David is CEO of the Institute of Public Works Engineers Australasia (IPWEA), a role he has held for the past three years following experience in senior leadership roles across Oceania. IPWEA is the peak association for professionals who deliver public works and engineering services to communities, providing services to members and advocacy on their behalf. Under his leadership IPWEA is focused on improving value through member engagement, delivering relevant educational content, tools and services. An advocate for natural assets as alternative solutions to traditional engineering, stating they may come with lower capital and operating costs and can be more resilient to climate change, David has led development and implementation of a new IPWEA strategy to create an internationally recognised educational pathway for managers of public assets. David has a BSc (Hons) from the University of London, an MA from the University of Oxford and an MBA from the University of Auckland. David is on the Board of the International Federation of Municipal Engineering and in the past has been on tertiary education boards in Australasia and the South Pacific. David played professional rugby in the U.K. and represents New Zealand in age group triathlon.
TREENET Symposium Speaker: David Jenkins
Speaker Biography
Session Abstract
Natural assets in infrastructure projects
In the drive for financial and environmental sustainability natural assets can be used in parallel with or to replace some traditional approaches and hard assets. An infrastructure project to reduce risk of flooding that may, for example, have previously used hard assets like a dam or a levee built from materials trucked in to the site might instead use vegetated wetlands. In many cases these natural solutions come with lower capital and operating costs and they can mitigate urban heat islands and support resilience to the impacts of climate change. Natural assets also bring additional benefits, they can enhance recreational opportunities, purify air, improve soil quality and enhance habitat. Collectively the interaction of urban green infrastructure components can help to conserve biodiversity and restore ecological processes. Canada and in particular the state of British Columbia have become leaders in this emerging area of asset management practice. This presentation will showcase some leading examples the application of natural assets in urban green infrastructure.
