Two faculty members of Central Luzon State University (CLSU) bagged awards in the recently concluded International Summer Course Program on Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience to Environmental Disaster toward Regional Sustainability hosted by Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) University, Indonesia held on September 10-21, 2022.
Engr. Lea S. Caguiat, faculty from the Institute for Climate Change and Environmental Management (ICCEM), won the best poster award for her research entitled “Spatial and Temporal Trend Analysis of Reference Evapotranspiration in Central Luzon, Philippines.” Meanwhile, Mr. Jairus Jesse M. Tubal, faculty from the College of Agriculture (CAg), won the second best oral presenter award for his research presentation on “Impacts of Climate Change on the Tilapia Value Chain from Cage Culture in Luzon, Philippines.”
The program is a combination of a series of lectures on environmental conservation and management, GIS and remote-sensing, physical and socio-cultural dimensions of climate change adaptation, and on-site observation of various agroecosystem landscapes. The topics aim to educate the participants on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as clean water and sanitation; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; and life below water and on land through actual community excursions.
Aside from the Philippines, participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tanzania, and Rwanda also showcased relevant research on climate change and agroecosystem environmental management.
The short-term course was co-sponsored by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and its partner universities. The participation of the CLSU delegates was made possible through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Leveling-Up Philippine Higher Education Institutions in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Natural Resources (LevelUPHEI AFAR), which aims to upgrade the institutional capacities of the State Universities and Colleges – Association of Colleges of Agriculture in the Philippines, Inc. (SUC-ACAP, Inc.) and its 75 members.
CLSU is an associate member of the SEARCA University Consortium (SEARCA UC). For more information and available opportunities, check the SEARA UC website at https://www.searca.org/uc.
