5^th World Conference on Climate Change October 4-6, 2018 Park Inn by Radisson, London, UK

Biography:

Xie Z, Professor/Dr.,  State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modelling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director of. He got Ph.D. from Institute of  Computational  Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1996, and master degree from Hunan University in 1988. He visited Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, USA, and  University of Tennessee at Knoxville, USA as visiting Assistant Professor during 1998-2001,. He is working on the development of a land surface model in the climate system and its applications, land surface models and their coupling with regional and general climate models, macro-scale land hydrological models and their parameter calibrations and transfers, interactions between climate and vegetation, land data assimilation and its applications, and computational mathematics and geophysical fluid dynamics. http://web.lasg.ac.cn/staff/xie/xie.htm

Abstract:

Anthropogenic groundwater exploitation essentially changes soil moisture, land-atmosphere water and energy fluxes, even climate system. In over-exploited regions, the terrestrial water storage has been rapidly depleted, causing water unsustainability and climate change. Quantifying the hydrologic and climatic responses to anthropogenic groundwater extraction not only advances our understanding on the hydrological cycle with human intervention, but also benefits effective human water management. In this paper, the authors incorporated a scheme of anthropogenic groundwater exploitation into the Community Earth System Model 1.2.0, and conducted a series of simulations over globe to investigate the effects of groundwater exploitation on the hydrological processes and climate system around the world. The framework of the coupled model are shown in Fig. 1. The model was also applied over Heihe River Basin in northwestern China for investigating the impacts of water use and groundwater lateral flow on basin-scale land processes, and the eco-hydrological effects of stream-aquifer water interaction over riverbanks. Results show that groundwater exploitation caused drying in deep soil layers but wetting in upper layers, with a rapidly declining water table in areas with the most severe groundwater extraction, including the central United States, North China Plains and the north India and Pakistan. The atmosphere also responded to groundwater extraction, with cooling at the 850 hPa level over the north India and Pakistan and a large area in North China and central Russia. Increased precipitation occurred in North China Plains. Decreased precipitation occurred in north India because the Indian monsoon and its transport of water vapor were weaker as a result of cooling induced by groundwater use. Local terrestrial water storage was unsustainable at the current high extraction rate. Thus, a balance between reduced water withdrawal and rapid economic development must be achieved to maintain a sustainable water resource, especially in over-exploited regions.

Recent Publications

1. Xie Z, Liu S, Zeng Y, Gao J, Qin P, et al. (2018) A high-resolution land model with groundwater lateral flow, water use and soil freeze-thaw front dynamics and its applications in an endorheic basin. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 123.

2. Zeng Y, Xie Z and Zou J (2016) Hydrologic and climatic responses to global anthropogenic groundwater extraction. Journal of Climate 30:71–90.

3. Zeng Y, Xie Z, Yu Y, Liu S, Wang L, et al. (2016) Effects of anthropogenic water regulation and groundwater lateral flow on land processes. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth System 8:1106–1131.

4. Zeng Y, Xie Z, Yu Y, Liu S, Wang L, et al. (2016) Ecohydrological effects of stream–aquifer water interaction: a case study of the Heihe River basin, northwestern China. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 20:2333–2352.

Biography:

   Francisco Ferrando , Geographer and Doctor in geography and territorial ordering, has his expertise in hydrology, glacial geomorphology, rock glaciers and Andean permafrost, and in the effect of global warming on their mass balance. Also, participate in governance actions about mining activities impact on the cryosphere and water quality and security. How titular professor of the department of geography of the University of Chile, brings the courses of Hydrology, Natural Hazards & Risks, and Introduction to Glaciology. At the magister, is responsible for the seminar about Climate change & Rock glaciers.

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Biography:

Irene Perez Lopez (PhD in Architecture ETSAM-UPM, President of OPPTA). Sheisco-founder of the Pan-American Observatory of Landscape, Territory and Architecture OPPTA, a non-profit  internationalorganizationfocusedontheprotection, restoration, recovery and reconstruction of urban and rural environmentswith a specialfocusonsustainableurbandesign and planning, riskmanagement (ClimateChange and man-madepressureonenvironment), and theimplementation of Resilience cities and societies. Sheworked as director of TerritorioMayor (2013-14), the Centre forUrbanStudies at the Mayor University in Chile, onthedevelopment of consultancies and design-ledresearchregardingtosustainableurbancityplanning, landscape and territory. Previously, shefoundedherown office focusonthedevelopment of architecture, urbandesign and landscapearchitectureprojects. In addition, Irene has beenAssociateProfessor and AssistantProfessor at theBíoBíoUniversity, Mayor University, Salamanca University and theSchool of Architecture at thePolytechnicUniversity of Madrid ETSAM-UPM.

