Country Investigator January 01, 2020 – March 31, 2022

“Network for Building Multi-agency Collaboration for Creating Resilient

Environments and Communities against Climate Change (Unite4Resilience)”

Research Grant, ODA

Organization: University of Salford

Grant Holder: Professor Terrence Fernando

KUET engaged as a research partner organization.

The Unite4Resilience network aims to build capacity for collaborative decision-making across government institutions to promote the creation of resilient environments and communities against the increasing climate change risks, giving due consideration to the poor and vulnerable. It plans to co-create knowledge and promote learning among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from different institutions to inject impetus to transform the current silo-based

approach to a collaborative decision-making approach to producing innovative solutions for combating complex climate-related risks, giving due consideration to equitable resilience and ecological integrity. The knowledge and capacity that will

result from this network will allow organizations to make sound risk trade-offs by considering various conflicting and supporting narratives such as social justice, economic growth, ecological integrity, the health and wellbeing of citizens, long-term food and water security, etc. The key objective is to establish a network of key actors from the research community, practitioners from government institutions, and policymakers and get their buy-in to engage in the network activities to implement a multi-stakeholder approach for building equitable climate resilience.

Investigator July 2020 – April 2022

 “Water Security Assessment in South-West Coastal Region of Bangladesh”

GoB funded project

Conducted by IDM, KUET

Khulna, Bangladesh The overall objective of the project is to analyze the present situation of water security in the southwest coastal region and present it on a digital map. It will be used as a tool for the policymakers so that they can easily decide where to put more concentration for water security purposes and where not to. To achieve the overall objectives, the project will investigate water accessibility, water availability, and water quality in the project area. The specific objectives are as follows:

• To identify the availability of water at the local level and delineate the factors affecting, 

• To analyze the accessibility of water and its consequences on the coastal residents, 

• To assess the water quality and its spatial and seasonal distribution/trends

Project Director July 2018 – June 2019

“Building Khulna as Water Resilient City through Proper Urban Planning and Smart Water Management Technology”

Funded by the University Grant Commission (UGC)

Khulna, Bangladesh This study aims to explore the scope of the principles and techniques to be considered in urban planning for building a water-resilient city using smart water management technologies.

objectives:

• To investigate the existing urban flooding, water-logging, and associated problems in Khulna City.

• To identify the prospects of Khulna City with water-resilient city associated techniques viz. permeable soil, permeable roads, rooftop gardens, rain gardens, vertical farming, active solar energy, urban agriculture, rainwater harvesting, green space, and blue space such as ponds and lakes, flood warnings, sustainable drainage, etc.

• To provide some recommendations against the urban flooding and waterlogging problems and to build Khulna as a water-resilient city.

Investigator January 2018 – August 2018

“Country Study: Disaster, Climate Change and Poverty in Bangladesh”

Funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Bangladesh Considering the aforementioned facets, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations designs a country study that aims to enhance the understanding of the disaster, climate change, and poverty nexus through analyzing policies and programs. Therefore, the bidder aims to develop a methodology of the country study to participate in the bidding process. According to the Terms of Reference, the country study will address the following objectives: 

• To provide a good understanding of how the nexus between disasters, climate change, and poverty is being addressed in the policies and programmes

• To assess the extent to which  poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation approaches or strategies are effective in building the resilience of poor people 

• To strengthen FAO’s interventions that can attract financial resources to support resilience options at scale

Investigator December 2016 – September 2017

“Response of Natural Disasters through Resilience:  Addressing Extreme Climatic Disasters to Annihilate the Insecurity of Food, Nutrition, and Livelihood – A Study on Disaster Affected Communities in Bangladesh”

In collaboration with University College London (UCL), UK

Khulna, Bangladesh

To increase the capacity of vulnerable people, in terms of food security, balanced nutrition intake, and improved livelihood. 

The scope of work of the project: 

• An analysis of the impacts of extreme climatic disasters such as floods, drought, and cyclones on the livelihood of poor people of Bangladesh; 

• Recommendation  on sustainable mechanisms and alternative means of livelihoods  to ensure food security and resilience through ecosystem services and other innovative and alternative strategies; 

• Assessment of the recommended mechanisms and strategies; 

• Implications of the gender dimension in those options. 

Project Director July 2015 – June 2016

“Compact Township titled as Palli Janapath is a Remedy against Environmental Challenges and Sluggish Economy in Bangladesh”

Funded by the University Grant Commission (UGC)

Khulna, Bangladesh This research aimed to explore the economic and environmental implications with site suitability analysis of the given project to achieve viable economic growth and environmental sustainability.

Objectives:

• To investigate the present physical, socio-economic, and environmental scenario of the study area. 

• To carry out detailed environmental analysis from different angles including site suitability with the help of GIS technology for achieving environmental sustainability.

• To explore the possible economic implications of the project to expedite national economic growth. 

Investigator February 2015 – June 2015

“Savings Mayur River and its Connected Canals of Khulna City”

A Project of BAWIN, a wing of Transparency International Bangladesh. Khulna, Bangladesh

A fact-finding study was conducted by the DURP, KUET to kn the present situation of illegal encroachment of the Mayur  River and its connecting canals.  This study also tried to dig out the potential governance risks which are contributing to the destruction of the river.

Objectives:

• Identify major governance risks/deficits that are contributing to the destruction of the Mayur River;

• Generate evidence-based knowledge for advocacy with concerned stakeholders;