, 20740, USA, Phone: 301.405.4050; Email: cjustice@umd.edu 

Dan Irwin, Remote Sensing Scientist and Director, NASA SERVIR Program, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA, Email: daniel.irwin@nasa.gov

Dr. Toshimasa Ohara, Fellow, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Tsukuba, Japan; Email: tohara@nies.go.jp

Dr. Matsunaga Tsuneo, Head, Center for Environmental Measurement and Analysis (Environmental Information Analysis Section), National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Tsukuba, Japan; Email:matsunag@nies.go.jp

Dr. Atul Jain, Prof. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA; Email:jain1@illinois.edu

Dr. Jiaguo Qi, Professor, Department of Geography, Michigan STate University, USA. Email: qi@msu.edu;

Dr. Cheikh Mbow, START Director, START - www.start.org; Email: cmbow@start.org 

Local Steering Committee

Dr. Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Head Local Steering Committee, Associate Professor, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: kasturi@utm.my; Ph:60197260925

Dr. Abd Wahid Rasib, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: abdwahid@utm.my; Ph:607-5530885

Dr. Alvin Lau Ming Shin, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: alvinlau@utm.my; Ph:607-5530924

Dr. Norhakim Yusof, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: norhakim@utm.my; Ph:607-5530884

Dr. Nurul Hawani Idris, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: hawani@utm.my; Ph:6075530855

Dr. Nurul Hazrina Idris, Senior Lecturer, Department of Geoinformation, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru. Email: nurulhazrina@utm.my; Ph:6075530745

Local Science Support

Dr. Noor Zaitun Yahaya, President of The Clean Air Forum Of Malaysia (My CAS), School of Ocean Engineering, University Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Terengganu. Contact No: 60 6683972. Email: nzaitun@umt.edu.myhttp://mycas.com.my/

Dr. Narimah Samat and Dr. Tan Mou Leong, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. Email: narimah@usm.my; mouleong@usm.my

Dr. Lim Hwee San, Associate Prof., School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. Email: hslim@usm.my

Dr. Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri, Associate Prof., Department of Civil Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Selangor Malaysia. Email: helmi@upm.edu.my

Dr. Arnis Asmat, Associate Prof., Institute of Research Management and Innovation, Universiti Teknologi Mara, 40450, Shah Alam, Malaysia. Email: Rnis_annis@salam.uitm.edu.my

Dr. Justin Sentian, Associate Prof., Faculty of Science & Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Email: jsentian@ums.edu.my

Dr. Nurfashareena Muhamad, Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM, Bangi, Malaysia. Email: fashamuhamad@gmail.com

Dr. Mastura Mahmud, Professor, School of Social, Development and Environmental Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Email: mastura@ukm.edu.my

Local Logistic Support

Dr. Kasturi Devi Kanniah, Associate Prof., Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Email: kasturi@utm.my; Ph:60197260925

Fateen Nabilla Rasli,  Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, UTM, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Email: fateenrasli@gmail.com; Ph:601160676587

Meeting Venue

DoubleTree by Hilton Johor Bahru, 12 Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru, Johor 80000 Malaysia
https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/malaysia/doubletree-by-hilton-h...

Meeting Registration (CLOSED)

We have more than 150-participants registered for the meeting. Thus, we are NOT accepting any more new registrations. Thank you for your understanding. Contact Dr. Krishna Vadrevu (krisvkp@umd.edu) for more details.

Training (for Early Career Scientists <35yrs)

A three-day hands-on training session for young researchers will focus on the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) for land cover/land use change applications including atmospheric impact studies using SAR, MODIS, Landsat, Sentinel, and other remote sensing datasets. Participants are expected to bring their own Laptops. Mostly, the training will focus on using some open source software tools. 

Training Dates: July 25,26,27

Venue: Convention Hall, B12, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia.

Field Trip (Invited participants only)

The scientific field trip is planned to understand local cropping systems, forestry and urban land use in the Iskandar Malaysia region and around Mount Ledang, Tangkak, Johor. Guest lectures by local experts will be arranged to understand on-going land use/cover change dynamics including agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) emissions. Participants need to pay the field trip costs. 

Field Trip dates: July 20-21st, 2019 (Invited participants only)

How To Reach Johor Bahru

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Johor_Bahru

Subsidized Accommodation at UTM

Scholar’s Inn, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor. Telephone : +607-553 5197 , +607-553 6695; Email : scholarsinn@utm.my

http://www.utm.my/scholars-inn/price/

Hotels in Johor Bahru (within 5-km of Venue)

Thistle Hotel Johor Bahru (Jalan Sungai Chat, 80100 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia, 5-star hotel)

            https://www.thistle.com.my/johorbahru/

Berjaya Waterfront Hotel, Johor Bahru. (88, Jalan Ibrahim Sultan, Duty-Free Zone, 80300 Johor Bahru, Johor, 5-star hotel)

            https://www.berjayahotel.com/johorbahru

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Malaysia (12 Jalan Ngee Heng, Johor Bahru, Johor, 80000, Malaysia; 4-star hotel with 3 restaurants, near Johor Bahru City Square)

            https://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/malaysia/doubletree-by-hilton-h...

Amari Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Malaysia (No. 82C, Jalan Trus, Johor Bahru, Johor, 80000, Malaysia; 4-star luxury hotel with spa, near Johor Bahru City Square)

           https://www.amari.com/johor-bahru/

Grand Bello Hotel JBCC, Johor Bahru, Malaysia (48 Jalan Inderaputra, Johor Bahru, 80300, Malaysia; 3.5-star hotel with restaurant, near Johor Bahru City Square)

            http://grandbelllohotel.com/

Swiss-Inn Johor Bahru, Johor Bahru, Malaysia (Lot 512, Jalan Syed Mohd Mufti, Johor Bahru, Johor, 80000, Malaysia; 3-star hotel with restaurant, near Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple)

            https://www.swissgarden.com/inn-johor-bahru/

Power plugs and outlets in Malaysia
https://world-power-plugs.com/malaysia

Local weather in Johor Bahru
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/malaysia/johor-bahru

Health and Travel Precautions
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/Internat...

Do's and Don'ts in Malaysia
http://www.malaysia.travel/en/sg/about-malaysia/practical-info/dos-n-donts