14 July 2022, 15.30 IST 

Malaysia’s mangrove forests have experienced much degradation over the last two decades. It has resulted in an increase in incidents of wave overtopping and erosion of the coastal embankments that protect the agricultural areas adjacent to the sea.  In Malaysia, the mangroves forest distribution is estimated 0.58 mil ha with some of the forests being gazetted as Permanent Reserved Forest (PRF) in an effort to conserve and protect the forest for future generations. Nevertheless, there has been a rise in coastal embankment damage incidents due to storm waves and high tides. Whilst structural solutions have been implemented over the years, the 2004 tsunami prompted the Malaysian government to introduce a nationwide mangrove replanting program. Faced with high mortality of saplings and the challenge of constructing embankments on the muddy shores where mangroves are present, several innovations were introduced to create a working-with-nature type coastal protection. The webinar intends to share some of the efforts carried out in Malaysia with regards to protecting the mangrove shoreline and improve construction of coastal embankments.

Moderator:  

Vice President Ir. Hj. Nor Hisham bin Mohd Ghazali

Dato’ Ir. Nor Hisham Bin Mohd. Ghazali is the Director-General of the National Institute of Water Research Malaysia (NAHRIM), Ministry of Environment and Water. He holds a B. Sc. in Civil Engineering from California State University and a Masters’ Degree in Coastal and Maritime Engineering from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Previously, he served the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia for 34 years in operational, technical, management and policy positions and culminating as Director General.  

Dato’ Nor Hisham also serves as a Member of the Board of Engineers Malaysia, Member of the Council of the Institute of Engineers Malaysia and Chairman of the Malaysian Water Partnership (MyWP).  Dato’ Ir. Nor Hisham is also a Vice-President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).  He aspires to position NAHRIM towards becoming a leading research institute for water and environment in the region.  

Speakers:

Ir. Nor Aslinda Awang, National Water Research Institute Malaysia

Nor Aslinda is currently the Director of Hydraulic Laboratory and Instrumentation, NAHRIM. She first joined NAHRIM as a Research Officer in 2000 and served in the Coastal Management and Oceanography Research Centre. Nor Aslinda holds a B. Eng. in Civil Engineering from MARA University of Technology and a Masters’ Degree in Earth Sciences specializing in Mangrove Hydrodynamic Modelling from The University of Waikato, New Zealand. She is an individual member of the International Association of Hydro-Environment & Engineering Research (IAHR), Malaysian Mangrove Alliance Discourse Group (MyMangrove) and Ocean Malaysia Partnership Team. Nor Aslinda has more than 20 years of working experience in various research & development projects concerning coastal hydraulics, especially on numerical hydrodynamic modelling for coastal and mangrove replanting. Recently, she has been involved in research on climate change and sea level rise impacts on the coastal area and physical modelling on the impact of coastal protection structures towards the estuarine and coastal morphology. Until 2019, she was actively involved in the National Committee for Mangrove Replanting along the Malaysian Coast and the National Committee on Coral Triangle Initiative Programme for Climate Change Adaptation.

Dr. Ir. Lee Hin Lee, National Water Research Institute Malaysia

Ir. Dr. Lee is currently Director of Coastal and Oceanography Research Centre at the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM). She began her career in government service as a civil engineer at the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia in 1993 after graduating with a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Hanyang University, South Korea. She later received her masters from the National University of Malaysia followed by a PhD with a thesis related to saltwater intrusion. Ir. Dr Lee Hin Lee has about 30 years of experience in civil engineering and environmental research. She is skilled in physical and biological analysis for rivers, lakes, estuaries and nearshore waters. She has wide experience in the use of numerical modeling and geospatial analysis tools in analysing and predicting spatial and temporal morphological changes on a basin scale and in nearshore areas. Ir. Dr. Lee currently leads research into response and adaptation against sea level rise and storm surge.

Ir. Arman Mokhtar, Department of Irrigation & Drainage Malaysia

Ir. Arman joined the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia in 2001 and is presently the Deputy Director and Subject Matter Expert at the Coastal Zone Management Division. He graduated from the National University of Malaysia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering. He later furthered his studies at UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in Delft, the Netherlands and obtained a M. Sc. in Water Science & Engineering specializing in Coastal Engineering and Port Development.  He is a Professional Engineer with Practicing Certificate and an ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer.  He has over 20 years of experience in coastal and hydraulic engineering, dredging and reclamation works, coastal numerical modelling and design of coastal structures. He is now actively working on innovative coastal engineering designs for various agencies in Malaysia.