Delegates from the Department of Geographical Sciences (GEOG) at the Universtity of Maryland played a key role at the meeting fostering collaboration among 65 participants from nine countries.
Representatives from the University of Maryland —including GEOG’s Distinguished University Professor and International Geo Center Director Chris Justice, Director of International Affairs Mengxue Li, Emeritus Research Professor Eric Vermote and Adjunct Professor Krishna Vadrevu— participated in the International Meeting on Land Cover/Land Use Change (LCLUC) in South/Southeast Asia and Synthesis held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2024, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The event’s opening session was chaired by Vu Tuan, vice director general at the Vietnam National Space Center in the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam. Welcome remarks were given by representatives from NASA headquarters, the University of Maryland, the National Institute of Environmental Studies of Japan, the U.S. Ambassador in Vietnam and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The event had 65 attendees from 9 different countries.
The primary objective of this international meeting was to facilitate discussions on Land Cover Land Use Change (LCLUC) and its impacts, with a specific focus on Southeast Asian countries. The meeting served as the inaugural "kick-off" event for synthesizing various LCLUC issues in the region.
Over the three-day meeting, six themes were covered, including environment, agricultural, atmosphere and air pollution, urbanization, forests and mountain regions, and coastal zones. The resulting report aims to provide an assessment of recent trends in land use change in the Southeast Asia region, explore the causes, impacts and consequences of these changes as well as future projections.
Top right photo: From left to right, Chris Justice (NASA LCLUC Program and GEOG Distinguished University Professor); Vu Tuan (Vice Director General, Vietnam National Space Center, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Vietnam); and Mengxue Li (GEOG Director of International Affairs).
Bottom photo: From left to right, Garik Gutman (NASA Headquarters); Chris Justice (NASA LCLUC Program and GEOG Distinguished University Professor); Matsunaga Tsuneo (National Institute of Environmental Studies, Japan); Marc Knapper (U.S. Ambassador, Vietnam); Krishna Vadrevu (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, GEOG Adjunct Professor). Photos provided by Chris Justice.
Main image: Group photo of the International Meeting on Land Cover/Land Use Change (LCLUC) from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2024, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Mengxue Li.