Planetary Health Governance – Unlocking Return-on-Values (ROV) from Southeast Asia’s Biodiversity

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Science Summit 2026

Planetary Health Governance – Unlocking Return-on-Values (ROV) from Southeast Asia’s Biodiversity

• Date: 25 September 2026
• Time: 9:00 – 10:45PM (GMT+8: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore) 
• Mode: Online
• Registration Link: https://event.sciencesummitnyc.org/list-of-sessions/detail/450

Southeast Asia is one of the world's fastest-urbanising regions, and it monitors its land and water more closely than ever. Very little of that evidence changes a planning decision. Ecological information is produced for reporting rather than for action, while the local governments, planning agencies and community organisations closest to the problem lack the capacity, instruments and incentives to intervene.

Our panel will examine how ecological evidence can guide differentiated land and water governance across diverse environmental conditions. Developed through a multi-temporal spatial assessment and regional sustainability work, the framework sets out practical response pathways, including protection, regeneration, adaptive reuse and systemic reform, and identifies the enabling conditions each requires: institutional coordination, governance capability, incentive structures and partnerships.

The result is an operational architecture rather than a diagnosis, measured as Return-on-Values (ROV) across economic, social, environmental and political empowerment outcomes.

Join our speakers:

• Prof. Mahendhiran Sanggaran Nair, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Sustainability) of Sunway University.
• Prof. Pervaiz K. Ahmed, Director of the Sunway Institute for Global Strategy and Competitiveness (IGSC), Sunway University.
• Assoc. Prof. Sharareh Pourebrahim, Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development, Sunway University.
• Prof. Santha Vaithilingam, Deputy Director of the Sunway Institute for Global Strategy and Competitiveness (IGSC), Sunway University.

About Science Summit

Science Summit addresses the critical role of science, technology, and innovation in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, providing evidence for policy, and supporting sustainable and inclusive development worldwide. 

This year's Science Summit 2026, held alongside the United 81^st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81), focuses on how science, technology, and innovation can drive regeneration — restoring ecosystems, rebuilding equity, and renewing trust in the scientific enterprise. It will explore the transition from boundaries to breakthroughs, where knowledge becomes the catalyst for global transformation.

About Sunway IGSC

The Sunway Institute for Global Strategy and Competitiveness conducts fundamental and translational research on how governments, industries and communities compete and develop, redefining competitiveness to treat social and environmental conditions as explicit factors rather than externalities.

Its work centers around Return-on-Values (ROV), which is value created across four pillars: economic, social, environmental, and the political empowerment of communities. The Institute develops frameworks intended for use by policymakers, businesses and practitioners, with the aim of making regenerative competitiveness practical.

Follow us for more similar events: https://linktr.ee/sunwayigsc

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