2021 Webinar Series
Research and Innovation
(*Registration fees are in Australian dollars and DO NOT include GST as the AAWHG is not required to register for GST.)
Registrants will also have access to the recorded webinars after the series’ conclusion.
The Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group’s 2021 webinar series focused on the ‘Research and Innovation’ in wildlife hazard management. The webinars featured presentations from Australian and international speakers on key industry issues such as the impact of DNA-ID on managing wildlife hazards; collaboration between operational personnel and scientific researchers; active vs passive management; and the impact of COVID-19 on wildlife management.
Running time of each webinar recording 120 minutes.
Webinar One – Research and Innovation
The series opened with Dr Matthew Lott of the Australian Museum, speaking on the impact of DNA on wildlife hazard management, and included helpful case studies of innovative hazard management from Australian researchers.
Date: Tuesday 5 October 2021
Time: 9am – 11am AEDT
0900 (AEDT) | Overview of AAWHG activities Session one moderator Ash McAlpine | AAWHG Chair Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) |
0905-0915 | Welcome to the webinar series Pip Spence | CEO and Director of Aviation Safety CASA |
0915-0945 | DNA collection and analysis for wildlife airstrike management Dr. Matthew Lot | Technical Officer Australian Museum |
0945-1000 | New techniques for bird counts at Auckland Airport – audio monitoring Bill Rutherford | Ornithologist Ornithological Technical Services (OTS) |
1000-1015 | What have we learned from 20 years of bird counts at Melbourne Airport? Dr William Steele | Ornithologist Ecology Balance |
1015-1030 | Ibis at Perth Airport Bill Rutherford | Ornithologist Ornithological Technical Services (OTS) |
1030-1050 | Don’t feed the birds: reducing wildlife food sources at Darwin International Airport Nick Bloor | CEO | IVM Mike Clancy | Airside Operations Manager Nick Fewster | Environment and Sustainability Manager Darwin International Airport |
1050-1055 | Q & A |
1055-1100 | Summary |
Webinar Two – COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit aviation especially hard, creating challenges for all sectors of the industry. Webinar two’s speakers looked at the impact the pandemic has had on wildlife management, in Australia and globally.
Date: Tuesday 12 October 2021
Time: 9am – 11am AEDT
0900 – 0915 | Moderator: David Anderson, AAWHG Executive | Flight Safety Foundation Setting the scene |
0915 – 0930 | COVID-19 pandemic and WHM – a global update Lalita Vaswani, Vice President World Birdstrike Association |
0930 – 0945 | The impact of the COVID-19 air traffic downturn on US wildlife strike rates—an interrupted time series analysis Dan Parsons | PhD Researcher Central Queensland University |
0945 – 1000 | Wildlife strikes in Australia – COVID-19 – the Qantas story Simon Locke | Manager Boeing Programs, Fleet Engineering Management Qantas Airways Limited |
1000 – 1015 | Success without lethal control – the COVID story Andrew Williams | Unit Project Coordinator Biodiversity Australia |
1015 – 1030 | [UNABLE TO PRESENT] Understanding wildlife risk in a COVID operational context Chris Perry | Aviation Ecologist JASKO Airport Services |
1030 -1045 | Impact of COVID on pyrotechnic methodologies Lee Beckett| Sales Manager Noy Industries |
1045 -1055 | Q & A |
1055-1100 | Summary |
Webinar Three – Collaboration
The final webinar in the 2021 series focused on collaboration, opening with a case study from Indonesia, where an airline and ornithologist collaborated on a project to ‘share the skies’.