Abstract:

Since 2011, Pan-American Observatory of Landscape, Territory and Architecture (OPPTA) works simultaneously on risk cause by the impacts of climate change and natural hazards in five Latin American cities. The number of unexpected and unprecedented effects of climate change and natural disasters affecting the Latin-American sub-continent in a short period of time motivated OPPTA to develop a concurrent methodology of research proposals and action to approach infrastructural, architectural, landscape and social actions, improving living condition, minimizing vulnerability and promoting the resilience of cities and communities. The proposed methodology is based on the development of five programs: active debates, competition, priority action, WikiPan and publications, which deal respectively with: research, design and implementation of projects, and the creation of an open database and publications to disseminate the results. This methodology settles mechanisms and processes to work through a multidisciplinary and transnational network along Europe and America, involving researchers, professionals and institutions, of both public and private sector. The aim of this research includes the study of risk and its associated problems to identify patterns, concurrencies and differences at the technical, infrastructural and political (identification of public policies and governance in Latin America) level. Among the 12 initial candidates, five sites have been selected: Chimalhuacán (Mexico), Lima (Peru), Puerto Saavedra (Chile), San Cristobal (Colombia) and Petropolis (Brazil). The particular context and specific problems associated to each site stimulate a simultaneous search for common solutions to ensure an effective adaptation. As a result, the technical proposals were implemented throughout the Priority Action Programme, which incorporates sustainable and resilient development plans and project; design of public infrastructures to minimize vulnerability; networks of resilience green-public areas; organization of educational programs and citizen participation with regards to urban agriculture and horticulture, waste and water management; etcetera, to ensure mitigation and endangered environment preservation.

 Recent Publications

 1.  Pérez Maldonado (2017) Strategic Urban Plan for the Araucania Region (Chile):  The environmental awareness of the community. PLEA Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland.

 2.   Pérez Varela (2016) OPPTA methodology for intervention in areas affected by risk in Latin America. Procedia Engineering 161(V).

 3.   Zazo Aláez and Pérez Varela (2016) ARA project: municipality strategic plan for the implementation of climate change adaptation in Chimalhuacán, México. ‘Cambio climático y ciudades de América Latina’, University of Externado, Colombia, 978-958-710.

 4.   Pérez (2015) Toward an infrastructural architecture and urban design. Exploration in Big Scale Architecture Project. Urbano, n. 32, 0717-3997/O718-3607.

 5.    Pérez, Varela (2014). Emergency Landscape in five study cases in Latin America. IFLA, 978-987-96680-2-3

Biography:

Chia-Fa Chi is a Doctoral Candidate of the Department of Marine Environment and Engineering in National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. His main research activities are focused on adaptation to climate change in coastal areas. In particular, he is interested in the issues of maladaptive risks. He has received awards of the Graduate Students Study Abroad Program which is sponsored by Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and National Sun Yat-sen University, separately.

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Biography:

Shree K Maharjan is currently pursuing his PhD at the Graduate School of International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Japan. He has been studying and researching on the issues of climate change adaptation in agriculture, indigenous peoples’ rights, participatory approaches, community-based biodiversity management for almost a decade. He has published more than dozens of papers on these issues. His publication H-index is 3.

Abstract:

Climate change has varied impacts on diverse livelihood sectors, which is more prominent at the community level. The stakeholders and local institutions have been supporting the communities either by building adaptive capacities and climate resilience or minimizing the impacts through different adaptation interventions. Some of these interventions are effective, whereas others need further dynamics and exertions considering the complexity of the climate risks and vulnerabilities. Hence, consolidated efforts of concerned stakeholders are required to minimize the present and future climate impacts. This study digs out and analyzes the perceptions of local stakeholders on climate change adaptation in Madi and Deukhuri valleys of Nepal through a questionnaire survey. These local stakeholders revealed flood, drought, cold wave and riverbank erosion as the major climatic risks and hazards found in the sites eventually impacting on the loss of agricultural production, loss of agricultural land and properties, loss of livestock, the emergence of diseases and pest. The stakeholders believed that most of the farmers dealing with these impacts were based on their traditional knowledge and practices, followed by with the support of NGOs and with the help of neighbors and community. The major supports of the stakeholders to deal with these impacts are on training and awareness, risk analysis and minimization, livelihood improvement, financial support, coordination and networking and facilitation in policy formulation. The stakeholders perceived that capacity building, appropriate technologies, community-based planning, prioritization of poor and marginalized, community fund and community-based monitoring, and evaluation were the most important supports required for the community, respectively.

Recent Publications

1. Maharjan S K and Maharjan K L (2018) Roles and contributions of community seed banks in climate adaptation in Nepal. Development in Practice 28(2):292–302.

2. Maharjan S K (2017) Riverbed farming as source of income, family nutrition and food security for landless and poor farmers in Terai region of Nepal. Scientia Recerca: innovative Techniques in Agriculture 2(1):316–319.

3. Maharjan S K and Maharjan K L (2017) Indigenous peoples, indigenous knowledge and issues of indigenous peoples on climate change particularly REDD+ in developing countries. International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology 5(3):272–283.

4. Maharjan S K and Maharjan K L (2017) State of climate policies, plans/strategies and factors affecting its implementation in Nepal. International Journal of Conservation Science 8(3):485-496.

5. Maharjan S K, Maharjan K L, Tiwari U and Sen N P (2017) Participatory vulnerability assessment of climate change vulnerabilities and impacts in Madi Valley of Chitwan district, Nepal. Cogent Food and Agriculture 3(1).

