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Ecosystem Services Modelling

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Number of urban ecosystem services studies in Southeast Asia and percentage of urban population in each country. Source: Lourdes et al. (2021)

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Project 1: Ecosystem Services modelling in KL 

 

Like many Southeast Asian cities, Kuala Lumpur is experiencing rapid growth that threatens surrounding natural ecosystems, reducing their benefits to urban populations. Led by the University of Nottingham Malaysia, this study examines the multiple urban ecosystem services provided by natural infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur and how these might change under future development. A case study focuses on the Upper Langat, a rapidly urbanising catchment located in the southeast of Kuala Lumpur, that has seen problematic trends in water discharge and sediment loads due to unmanaged development. More information.

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Project leads: Karen Lourdes (University of Nottingham Malaysia)

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Collaborators: 
Alex Lechner, Chris N. Gibbins, Ruzana Sanusi, Badrul Azhar

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Publications (forthcoming/published)

Ecosystem services maps for the Langat catchment, in the southeast of Kuala Lumpur

Project 2: Urban heat island in Southeast Asian cities

 

Southeast Asian cities face large heat stress related to climate change and urban heat islands, the increase in urban temperature due to urban growth and densification. The goal of this project is to test spatially explicit models, including InVEST, to model air temperatures in Singapore and throughout Southeast Asia. This helps understand where greening strategies may mitigate urban heat and inform urban planning decisions in the region.

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Project leads: Min Wei Chai and Perrine Hamel

Project 3: Carbon assessment

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Summary:

  • Rapid land-use land-cover (LULC) changes in Southeast Asia affect carbon dynamics and emissions.

  • This project aims to study urban-caused LULC emissions and the potential for nature-based solutions and nature climate solutions (NCS).

  • We performed an urban cluster level assessment for SEA of current (2015) and future (2050) scenarios for carbon sequestration service and climate mitigation potential.

  • Our study confirms that NCS, and particularly reforestation, are in many cases able to offset the direct emissions from land cover conversion from SEA urban clusters.

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Project leads: Shankar Acharya Kamarajugedda (Research Fellow), Asst. Prof. Perrine Hamel (Principal Investigator)

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Publications:

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