SPEAKER
Dr. Adrian Loo
Group Director (Wildlife Management Division); Senior Director (Community Projects)
National Parks Board

Dr Adrian Loo, Group Director of Wildlife Management Division in NParks leads teams on wildlife conservation, management and wildlife trade regulations. He has been engaged in biodiversity for over 25 years. He has worked in the field, policy research and management, as well as represented Singapore at international fora like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES), INTERPOL Wildlife Crime Working Group. He is the co-Chair in the Otter Working Group, Long-tailed Macaque Working Group in Singapore, which is a community voluntary conservation group that engage in species recovery and habitat enhancements. His various work engagements have provided him the opportunity to engage at international, regional, national across various stakeholders.

SPEAKER
Dr. Hong Yan
Senior Lecturer (School of Biological Sciences)
Nanyang Technological University

Dr. HONG Yan is a plant biologist and plant biotechnologist. He moved from US to Singapore in 1993 and conducted independent R&D projects since 1995 in the Institute of Molecular Agrobiology (IMA), Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) and now with Nanyang Technology University (NTU). He worked on horticulture, herbal medicine, plant metabolites, sustainable food, wood and bioenergy. He has >50 peer reviewed research papers, several book chapters and 10 patents to his name. Technologies developed in his group contributed to the setting up of two biotechnology companies that he also helped manage. He has been with Singapore Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC) since 1999 and serves as its vice chair now.

SPEAKER
Dr. Li Yangyang
Postdoctoral Researcher (School of Civil and Environmental Engineering)  
Nanyang Technological University  

Dr. Li Yangyang is currently a postdoctoral researcher in NTU. She gained her bachelors degree in civil engineering and doctoral degree in Earth Sustainability from NTU. She has worked with Prof Harianto Rahardjo and conducted research related to unsaturated soils for more than 6 years. Her current research interest is the evaluation of slope stability and plant health based on the soil water content from a distributed water balance model.

SPEAKER
Dr. Shawn Lum
Senior Lecturer (Asian School of the Environment)
Nanyang Technological University

Dr Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi Lum is a tropical rainforest ecologist. He was born in Hawaii and was educated at Harvard University and obtained his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1993. Dr Lum joined the Natural Sciences and Science Education faculty at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore before moving to the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2015. He is the current President of the Nature Society (Singapore). Dr Lum’s work on forest fragmentation and regeneration has aided the protection of Singapore’s forests and formed the basis for public outreach of our natural heritage. He also does work in conservation biology and environmental education, and interacts with a wide range of people, from fellow researchers to naturalists, primary school pupils, and educators. He is a recipient of the President’s Award for the Environment 2017 and Public Service Medal 2020.

MODERATOR
Mr. Lim Liang Jim
Group Director (Conservation Division)
National Parks Board

Mr Lim Liang Jim is the Group Director of the Conservation Division at the National Parks Board, leading a team of 90 officers responsible for biodiversity conservation in Singapore. Prior to that, Jim headed the National Biodiversity Centre at NParks, where his work included the administration of the Nature Conservation Masterplan, a comprehensive action plan built around conserving key habitats; habitat enhancement and species recovery; applied research; and community stewardship. He has also led the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE), tasked with advancing the professionalism of the landscaping and greening industry in Singapore; as well as the Corporate Strategy and Planning Division in NParks. Prior to joining NParks in 2009, Jim spent nine years in the Foreign Service. He is an ecologist and reptile taxonomist by training.