Biography:

Dai-Yeun Jeong is presently the Director of Asia Climate Change Education Center and an Emeritus Professor of Environmental Sociology at Jeju National University in South Korea. He received BA and MA Degree in Sociology from Korea University (South Korea), and PhD in Environmental Sociology from The University of Queensland (Australia). He was a Professor of Sociology at Jeju National University (South Korea) from 1981 to 2012. His past major professional activities include a Teaching Professor at the University of Sheffield in UK, the President of Asia-Pacific Sociological Association, a Delegate of South Korean Government to UNFCCC, a Delegate of South Korean Government to OECD Environmental Meeting, and a Member of Presidential Commission on Sustainable Development, Republic of Korea, etc. He has published 60 environment-related research papers in domestic and international journals and 13 books including Environmental Sociology. He has conducted 91 unpublished environment-related research projects funded by domestic and international organizations.

Abstract:

Statement of the Problems: It has been scientifically proved that the emission of human-induced greenhouse gases is the major contributor to climate change. A variety of strategies are being implemented to reduce the emission of human-induced greenhouse gases at a global, national and regional level for achieving low-carbon and carbon-neutral society. However, the ultimate goal of climate change strategy is to achieve carbon-free society which is the state of, climate before industrialization advanced in the 18^th century. Nonetheless, it is quite rare to establish the framework of carbon-free society.

Contents of Presentation: In the context mentioned above, this paper will present a framework for achieving carbon-free society through overcoming the limitations inherent in the existing framework promoting low-carbon and carbon-neutral society. The presentation will be composed of three parts. First: The difference in the concept and implication of low-carbon, carbon-neutral and carbon-free society will be examined. Second: The limitations inherent in the low-carbon and carbon-neutral frameworks will be critically examined in terms of their strategies for achieving the state of climate before industrialization has been advanced in the 18^th century. Third: A framework for achieving carbon-free society will be presented in a way to overcoming the limitations inherent in the existing low-carbon and carbon-neutral frameworks, focusing on overall direction of nature-based and technology-based approach, major socio-economic sectors and strategies to be included, and methodologies for analyzing the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategies.

Conclusion & Significance: No country/region currently has all requirements necessary for promoting carbon-free society. In this context, as a concluding remark, what capacity should be built will be discussed. In a word, the key significance of the presentation is in seeking for the direction and contents of achieving carbon-free society which is the ultimate destination of climate change strategy.

Recent Publications

1. Jeong D-Y (2011) An effectiveness analysis of climate change policy in South Korea. Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment 20(5):585–600.

2. Jeong D-Y (2009) An international comparative research on environmental carrying capacity among islands. Korean Social Science Journal 36(2):195–230.

Biography:

Kozarcanin Smail is passionate in understanding and proposing ways of how the humanity is able to mitigate climate change during the 21^st century. This interest has led him to join the Aarhus University, Sustainable Energy System group where he is employed as a PhD Fellow. He has his expertise within the subject of climate change impacts on future highly renewable large scale energy systems.

Abstract:

Increasing global warming and the resulting climatic changes are likely to advance the weather-related risks that are facing many different human and natural systems. In the attempt to cushion these effects, mitigation strategies that rely on low-cost weather driven variable renewable energy technologies are gaining ground, and installed renewable energy generation capacities are increasing significantly. We present a study on, to what extend the weather is changing in a way that also directly impacts the best system design decisions for weather-driven sustainable energy systems. The latest generation of IPCC’s climate projections, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, have been used to represent a broad range of climate outcomes during the 21^st century. These are strongly influenced by climate policies representing the latest Paris agreement, imposition of high global greenhouse gas emission prices and lack of climate policies, respectively. On behalf of the EURO-CORDEX project, three hourly climate data have been provided from six different high-resolution regional climate models for Europe. We have then applied state-of-art methods to generate bias corrected wind and solar power production time series for the 21^st century, and to correct the electric consumption profiles for heating and cooling for 30 European countries. To assess the far future impacts of climate change, the production and consumption profiles are applied to a fully connected, highly-renewable, large-scale European energy system. As a result, we found small changes in the relevant energy system key metrics of the combined system dynamics compared to historical values. We concluded that the effect of climate change can most likely be ignored in the context of energy system design for the 21^st century. However, in correspondence with the literature, impacts of climate change are more prominent through the demand and these strongly outweigh the energy supply side impacts.

Recent Publications

1. T Brown, D Schlachtberger, A Kies, S Schramm and M Greiner (2018) Synergies of sector coupling and transmission extension in a cost-optimised, highly renewable European energy system, preprint arXiv:1801.05290.

2. J Wohland, M Reyers, J Weber and D Witthaut (2017) More homogeneous wind conditions under strong climate change decrease the potential for inter-state balancing of electricity in Europe. Earth System Dynamics 8.4.

3. I Tobin, et al. (2016) Climate change impacts on the power generation potential of a European mid-century wind farm scenario. Environmental Research Letters 11(3):034013.

4. P Berril, et al. (2016) Environmental impacts of high penetration renewable energy scenarios for Europe. Environmental Research Letters 11(1):014012.

