Title of Speeach: Multiscale effects and drivers of landscape heterogeneity for water-related ecosystem services in urban agglomerations

Abstract: This research focuses on the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration (PRDUA), and the multiscale impact and driving mechanism of landscape patterns on WESs were comprehensively examined at various grid and administrative scales by using the InVEST model coupled with GeoDetector and the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) method.

This study aimed to address the following key scientific questions:

the heterogeneity of landscape patterns and WESs in the PRDUA at different spatial and temporal scales;

the variations of the correlations between landscape patterns and WESs in the PRDUA at different scales;

and the crucial factors and driving mechanisms that impact the changes of WESs at different scales.

Biography: Dr. Xiaohong Chen is a Distinguished Professor and a Yat-sen Eminent Scholar at Sun Yat-sen University, China. He is designated the Director of the Scientific Committee for School of Civil Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University and the Director of  Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Water Security Regulation and Control for Southern China. He is the Co-president  of the International Commission of Water Quality in the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (ICWQ-IAHS). He serves as a science and technology advisor for several local governments in Guangdong Province of China. He has fulfilled about 300 programs with funds over US$ 30 million, among which there are 2 National Key R&D Programs of China and 4 Key Programs of National Natural Science Foundation of China, including:

(1)  National Key R&D Program of China “Multi-objective Regulation of Water Resources in the Pearl River Basin”. (2) National Key R&D Program of China “Key technologies for derivative composite disaster assessment and emergency adapting in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”. (3) Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China “Coordinating regulation of water resources system with game and mutual feds among runoff – supply – hydropower – ecoenvironment under changing environment in the Lancangjiang river, upper Mekong”, and (4) Key Program of Guangdong Province “Comprehensive planning of water resources for Guangdong Province”.

He has published 12 books and more than 700 journal papers with citations of over 15000 times. He obtained over 40 invention patents and 12 awards including 4 first prize of science and technology progress at provincial or ministry level.

Title of Speeach: Are We Safer than Before?

Abstract: Flood disasters are among the world’s most pressing challenges, hindering progress toward sustainable development. As countries and regions face varying levels and causes of flood risk, improved information sharing is both important and urgent, especially in the context of climate change. Japan has experienced significant shifts in flood risk over the past several decades due to a combination of climatic, hydrological, socioeconomic, and demographic factors.

This talk examines long-term trends in flood risk in Japan and analyzes changes in hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. It also presents an assessment of changes in flood fatalities and impacts on livelihoods in Japan. The findings indicate that climate change has increased both hazard and exposure levels, while population aging and infrastructure deterioration have heightened vulnerability. Furthermore, the results show that although the annual number of flood victims has remained statistically unchanged during the study period, the proportion of deaths among victims has increased. Similarly, although the annual number of completely damaged houses has not shown significant change, the proportion of completely damaged houses relative to the total number of flooded houses has risen. According to a newly developed composite indicator, the overall impact of flooding in Japan has shifted upward since 2004.

Although flood disasters have been extensively studied, the present study provides new insights into this global challenge and may help policymakers develop more effective flood mitigation measures.

Biography: Dr. Huang is a Professor at Sophia University, Japan, and currently serves as the Dean for the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies. He received BSc from FudanUniversity, China, Master and Doctoral degrees from the University of Tokyo.Before joining Sopha in 2011, his career included Associate Professor at the Universityof Tokyo, Kanazawa University, and Niigata University, and Professor at the NationalGraduate Institute for Policy Studies. From 2015 to 2022, he was the Director of theInstitute for Studies of the Global Environment, Sophia University.Passionate about water environment, his study has evolved from fluid dynamics to waterquality modeling and monitoring, urban flood risk analysis and management, andfurther to integrated watershed science and management. In recent years, his mainresearch focus has been sustainability science from a water perspective, such as wetlandconservation and wise use, flood vulnerability and resilience analysis, andenvironmental impact assessment. Wording differently, he uses water as a nexus to linkthe three pillars of sustainability.In 2019, he received an award of distinguished scientist from International Society forEnvironmental Information Sciences (ISEIS). Currently, he is the Editor in Chief forInternational Journal of Global Environmental Issues.For flood-related studies, he has been advocating the paradigm shift from control tomanagement. He will deliver a talk about integrated watershed management for floodrisk reduction at this conference.

Title of Speeach: Sustainable Stormwater Infrastructure for Mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect

Abstract: The Rainwater Tree Trench (RTT) is an innovative Low Impact Development system that uses trees grown in lined trenches filled with structural soil for stormwater management. RTTs have been implemented in various cities in Canada and are designed to not only provide a sustainable water source for the trees during dry periods, but to also aid in treating stormwater sustainably. The RTTs use structural soils or engineered substrates that can bear the weight of urban infrastructure while providing a hospitable environment for tree roots. These soils are composed of a mixture of aggregates and a smaller proportion of organic matter mixed with a binder to support root growth. Maintaining healthy trees with a full canopy are key to functioning RRTs, and thus, designs also consider the needs of tree species, climatic conditions, and the urban landscape. This study focuses on how RTTs in structural soil can develop healthy trees while experiencing heatwaves, dry periods, and the urban heat island (UHI) effect in future climates. A field campaign conducted in the summer of 2025 on four RTTs situated in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was conducted to monitor tree health particularly under dry and hot conditions by measuring chlorophyl content, LAI, transpiration, and other tree metrics, in addition to substrate moisture level and several micro-climate parameters at the centimeter scale. A separate laboratory study was conducted to investigate the moisture retention and thermal conductivity properties of the structural soil, which are used in modelling the RTTs' thermal and moisture balance. The energy-moisture balance modelling is conducted using Envi-Met and Ansys-Fluent, which help to determine how the trees respond to, and influence, the UHI effect. These two numerical models are used to develop an appropriate energy-water model that will be used to guide RTT design for optimal cooling response to the UHI effect in future climates. The model integrates the interaction of tree canopy and the atmosphere, wind effects, and root water uptake in the RTT soil environment below the surface. The developed model is validated and compared to the measured data collected this past summer. Results show that the computer models are deficient in modelling micro-climate observations, and tree health is greatly impacted by heat, dry periods, and nearby construction activities.

Biography: Dr. Caterina Valeo is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Victoria and a Professional Engineer in the Province of British Columbia. She has been working as an academic for 25 years in the area of urban water resources and environmental engineering. Her research program spans multiple scales from evaluating the impacts of global scale changes on forestry and water supply, developing sensors for small scale water quality monitoring, to modelling pollutant transport in small water bodies. She has more than 200 publications including three co-authored books on topics as diverse as environmental hydraulics and digital terrain modelling. She has collaborated with numerous researchers across the globe and is the recipient of various accolades including the 2014 Award of Distinguished Scientist from the International Society for Environmental Information Sciences. Today Dr. Valeo runs the Biotention Research Laboratory and the co-runs the HAL Research Site at the University of Victoria where she continues to conduct multi-collaborative research that uses environmental informatics tools to create sustainable solutions to society’s modern problems.