ASSISTANT LECTURER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC, SCHOOL OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

FIJI

CHETHNA BEN, THE DYNAMIC YOUNG GEO-PRACTITIONER, likes to say, “Without definition of what and where something is, we cannot reach it.”

Chethna is described by peers and colleagues as ebullient; she loves God, her family, and the environment. She wants to transform the way we do things and to make the world around us truly spatial and sustainable. Her passion in geospatial science has been in investigating how cross-discipline work can incorporate the tools of GIS for modeling and analysis. Her specialist areas are research in sustainable development; spatial economic analysis; disaster preparedness and community resilience; urban and regional management; and planning and development using geospatial science.

Chethna is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne; a member of the Young Surveyors Network; and part of the work- ing group for Commission 2 of FIG (International Federation of Surveyors). She also participated in the Global Shapers World Economic Forum; International Academic Association on Planning, Law, and Property Rights; and the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society. She has more than four years of diverse industry experience working with academic, government, and civil society organizations.