Biography:

Maria Teresa Giardi manager of research at the National Council of Research (IC-CNR) in Rome till 2015. She is now associated to CNR, working at the company Biosensor srl as research director  and CEO. Her background is in industrial chemistry with extensive experience in biochemistry and molecular biology; her main interest is on photosynthetic protein stabilization and utilization in biosensors for real toxicity environmental monitoring. She is a supervisor-coordinator of several national and international projects in the field of biosensors based on plants and microorganisms and of European Space Agency’s projects involving space flights of engineered microorganisms to low orbit and to International Space

Abstract:

Biography:

Farasani A received his PhD from Reading University, UK in 2016 for his work on genotoxicity of cosmetic chemicals in human breast epithelial cells. He is currently working as Head of Genetic Unit in the MLT Department at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract:

Dermal absorption of components of underarm cosmetics may be a contributory factor in breast cancer development. Aluminium (Al) salts are added as the active antiperspirant agent, and cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) are used for purposes of conditioning and spreading. Al has been measured in human breast tissue, breast cyst fluid, nipple aspirate fluid and milk: Al levels in breast tissue have been recently reported to be a risk factor for breast cancer in young women. cVMS have been measured in human milk. The objectives of this study were to investigate any genotoxic effects of exposure to the antiperspirant salts Al chloride and Al chlorohydrate, and to the cVMS hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3), octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) in immortalized non-transformed human breast epithelial cells. All these compounds enabled a dose-dependent growth of the non-transformed cells in suspension culture, which is an established marker of transformation. DNA damage was demonstrated using a comet assay. Long term (≥20 weeks) exposure to these compounds also resulted in loss of expression (mRNA and protein) of the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 which is a key gene in the repair of DNA in breast cells. Alterations to expression of other DNA repair genes at an mRNA level will be presented. If these compounds can both damage DNA and compromise DNA repair systems, then there is the potential for breast carcinogenesis.

Recent Publications

1. Farasani A and Darbre P D (2017) Exposure to cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) causes anchorage-independent growth and reduction of BRCA1 in non-transformed human breast epithelial cells. Journal of Applied Toxicology 37(4):454–461.

2. Farasani A (2017) Importance of exome sequencing in the human diseases and medical genetics. J Genet Genomic Sci. 2:006. 

3. Farasani A and Darbre P D (2015) Effect of aluminium chloride and aluminium chlorohydrate on DNA repair processes in MCF10A immortalized non-transformed human breast epithelial cells. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry 152(2015):186–9.

Biography:

Seyed Jamaleddin Shahtaheri completed his PhD from Surrey University, Guildford, Surrey, England in 1996. He is an Academic Member of the Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, acting as the Dean Research Deputy at the Institute for Environmental Research at the same university. He is a Member of the Persistent Organic Pollutant Review Committee (POPRC) under the Stockholm Convention, UNEP, UN. He has published more than 150 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of seven national and international journals.

Abstract:

Background: Measurement of pesticides in biological matrices is a serious challenge for researches because of their very low concentration in different matrices. The aim of this study was to develop a new sample preparation method with high accuracy, validity, simplicity as well as a short retention time for chromatographic determination of the pesticide malathion.

Methods: Dispersive liquid-liquid micro-extraction (DLLME) technique coupled with high performance liquid chromatography equipped with ultra violet detector (HPLC-UV) was developed for trace extraction and determination of pesticide malathion in human urine samples. One variable at a time (OVAT) method was used to optimize parameters affecting the malathion extraction. Different parameters such as extraction solvent, disperser solvent, and volume of the extraction solvent, volume of the disperser solvent, centrifugation time and speed, salt addition, and sample pH were studied and optimized.

Results: Under the optimized conditions, the limit of detection and enrichment factor of the developed procedure were 0.5 µg L^-1 and 200, respectively. The calibration curve was linear in the concentration range of 2­­­­–250 µgL^-1. The relative standard deviation for six replicate experiments at 200 µgL^-1 concentration was less than 3%. The relative recoveries of spiked urine samples were 96.3%, 101.7% and 97.3% at three different concentration levels of 50, 200, and 1000 µgL^-1, respectively.

Conclusion: According to the obtained results, DLLME procedure was successfully developed for the extraction of malathion from human urine samples. Compared to other extraction techniques, the proposed procedure had some advantages such as shorter extraction time, better reproducibility, and higher enrichment factor.

Recent Publications

1. Khadem M, Faridbod F, Norouzi P, Rahimi Foroushani A, Ganjali MR, Shahtaheri SJ, Yarahmadi R (2017). Modification of carbon paste electrode basec on molecularly imprinted polymer for electrochemical determination of diazinon in biological and environmental samples, Electro analysis, Vol. 29, 708-715.

2. Khadem M, Faridbod F, Norouzi P, Rahimi Foroushani A, Ganjali MR, Shahtaheri SJ, Yarahmadi R. Design and synthesis of a highly selective electrochemical sensor for occupational monitoring of diazinone, Journal of Health and Safety at Work, Vol. 7, No. 1, 9-23.

