Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Earth Observation Research Center
 | thaparb@gmail.com |
Dr. Thapa expertise in remote sensing and GIS analyses and has developed methods for a) mapping land-use and land cover; b) spatial modelling to explain and forecast the expansion of urban areas and deforestation, c) tracking tropical forest carbon stocks and CO2 emission risk, and d) spatial decision support for peri-urban agriculture. He specializes in urban monitoring, forest monitoring, forest carbon tracking, agriculture monitoring, and disaster monitoring and damage assessment, and has years of working experiences in Asian countries. Beyond the extensive expertise in synthetic aperture radar, optical, and LiDAR remote sensing data processing and analysis for various applications, he has strong skills in environmental policy analysis and spatial scenario development, spatial statistics and quantitative analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis, MRV/REDD+ development, fieldwork, project management, capacity building activities, grant writing, and scientific writing & editing. His researches focus on monitoring and assessment of terrestrial environment including forest, agriculture, urban, and disasters, and the dissemination of Earth observation findings to policy makers, university students, and stakeholders through education, capacity building workshops, conferences, and publications. Currently, he is a Researcher at Earth Observation Research Center, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and working for ALOS, ALOS-2, and PiSAR-L2 Programs. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Tsukuba, Japan where he teaches applications of Remote Sensing and GIS for undergraduate and graduate students. He also delivers on-demand capacity building training on remote sensing and GIS data analysis in Japan and other countries in Asia. He has conducted many researches and field works in Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Indonesia.
