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Benjamin Black
Curriculum Vitæ
I am a PhD student currently working within the ValPar.CH and NASCENT-Peru projects as part of the research group Planning of Landscape Urban Systems (PLUS) at ETH Zürich.
Education
Doctor of Civil Engineering
ETH Zürich
Zurich, Switzerland
Oct. 2020 - Present
MSc in Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management (MESPOM)
Central European University, University of Manchester, Lund University, University of the Aegean
Hungary, Greece, UK
Sep. 2018 - Jun. 2020
Awards: Outstanding academic achievement (highest GPA in cohort: 4.00/4.00)
BSc with 1st Class Honours in Biological Sciences
Edinburgh Napier University
Edinburgh, Scotland
Sep. 2010 - Jun. 2014
Awards: University medal (highest average mark on degree route); Lawrence Ho student prize; Dennis Aw award.
Professional Experience
Volunteer Development Officer & Conservation Support Assistant
The Conservation Volunteers (TCV)
Central Scotland
May 2013 - Apr. 2015
Activities: Planned, developed and delivered the Ochils Landscape Partnerships volunteering program and two TCV community health projects. Engaged with, and ensured the safety and wellbeing of a diverse cross section of volunteers, many with physical or mental disabilities as well as young adults/children.
Independent Consultant Srae Y Community ecotourism project
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Mondulkiri, Cambodia
Oct. 2015 - Dec. 2015
Activities: Undertook site visits to assess the status of the project and prepared a report, detailing strategies to make the project operational and sustainable. Planned and delivered a series of training sessions to project staff and stakeholders from other communities engaged in ecotourism.
Project Manager & Volunteer Co-ordinator
Elephant Livelihood Initiatives and Environment (E.L.I.E)
Mondulkiri, Cambodia
April. 2015 - June. 2017
Activities: Managed a diverse team (Bunong Indigenous minority, and Khmer) of 48 staff. Oversaw the operation of an ecotourism project receiving 4000+ visitors a year. Facilitated ongoing capacity building of staff and development of the volunteer program. Compiled budgets, handled cash flow to staff and submitted detailed financial reports. Produced reports for the board of directors and Cambodian government. Developed relationships with other environmental and conservation organisations in the region.
Student Affairs Manager
The School for Field Studies Center for Conservation and Development Studies in the Lower Mekong
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Jan. 2018 - Aug. 2018
Activities: Coordinated safety and risk management as well as logistics for all centre activities including multi day field trips to remote locations in Cambodia and Vietnam. Medical ‘point person’, facilitated first aid training for staff. Performed pastoral role: ensuring student well-being, resolving group management issues and facilitating cultural adaptation.
Biodiversity and SMART Intern
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Jul. 2019 - Aug. 2019
Activities: Produced protected area species inventories in line with Darwin Core standards utilising OpenRefine, R scripting and API services to expedite the collection of external data from the IUCN, EDGE ranking and CITES. Assisted in the training of new community biodiversity rangers in the process of SMART data collection in the field.
Workshop Experience
Reproducible Research with R and Quarto: Workflows for data, projects and publications
Three hour workshop as part of Landscape 2024 conference
Berlin, Germany
Sep. 2024
Awards
NAture-positive SCenarios for ENvironmental Transitions: Peru (NASCENT-PERU)
Swiss Re Foundation
Zürich, Switzerland
Jun. 2023
Funded project under the SwissRE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Scenarios Modelling Initiative
Presentations
Negotiating scenarios of a desirable ecological infrastructure for Switzerland
4th Swiss Landscape Congress
Tramelan, Switzerland
Sep. 2024
Normative scenarios of landscape change for Nature-Positive futures in Peru
World Biodiversity Forum
Davos, Switzerland
Jun. 2024
Broadening the scope of future visions for nature positive futures in Peru
Swiss Re Institute Resilience Summit 2023
Zurich, Switzerland
Nov. 2023
Characterising non-stationarity in predictive models of land use in Swiss mountain parks to inform scenarios for deliberative transformation
International Mountain conference 2022
Innsbruck, Austria
Sep. 2022
ValPar.CH: Integrating land use change, Ecosystem Service and Biodiversity modelling to simulate pathways for a functioning Ecological Infrastructure for Switzerland
11th International Environmental Modelling and Software Society conference
Brussels, Belgium
Jul. 2022
Combining filter and embedded approaches to improve variable selection in land use change Cellular Automata models
11th International Environmental Modelling and Software Society conference
Brussels, Belgium
Jul. 2022
Ex-ante identification of policy interventions to secure a functioning ecological infrastructure: A participatory Bayesian Network approach in Switzerland
3rd Ecosystem Services Partnership Europe Regional conference
Tartu, Estonia
Jun. 2019
Publications
Broadening the horizon in land use change modelling: Normative scenarios for nature positive futures in Switzerland
Black, B., Adde, A., Farinotti, D., Guisan, A., Külling, N., Kurmann, M., Martin, C., Mayer, P., Rabe, S, Streit, J., Zekollari, H., Grêt-Regamey, A.
N/A
2024
Regional Environmental Change
Re-considering the status quo: Improving calibration of land use change models through validation of transition potential predictions
Black, B., van Strien, M. J., Adde, A., Grêt-Regamey, A.
N/A
2023
Environmental Modelling & Software
Disclaimer
Last updated on 2024-12-03.