3. Harati B, Shahtaheri SJ, Karimi A, Azam K. (2017). Evaluation of health risk assessment of occupational exposure to chemical pollutant in an automobile manufacturing industry, Journal of Health and Safety at Work, Vol. 7, No. 2, 121-131.

4. Ghahri A, Golbabaei F, Vafajoo L, Mireskandari SM, Yaseri M, Shahtaheri SJ (2017).  Removal of Greenhouse Gas (N2O) by Catalytic Decomposition on Natural Clinoptilolite Zeolites Impregnated with Cobalt. International Journal of Environmental Research, Vol. 11, No. 3, 327-337.

5. Kakavandi NR, Ezoddin M, Abdi K, Ghazi-Khansari M, Amini M, Shahtaheri SJ (2017). Ion pair-switchable-hydrophilicity solvent based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction   for the determination of paraquat in environmental and biological samples prior to high-performance liquid chromatography, Journal of Separation Science, Vol. 40, 3703-3709.

Biography:

Angela Pinzon-Espinosa is a Water Scientist working at the interface between Microbiology and Chemistry. Her research interests are directed towards the link between water quality, health, and environment, and the different strategies to tackle water pollution. Her current research focuses on the detection and identification of toxic chemicals in industrial effluents using luminescent bacteria, and the development of low-cost clean-up technologies targeting refining chemicals. She is particularly interested in the science behind pollution control and the use of science for regulatory purposes, but keen on expanding her expertise to environmental management aiming to provide clean and safe water.

Abstract:

Refining transforms crude oil into marketable products with high commercial value, providing a third of the global energy requirements and numerous raw materials. The process, however, emits vast amounts of wastewater that can have harmful effects on wildlife and human health but the link between chemistry and observed toxicity is fragile because little progress has been made in determining causative agents. Consequently, current treatment technologies are not targeting key toxicants nor providing safe effluents. Here we show that naphthenic acids are important components of refining wastewater, resulting from the processing of heavy crude oil, and that they have an important contribution to the toxic effects exerted by these effluents. Furthermore, we found that their chemical stability makes them highly resistant to remediation using bacteria and Fe-TAML/H₂O₂ systems under laboratory conditions, and only sequential aliquots of Fe-TAML catalysts and H₂O₂ showed to degrade naphthenic acids (50 ppm) within 72 hours. We anticipate our results to be a starting point for better environmental regulations relevant to refining wastewater resulting from heavy crude oil, as naphthenic acids are not currently considered in the effluent guidelines for the refining sector. Furthermore, the degradation of naphthenic acids under mild conditions using Fe-TAML/H₂O₂ systems indicates that these catalysts hold promise for the remediation of refining wastewater in real-life scenarios.

Biography:

Jianhua Yao has her expertise in Chemoinformatics and its applications in all domains which relate to Chemistry. She has studied prediction of compounds properties for more than 10 years and developed prediction system of acute toxicity, mutagenic toxicity and carcinogenic toxicity. These systems have been applied in environmental protection.

Abstract:

A compound is a chemical entity consisting of two or more different atoms combined by chemical bonds. Their properties are basically physical, chemical, biological, toxicological, etc., and depend on their chemical structure. Toxicity is one of the properties of compounds, and is related to their chemical structures. Toxicology involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and is a discipline related to biology, chemistry, pharmacology, medicine, and nursing. Its research content includes: symptoms, mechanism, treatment and determination of poisoning. Generally, in toxicology, there are six types of toxicity: acute, mutagenic, irritative, carcinogenic, reproductive, and multiple doses. To obtain the toxicity evaluation of compounds, traditionally, people evaluated their toxicities by microbiological, animal experiments, or got them from human events reports. With the increment of experimental data, development of computer science and chemoinformatics technology, computer aided prediction toxicity of compounds become another effective way to obtain information about toxicity of compounds step by step. At present, it is being applied in related fields, such as chemical toxicity assessment concerning environmental protection, food industry, study of TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), agricultural production and pharmaceutical industry, and plays a key role. Actually, in computer aided prediction toxicity of compounds, combination of data mining, analysis of relationship between reliable experimental data and chemical structures was used to obtain the knowledge/rules which would be employed to predict toxicity of a compound based on its chemical structure. Herein, two works of our group will be presented: strategies and methods of computer-aided prediction of toxicity and; evaluation of toxicity for a pesticide and its metabolites, formulating plans of environmental protection.

Biography:

Fawei Yan, Master of Engineering, ever studied in School of Natural Resources and Environment, Renmin University of China, majoring in Environmental Science from 2014 to 2017. During school time (2010-2017), he participated in many research programs, for example, PM_2.5 Formation, Lignocellulose Degradation (Microorganism), Waste Combustion, Soil Analysis and so on. Especially, he took part in the research Antibiotics Degradation in Water in University of Nebraska Lincoln, USA for almost 2 months in 2013. Now he work in the Planning and Development Department, Beijing New International Airport. He has his expertise in Environment Research such as PM_2.5, waste combustion. His research interests are PM_2.5 Generation and Green Airport.

