The 15th Regional Conference on Environmental Engineering was held by the University of the Philippines Diliman and led by Prof. Analiza Palenzuela Rollon, Coordinator of the Environmental Engineering Program, at the College of Engineering. This successful event took place on January 17–18, 2022, under the theme “Environmental Engineering at the Forefront of Global Environment and Health Challenges”, covering seven topics.
- Environmental Health
- Environmental Contaminants and Their Impacts
- Environmental Quality Profiling, Monitoring, and Analysis
- Water Sustainability and Quality Management
- Environmental Pollution Control Strategies
- Environmental Management and Policies
- Waste Management
The conference took place via the Zoom platform due to the pandemic restrictions. More than 150 participants attended the event, including researchers, academicians, and industrial partners from the ASEAN and other countries around the world.
The event began with the welcome messages from Atty. Danilo L. Concepcion, President of the University of the Philippines and Prof. Ferdinand Manegdeg, Dean of the College of Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman. Opening remarks were then expressed by Ms. Ohshima Ayumu, Senior Representative, JICA Philippines; Prof. Emeritus Dr. Ueda Tamon, Chief Advisor and Acting Executive Director, JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net; and Dr. Maria Cynthia Rose B. Bautista, Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines Diliman.
The conference featured many interesting activities, including seven plenary talks, 12 technical sessions with keynote lectures and paper presentations, a workshop, short seminars for early career researchers and graduate students, and a best paper award for students. During the two-day conference, environmental engineers from multidisciplinary backgrounds throughout the ASEAN had a fruitful discussion on environmental issues, integrating all aspects of environmental management, i.e., environmental quality profiling and monitoring, pollution control and waste management systems, sustainability analysis, and policy. In addition, details of a holistic approach were presented along with a wide range of practicable advanced techniques in preparation for potential environmental and public health emergencies. These include image processing, remote sensing, a Geographic Information System (GIS) in macro-level environmental bioinformatics, next-generation sequencing in environmental metagenomics, health-surveillance oriented environmental-monitoring, material resource cycling, systems analysis, and decision tools for sustainability. The conference ended with closing remarks from the Conference Chair, Prof. Dr. Analiza Palenzuela Rollon.
This conference was organized by the AUN/SEED-Net Member Institutions and one of the annual conferences in ten engineering fields supported by the JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net. The purpose of these conferences is to promote academic and research collaborations among the ASEAN and its neighbors, members of AUN/SEED-Net and Japanese Supporting Universities (JSU), by sharing knowledge, experiences, and expertise. This conference was also supported by the Office of International Linkages, a unit under the office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of the Philippines Diliman.
Finally, those involved with the JICA Project for AUN/SEED-Net would like to express their sincere gratitude for the effort and dedication of the organizing team and related stakeholders in making this conference a success. We hope to see everyone again, either virtual, face-to-face, or through a hybrid platform.