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Jeff Mikulina
Jeff Mikulina, chief executive officer of the Blue Planet Foundation to present at World Town Planning Day

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa will celebrate World Town Planning Day 2014 on Friday, November 7, 6 p.m. in Crawford 105. This year’s theme is Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: Using Nature to Respond to Climate Change. The event, which is co-hosted by the American Planning Association Hawaiʻi Chapter, will include a presentation, panel discussion and awards ceremony. The event is free and open to the public.

Presentation: “Planning to Act: Harnessing (Human) Nature to Solve our Climate Challenge”

Jeff Mikulina, chief executive officer of the Blue Planet Foundation, will give a presentation titled, “Planning to Act: Harnessing (Human) Nature to Solve our Climate Challenge.”

Mikulina has been awarded an EPA Environmental Hero Award, selected as one of “40 Under 40” by Pacific Business News, chosen as one of “10 for Today” by Hawaiʻi Business magazine and recognized by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as among “10 Who Made a Difference.” He received a master’s of science degree in engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying decision theory.

Panel discussion: “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: Using Nature to Respond to Climate Change”

A three-member panel discussion, “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: Using Nature to Respond to Climate Change,” will be led by Daniele Spirandelli, an assistant professor in DURP and Sea Grant College.

The panelists

  • Greg Guannel, The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University
  • Wendy Meguro, assistant professor, UH Mānoa Architecture and Sea Grant College
  • Suwan Shen, assistant professor, DURP

Many recent climate change adaptation initiatives have focused on the use of technologies and the design of climate-resilient infrastructure. However, there is growing recognition of the role that healthy ecosystems can play in helping people adapt to climate change. Hawaiʻi’s healthy ecosystems provide drinking water, habitat, shelter, food, raw materials, genetic materials, a barrier against disasters, a source of natural resources and many other ecosystem services on which the people and communities of Hawaiʻi depend for their livelihoods.

Awards

A ceremony will honor the winners of the Planner Who Made a Difference, Dinell Outstanding Alumni, APA Student and scholarship awards.

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