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Biography:

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Biography:

Rachida El Morabet holds a PhD in Biology from the Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco (2004), an Inter-University Diploma in Biotechnology, Paris, France (2001) and a University Pedagogy Certificate (teaching practices; learning theories; models assessment practices knowledge; educational resources and distance learning) (2014). She is an Associate Professor with the Department of Geography at FLSH-Mohammedia, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco; Member of the Laboratory: Dynamics of Space and the Society; Research Team: the Dynamics of Natural Environments and their Impacts on Society and Territories; and Member of Center CERES [Center of Environmental, Human Security and Governance Research]. Her research interests include environmental issues in the era of global change, socio-ecological system (vulnerability and adaptation), and dynamics of natural systems. She received two gold medals with Honors of International Exhibition of Invention and Innovation, Casablanca, Morocco.

Abstract:

Human health is seriously affected by the impacts of climate change. WHO (World Health Organization) and IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) have published several reports describing negative impacts of climate change on human health; this has resulted in the epidemiology of many diseases and conditions. Climate change has both direct (psychological effects arising from cold, heat and extreme weather) and indirect (change in behavior, forced migration etc.) impacts on human health. In 2015, WHO confirmed that floods cause contamination of freshwater sources, increases the risk of water borne diseases, provides breeding places for vectors of infectious diseases. In Morocco, the intensity and recurrence are enhanced due to climate change is a worrying phenomenon in recent years as the loss of life and property has increased. The rise in temperature additionally adds to this problem as it exacerbates diseases and number of deaths. The impact on health varies from region to region within a country partly due to geographic conditions. The nature and scale of impact will depend on the buffer capacity of the health systems (adaption and initial access of population to health services). Extreme weather conditions can result in requirement of health services which may surpass the capacity of existing health facilities rendering them vulnerable in future. The findings make a case for the Moroccan national health strategists to recognize the importance of overcoming major health risks presented to the population and citizens of Morocco. This can be achieved by identifying climate risks for health as a major challenge to be overcome in order to provide maximum protection of human health of citizens against these threats.

Recent Publications

1. El Morabet R (2018) Effects of outdoor air pollution on human health. Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. Elsevier DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.11012–7.

2. El Morabet R, Aneflouss M and Mouak S (2018) Air pollution effects on health in Kenitra, Northern Morocco. Recent Advances in Environmental Science from the Euro-Mediterranean and Surrounding Regions. Springer DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-70548-4–570.

3. Patz J A, Campbell-Lendrum D, Holloway T and Foley J A (2005) Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature 438(7066):310.

Biography:

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Biography:

Anahit V Aleksandryan, graduated from Yerevan State University in 1978 with a Diploma in Biophysics. She defended her PhD thesis in Biology at St. Petersburg Institute of Continuing Medical Education in 1985 and then Doctoral Dissertation in Biology in 2011. Her main areas of expertise involve Industrial Toxicology, Ecology, and Hygiene. Since 1996, she is an Employee at the Ministry of Nature Protection of Republic of Armenia. Currently she is Head of Hazardous Substances and Waste Policy Division. She is the focal point of UNEP Stockholm Convention on POPs; UNEP Rotterdam Convention on PIC; Minamata Convention on Mercury; UNECE Convention on Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents; Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) and Environment and Health Process (WHO).

Abstract:

Open burning of waste at dumpsites is considered to be the easiest mode for wastes disposal, but is also a source of evident pollution and threat for human and environmental health. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs, or dioxins/furans) are unwanted by-products of combustion processes. Dioxins belong to persistent environmental pollutants (POPs) and they arise concerns because of highly toxic potential. The known toxicity and persistence of some congeners in the environment has emphasized the necessity to assess releases of those supertoxicants at open burning of wastes in some areas of Armenia. Dioxins formation upon wastes burning depends on composition and combustion conditions. In order to identify characteristics and strength of emission sources of POPs from wastes open burning in different marzes (provinces) of Armenia and to calculate dioxins emissions to air and soil UNEP methodological guidance was used. To quantify emissions the ''emission factor'' describing dioxins and furans entry into environment/media per unit of activity was used, such as toxic equivalent quotient (TEQ). TEQ indicates the potential toxicity of the particular substance itself as related to the most powerful poison among all dioxins—2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The sum of emission factors allows estimation of the total “dioxin” toxicity of the given source. The key research findings were as follows: emissions in air varied from 1.749 gTEQ/year (Ararat marz) to 9.382 gTEQ/year (Shirak marz), while emissions on land ranged from 0.061 gTEQ/year (Armavir marz) to 0.3128 gTEQ/year. Hence, efforts are required to reduce the current exposure.

Biography:

Abstract:

Biography:

Glen Gawarkiewicz is a Physical Oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His research focuses on shelfbreak processes and the exchange of water masses between the continental shelf and the deep ocean. He has been involved in the planning and scientific direction for the Ocean Observatories Initiative, Pioneer Array. He works closely with the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation of Rhode Island on collaborative research.