Date: Tuesday 19 October 2021
Time: 9am – 11am AEST
0900 – 0915 | Introduction Moderator: Brian Greeves | AAWHG Executive | Australian Air Line Pilots Association |
0915 – 0945 | Sharing the skies – stitching the missing puzzles Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman | Corporate Safety Director PT Indonesia Air Asia Yusron Saaroni | Ornithologist Yayasan Pribumi Alam Lestari |
0945 – 1005 | A decade of aviation wildlife hazard management at RAAF Edinburgh Ronel Jit | Principal Environmental Scientist | Regional Manager Avisure Giles Standish | Regional Manager Environmental Services – SA Defence Base Services Ventia |
1005-1020 | Potential improvements to wildlife strike data management standards Dan Parson | PhD Researcher Central Queensland University |
1020 – 1035 | Wildlife strike data update Dr Thomas Lenné | Senior Research Analyst Australian Transport Safety Bureau |
1035 – 1055 | Q & A |
1055-1100 | Closing remarks Ashley McAlpine – AAWHG chair |
Keynote speakers
Dr Matthew Lot | Technical Officer
Australian Centre for Wildlife Genomics
Dr Lott’s major research interests lie in the use of genomics to inform evidence-based management of Australian wildlife. His PhD explored the use of high-throughput molecular techniques to characterise community structure and function, clarify taxonomic and evolutionary relationships, and quantify the effects of captive management practices on symbiotic interactions in species of both commercial and conservation significance.
In his role as a technical officer at the Australian Museum’s Centre for Wildlife Genomics, he has overseen a number of research projects examining the mechanisms underlying population structure and functional genetic diversity in endemic Australian marsupials such as the koala and the bilby. He has also worked closely with the aviation industry to perform DNA-based species identifications of wildlife specimens involved in airstrike incidents, in an effort to develop more effective preventative management strategies, and is a member of the AAWHG’s executive committee.
Lalita Vaswani, Vice President
World Birdstrike Association
Lalita Vaswani is the current serving vice-president of the World Birdstrike Association, which works actively with ICAO to build effective policies and papers on various aspects of wildlife hazard management. She is passionate about implementing systems to reduce wildlife risk and improve aviation safety. Her goal is to be an advocate for creating awareness of wildlife hazard management globally, and she is committed to providing and sharing knowledge within the aviation industry.
Lalita holds a Master’s degree in Psychology, is the founder of the StrykerAV aviation safety application, and has been involved with the aviation industry for more than two decades.
Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman | Corporate Safety Director PT Indonesia Air Asia
Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman is a highly experienced airline transport pilot, who currently captains an Airbus A320-220 for PT Indonesia AirAsia. Some of his early training was at the Australian Aviation College at Parafield, South Australia. He is also Director of Corporate Safety for PT Indonesia, AirAsia, a position he has held since 2016. He is no stranger to presenting on wildlife hazard management, having presented on the topic at numerous seminars and meetings in Indonesia, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur since 2014.
Yusron Saaroni | Ornithologist, Yayasan Pribumi Alam Lestari
Yusron Saaroni is an environmentalist from Bandung, Indonesia, who is passionate about protecting the conservation of natural resources. Since 1994, he has been the executive director of the Pribumi Alam Lestari Foundation, a Bandung, Indonesia-based indigenous nature conservation organisation he founded, and has been a steering committee member on various wildlife conservation groups. He has consulted to numerous wildlife and biodiversity projects, and most recently, in 2020, was the team leader on an anti-birdstrike project for the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.
Ronel P. Jit | Regional Manager and Principal Environmental Scientist, Avisure
Ronel P Jit is a highly experienced environmental scientist, with 18 years of industry experience. Ronel has worked for Avisure (an aviation, wildlife and safety company) since 2009. He has a master’s degree in environmental science, is a full member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand.
Ronel currently manages aviation wildlife risk mitigation, related aviation safety, ecological, and biosecurity programs at several Defence bases. He also consults to civil aviation and non-aviation clients in Australia and New Zealand.
Ronel is no stranger to presenting on aviation wildlife hazard management at conferences and safety summits in Australia and Asia.
Giles Standish | Environmental Services Manager
Giles Standish is a practical environmental and land management professional with significant experience in the mining, rail, and Defence industries. Giles has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Environmental Management). He is also a SA Arid Lands Landscape Board Group – Gawler Ranges Group Member.
Gilles is responsible for environmental compliance of the operational services contract which includes the wildlife management program at RAAF bases Edinburgh and Woomera in SA.
He worked as senior environmental advisor for Arrium Mining from 2012-201; as team leader environmental/Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, SA Government for four years; and has been in his current role with Ventia Pty Ltd (previously known as Broadspectrum Services) since 2018.
Giles is responsible for delivery of the land management – landscape, weed, feral animal and vermin program at several Defence establishments in SA. Giles’s role is highly critical for an integrated aviation wildlife management program.
Presentations
2022 Presentations coming
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