Laddaporn Ruangpan earns PhD (Cum Laude) for Evaluation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction
Thesis on nature-based solutions for extreme events
My research is about nature and dealing with extreme events, because extreme weather events are increasingly being shown to cause so-called ‘natural’ disasters. However, there is a lot to be done using Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), because by harnessing nature rather than building hard structures, the impact of extreme events can be mitigated. My research lays down a framework for decision-makers to make those decisions. By exploring the effect of using different evaluations before and after NBS implementation, the research provided valuable insights for practitioners and researchers to improve the effectiveness of their NBS measures.
Memorable moments
It is funny, the best moment was when I heard about my defence date, because it was the same date as my husband’s PhD defence, and, on top of that, it fell on the very same date as our third wedding anniversary! What a coincidence, I could not believe it. Another moment was my PhD awarding ceremony, which meant I could finally celebrate this with everyone!
During my PhD research, I worked with so many different people in the Reconnect project. It was a very unique experience — meeting people with a very technical and social background from various different countries was truly memorable.
Challenges during my PhD studies
My research was going smoothly, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This was very a difficult time and my motivation dropped. Normally, I love going out and being part of the community, but with the COVID restrictions, it was very hard to meet people. It took some time to readjust but then I found out that I was going to become a mom! This added another layer to the challenge coping with pregnancy while doing a PhD. Having a child motivated me and helped me to navigate my way through the PhD process and eventually to finish it. I am grateful that I had so much support from so many different people and partners throughout this journey.
I changed promotors three times, because of organisational changes. Even though Damir Brdjanovic is primarily an expert in the field of sanitation, he was also of great help looking at the overall presentation of the thesis rather than the content. Zoran Vojinovic, however, guided me with the content throughout my research and he is the Principal Investigator for the RECONECT project so he was able to connect me with many different people. I feel very lucky to have worked with them both, they helped me greatly.
PhD research impact: Decision-making tools
In an ideal world, my PhD research would help decision makers reduce the impact of extreme events. I developed tools to help them make the most appropriate decision and reduce loss of life and destruction thus reducing the impact of climate change. I love to see my research being applied to different places around the world and inspiring others! This topic was quite new at the beginning, now, five years later, I see it has developed into something greater to help communities, this is very encouraging.
A future inside or outside academia
I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to work in both inside and outside academia. Being in academia enables continuous learning and staying at the forefront, while also allowing room for learning through mistakes. I would love to do more research on the financial aspects of my project. In the end, what I have developed can only be applied if there is financial support. I would like to explore this further. I am excited to start a new position as Head of R&D in the startup Mitigrate. Despite this venture into the industry, I remain in academia through working on the RECONECT project at IHE Delft. I am mainly driven by making an impact and I believe it is possible for me to continue growing by making the best of both industry and academic worlds.
Lesson learned: focus
What I would do differently, is how I approached certain things. I would say try not to overdo too many things and try to focus on a few. I was very happy with how for example my literature review turned out. I worked on this very intensively, so I would do this in the same way.
Thesis title and summary
Evaluation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction
There is growing evidence that hydro-meteorological events, and particularly floods, are the most frequent cause of disasters for many places around the world. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have been introduced to address these growing risks and they have a potential to be more effective than traditional grey infrastructure. NBS offer a way forward, enabling us to adapt to anticipated changes in climate and society while achieving multiple benefits for ecosystem services and functions. However, scientists and decision-makers require holistic perspectives and frameworks to help understand, evaluate and design NBS in such a way that can reduce social, economic and environmental impacts, increase resilience to hydro-meteorological events and enhance the co-benefits. This book presents a methodological framework for the evaluation of Nature-Based Solutions for hydro-meteorological risk reduction and co-benefits enhancement. The evaluation framework consists of two main evaluation processes, which are ex-ante evaluation and ex-post evaluation. The ex-ante evaluation was applied to the Tamnava river basin, Serbia, while the ex-post evaluation was conducted in the Rangsit area, Thailand. The results of this research contribute to the improvement of decision-making and NBS evaluation processes, both before and after NBS implementation. They offer valuable insights for practitioners and researchers to enhance the effectiveness and credibility of NBS, considering their risk reduction benefits and co-benefits.