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Biography:

Hyun-Ah Choi has completed her PhD from Korea University. She is currently a Reseacher at Hanns Seidel Foundation in Republic of Korea, based in Seoul, consulting NGOs, academic and public institutions in questions of unification and inter-Korean environment cooperation. She also works on sustainable development issues in the inner-Korean border area and from 2015 participates the survey as an Expert. Her research interests include international environment cooperation and ecosytem services assessment. Her publications include reserah articles in international journals like Journal of Forestry Research, Sustaniablity, Advances in Space Research and Journal of Plant Biology.

Abstract:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) lacks both technical capacity and knowledge to survey environmental problems. Recently, the DPRK has been opening to certain international environmental issues such as biodiversity, wetland protection, sustainable forest management, and agroforestry. In this study, we analysed recent DPRK’s international environmental cooperation for developing technical capacity. DPRK started projects with various international organisations including Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International for building plant protection capacity, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in collaboration with World Agroforestry Centre in China for sloping land management and agroforestry, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements for building capacity for organic agriculture development and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) for improvement of rural living conditions through healthy forests and biodiversity. The international cooperation projects have been successfully introduced in model sites throughout several provinces of DPRK. It also increases the political support and concern of the DPRK government. Especially, HSF’s model site, Daedong-Gun, South Pyongan province in DPRK shows that the forest area in 2017 was increased and reduced their rate of loss, while in DPRK, severe forest fires have exacerbated the loss of forest. It appears the model site has a great possibility to prevent deforestation at local level. However, large scale restoration is required to restore the degraded land and environment in DPRK. To implement it on a larger scale, cooperation with international organizations and non-governmental organizations would be necessary.

Biography:

Sara E Alexander, as an Applied Environmental Anthropologist, the majority of her research projects focus on the dynamics of human populations and environmental change, specifically climate change in most cases. A project she recently completed in several coastal communities in Belize, addresses the ways in which households respond to climate-related shocks. The research involved determining levels of vulnerability and devising a Resilience Index to examine specific responses and coping strategies to climate-related disturbances. In 2014, she conducted research in the western interior region of Belize to determine awareness and level of understanding of climate change on the part of those working in the tourism industry.

Abstract:

We live in a world of climate uncertainty where farmers pursue a variety of means to diminish vulnerability, utilizing strategies to respond to and mitigate against the effects of climate change. Specific responses include seeking new knowledge and training, using particular agricultural technologies, relying on institutional resources, and turning to both personal and professional social networks. The traditional model of agriculture as “performance”, ultimately affirms that risks, such as challenges associated with climate change, are entrenched within a structure of social, economic and biophysical mechanisms that are continuously being managed by farmers. Agricultural systems are correspondingly found in a setting of commonly-shared worldviews, social complexities, values, and cultural norms. In this landscape, the decisions farmers reach, entail meaning and direction that may be far more complex than an analysis focused solely on the more pragmatic economic principles and agricultural productivity standards. Rather, they comprise the farmer’s intuitive reasoning and socialization in addition to his/her technical and resource management skills. The author will present findings from an ethnographic pilot study aimed to illuminate farmers’ perspectives on changing weather patterns, climate change forecasts and their implications for viability of farming enterprises, all within the context of Texas wheat production. With focus on livelihoods and cultural values, risk management, and weather and climate change in terms of decision-making and wheat farming in west Texas, the study emphasizes what motivates farmers and how they themselves value those factors that contribute to their goals and aspirations, how farmers see themselves addressing climate risk in the context of a wide array of pressures, and how farmers respond to the communication of predictive information in light of their sense of place and self. 

Recent Publications

1. Yohannes H (2016) A review on the relationship between climate change and agriculture. Journal of Earth Science and Climatic Change 7(2):335–342.

2. Brugger Julie and Michael Crimmins (2013) The art of adaptation: living with climate change in the rural American Southwest. Global Environmental Change 23:1830–1840.

3. Gosling Simon N and Nigel W Arnell (2013)        A global assessment of the impact of climate change on water scarcity. Climatic Change 134(3):371–385.

4. Buys Laurie, E Miller and K van Megen (2012) Conceptualizing climate change in rural Australia: community perceptions, attitudes and (in) actions. Regional Environmental Change 12:237–248.

5. Scherr Sara J, Seth Shames and Rachel Friedman (2012)             From climate-smart agriculture to climate-smart landscapes. Agriculture and Food Security 1:12–26.

Biography:

Mohammad Alauddin is an Applied Economist who has published extensively in the area of Development, Environment and Climate Change. He has published in all the top journals in Development and Environment, including Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, World Development, Ecological Economics and Land Use Policy, Agricultural Economics, and Environmental and Resource Economics.

Abstract:

Biography:

Paul Alexander Comet has a MS in Geology from London University UK. & Ph.D from Bristol University UK. in Organic Geochemistry. He has extensive international experience in petroleum research & has published or coauthored some 50 papers. He was shipboard geochemist on ODP Leg 101 (Blake Bahama Plateau). He has worked at Core Labs. Singapore & Indonesia. Then at Texas A&M (GERG) where he was an associate research scientist working on mapping the Gulf of Mexico oils. His present interests include alternative energy, particularly as it relates to the waste stream, as well as the monetization of alternative energy for the building of a complementary “alternative society” for the disenfranchised. He has also worked at Sperry/Halliburton, where as a log analyst using XRF & XRD, on “unconventional reservoirs” he investigated some of the major oil producing basins of the USA.

