The Habitat FoundationxSCBMsia Webforum for World Environment Day '20
Topic:
COVID-19: What science says & why wildlife and habitat protection need to underscore efforts to prevent future pandemics
In this webforum, we bring together experts from a range of disciplines to assist us in understanding the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of public health and environment management in Malaysia. Our aim is to uphold the most current and credible science on the origins and spread of the virus, dispel myths and fallacies, and engage in a constructive discussion of pro-active measures to avoid the spread of similar zoonoses in the future. This is a forum that should not be missed by researchers, practitioners and policy makers involved in the public health, natural resource management sectors, as well as anyone interested in science-based decision-making.
THE EXPERT PANEL
Dr Jayaraj Vijaya Kumar is a mammalogist trained in the field of evolution and taxonomy of small mammals. He is an associate with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and has worked with various government agencies, local and international NGOs on the research and conservation of small mammals in Malaysia. He currently lectures on taxonomy, conservation genetics and population biology in Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). He is the current President of the Society of Conservation Biology (Malaysia Chapter).
Dr. Sheema Abdul Aziz is the Co-founder and President of Rimba, a local non-profit research group that conducts applied conservation science to help produce evidence-based solutions for real-world conservation problems on the ground. She is also the Principal Investigator of Project Pteropus - Rimba's fruit bat research and conservation project, and a steering committee member of the Southeast Asian Bat Conservation Research Unit (SEABCRU). She has 17 years of experience working on various conservation issues such as ecosystem services, tropical forest and protected area management, poaching and wildlife trade, local communities and indigenous rights, and conservation communication.
Dr Jeffrine Rovie Ryan Japning has 15 years of experience as a Research Officer with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN). His expertise includes bioinformatics, molecular taxonomy and systematic, phylogenetics and phylogeography, molecular evolution, forensics and zoonotic diseases. Currently, as the Principal Research Officer and Head of Research Section, he plans, monitors, manages and conduct DNA forensic services, genetics, ecology, and molecular zoonoses studies for the department.
Dr Chai Lay Ching is a microbiologist, senior lecturer at University of Malaya, and also the Chair of the Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM). Her research focuses on infectious pathogens, microbiological risk assessment and microbiological food safety. Currently she serves as the Malaysian expert on microbial risk assessment for the ASEAN Risk Analysis Centre, and scientific advisor of ILSI South East Asia Region.
Moderator: Ahmad Zafir, The Habitat Foundation
This session is jointly organized by the Society for Conservation Biology and The Habitat Foundation under its Expert Series of online events.