Akash Verma
Academic qualifications
PhD in Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore
M.Sc. in Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, India
B.Tech. in Electronics and Communication, National Institute of Technology Jalandhar, India
Research areas
Climate change, forest-agriculture dynamics, conservation technology, land change, sustainability, Himalayas
Research interests
Akash’s research focuses on leveraging technology to develop tools and methods for improving above-ground carbon estimates in Southeast Asia. He is also interested in forest-agriculture dynamics and community forest management in the Himalayas.
Biography
Akash is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, with a background in engineering, environmental sciences, and ecology. His previous research has focused on forest change dynamics in the Himalayas. His ongoing work aims to use technology to improve measurements and verification of carbon stocks and the potential impact of climate change on forest-agriculture dynamics in Southeast Asia. Akash also continues to research land cover change in the Himalayas and its impact on communities, agriculture, and livelihoods.
He has been awarded the Rufford Foundation Small Grant (2017 & 2021), NUS Research Scholarship (2017-2022) and the Teaching Assistant Award (2019). He is a member of the Global Land Programme working group on agricultural land abandonment, the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment (GMBA) network, and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC).
Selected publications
- Rizza Karen A. Veridiano, Sean E. H. Pang, Mari Trix L. Estomata, Johanness Jamaludin, Angelica Kristina M. Jaojoco, Margie T. Parinas, Sheryl Rose C. Reyes, Roven D. Tumaneng, Akash Verma. Estimating aboveground forest carbon stocks using L-band SAR and Landsat data in the Philippines, Remote Sensing of Environment (in review)
- Verma A, Schmidt-Vogt D, De Alban JDT, Lim CL, Webb EL (2021). Drivers and mechanisms of forest change in the Himalayas, Global Environmental Change, Volume 68 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102244.
Conferences and presentations
- 2022, Verma A. Forest loss and recovery in the Himalayas. Guest lecture. Global Sustainability and Renewal Resources, visiting students from the University of Texas, Austin, at the National University of Singapore.
- 2019, Verma A. Drivers and mechanisms of forest change in the Himalayas. Oral presentation. 24th Biological Sciences Graduate Congress, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- 2018, Verma A. Firewood for Fuel: Dependence on biomass for energy driving deforestation in high altitude Himalayan forests. Oral presentation. Rufford India Conference, Goa, India 2018.