Abstract:

Biography:

Jaime Senabre is a Psychologist and Environmental Consultant as well as the Chief of Brigade in a Forest Fire Service with more than 20 years of experience. He collaborates with several companies and institutions in the area of training in Psychology in Emergencies and Human Resources. He is Professor at the University of Valencia for Master’s in Intervention and Operational Coordination in Emergencies and Catastrophes and other postgraduate courses on emergencies. He is the Director and President of the International Scientific-Professional Committee of the National Symposium on Forest Fires (SINIF). He has lectured internationally and has been part of the organizing committee of several international congresses on Earth Sciences and Climate Change. He has published articles on forest fires, stress, psychosocial risks and emotional trauma, mainly in relation to emergency services and natural disasters. Currently, he is assigned to the research group on "Climate and Territorial Planning" (University of Alicante), where he researches on the social perception of forest fire risk and behavior in the event of possible disasters.

Abstract:

Forest fires are a global environmental problem that burn millions of hectares every year throughout the planet, causing human and economic losses as well as significant degradation of the natural environment. In Southern Europe, with Spain and Portugal at the head, 70% of the continent's forest fires occur. The growing human population and continuous occupation of the territory, exercise a role of domination and submission of nature. For this and other reasons, we can’t omit the involvement of humans in the probability of occurrence of fires in the world. At present, it seems obvious that we are experiencing a change of trend in aspects such as temperature and precipitation rates, something that, together with other environmental evidences, has been associated with global climate change. In this context and as it always did, fire plays a modulating role in the characteristics of the vegetation and the structure of the landscape. This last aspect is the one we focus on in this study. Some of our findings determine that 95.90%, of the Spanish population surveyed, consider that there is a representative and characteristic landscape in the area where they live. We have also found that the "recreational" value of landscape is greater than the "economic" value, an aspect that may be relevant when it comes to forest management and forest fires. On the other hand, we have been able to confirm the high concern of Spanish citizens for the threat posed by natural phenomena to the landscape of their community and, especially, the concern about the threat of forest fires on the landscape, where 80.34% of our sample has identified damage to the landscape due to the impact of forest fires. Studies on social perception are a good tool for planning and improving prevention and risk management, as well as for the development of environmental policies appropriate to each specific territory.

Recent Publications

1. Senabre J (2018) Forest fires from the perspective of environmental psychology. Climate Change 4(13):58–68.

2. Senabre J (2017) Wildland fires, climate change and society. J. Earth Sci Clim. Change 8(10).

3. Senabre J (2016) Wildland fires and climate change. J. Earth Sci Clim. Change 7(5).

Biography:

Suhendar I Sachoemar is Professor of Coastal and Fisheries Resources Management at Center of Agriculture Production Technology. Currently, he serves as Director of Center for Development, Education and Training of Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in Jakarta, Indonesia. Also, serves as a National Group Leader of Physical Oceanography Group of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Asian Core Program to establish research and education network on coastal marine science in Southeast Asia and is the Head of Indonesian Research Society of BPPT. His research activities are focused on the assessment of coastal and fisheries resources management using Satellite Oceanography, Field Observation as well as Fisheries Oceanography and Hydro-Oceanography Dynamic study. At the moment, he is doing a research of Sato-Umi concept application for developing sustainable aquaculture model within Indonesian coastal area collaborate with North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES). He is also engaged in creating a new strain of fish to support national food security, increasing fisheries productivity of the aquaculture and national fisheries techno park program. He is active in various national and international scientific meeting and dissemination of research result related on the sustainable fisheries resources and coastal management.

Abstract:

Biography:

William W Dougherty has worked over the past 20 years on a wide variety of climate change related issues, with an emphasis on greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation to climate change. He has assisted governments in the development of national GHG mitigation and adaptation strategies, led vulnerability assessments, formulated project documents, analyzed energy efficiency and renewable energy options for achieving emission reductions, and contributed to the development of methodological approaches, training programs and software tools that are used throughout the world. He has been invited as a Speaker or Expert Participant in meetings of the World Bank, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme, the African Development Bank, the World Future Energy Summit, and the United Nations Environment Programme. He has worked throughout North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East in support of national government agencies, multi-lateral organizations, and development banks. He has authored or co-authored over 100 research reports.

Abstract:

Biography:

Pavel Kishcha graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1979 with an MSc in Physics, and received PhD in Geophysics from the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation (IZMIRAN), Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, in 1985. Currently, he is a Senior Research Scientist at the Porter School of Environment and Earth Sciences of Tel-Aviv University (TAU). His research interests include investigation of heating in the uppermost layer of the Dead Sea and long-term trends in Dead Sea surface temperature based on satellite measurements; aerosol physics and aerosol numerical modeling in the atmosphere; aerosol spatial distributions and trends based on satellite and ground-based aerosol measurements. He has been producing daily operational numerical predictions of desert dust storms over the Sahara desert and adjacent regions since 2006. He is the Author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications.

Abstract: