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Profile of Dr. Md. Abu Syed

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Dr. Md. Abu Syed

Managing Director, C4RE Services

Message From The MD

Currently, Dr. Syed is the Managing Director of C4RE Services Ltd. (private research and consulting house), Senior Fellow of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), and Founding Director of NABIC – with over 28 years of experience from field level to multi-country programs on climate modeling, climate risks and vulnerability assessment, EIA, ESIA, EMP, ESMP and mapping, adaptation, adaptation and resilience participatory planning and implementation, investment planning, master plan development. Concurrently, he is serving as Environment and Social Safeguard Specialist of a World Bank-funded “Livestock and Dairy Development Project (LDDP)”.Dr. Syed developed Environmental Management Guidelines for different sectors for the Department of Environment, Govt. of Bangladesh. He uses remote sensing, GIS, earth observation for adaptation and resilience participatory planning, land use and land cover, DRR, and in all assessment works. He supervised 2 post-Doc, 8 PhDs, and 20 MSc research with European (Germany, Netherlands, Norway, UK), Canadian, and Bangladeshi universities. Contributed to revision of Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCSAP) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP) – Nepal. He still recalls taking the first step in promulgating Amiree Decree declaring Al-Dhakira mangrove as Nature Park and first-ever protected area in Qatar. It started from a simple family trip after which he advocated to the university and authorities to declare it as a protected area through all assessments and management guidelines.

For this he had to start from ground “0” and raise resources for assessment, it was declared as a Nature Park. He is working and worked with ERD (as NDA), IDCOL, and PKSF (as NIA) in developing several projects for GCF support. He led several projects on climate information, services, early warning, and agro-met services as adaptation solutions. He served as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI in HI-PATH, HI-AWARE and was one of the Coordinating Lead Authors of the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP); and Peri-urban Agriculture in South Asia, East and West Africa. He is an Adviser to The Anticipatory Flood Management (AFMA) Research in Nile River Basin. Dr. Syed possesses vast expertise in teaching and research on the environment, assessment, monitoring, management, natural resources, SDGs, policy analysis and formulation, and environmental management guidelines considering minimal pollution and GHG emission for different industrial sectors. He has a long experience in teaching and supervising research students in environmental and geospatial science, climate change adaptation, ecosystem and climate modeling, community-based early warning, disaster risk reduction and management at different universities. Dr. Syed has collaborative works with many national and international institutions including the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research; Nansen-Zhu International Research Center (NZC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thuyloi University, Vietnam; University of Twente, Wageningen University, Netherlands, Max Plant Institute, Germany and Bergen University, Norway, Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, UNDP, ICIMOD, IFPRI, FAO, European Commission, IOM, IDRC, DFID, USAID, etc. He also worked with the private sector in the areas of Climate and Flood Resilient Housing, renewable energy, dairy and poultry waste to energy, etc. His career synergy of climate science and societal issues while implementing adaptation & spatial planning. His areas of work are participatory adaptation planning, and disaster risk reduction, drivers and conditions leading vulnerability, geoinformatics in adaptation, and capacity enhancement in these fields. He has many publications in peer-reviewed books, journals, and book chapters on environment, climate, adaptation, forestry, remote sensing, GIS, food security, NRM, and cost-benefit of adaptation. He implemented several LiDAR data projects including drone-based sensor systems for land use/land cover/agriculture/mangroves/urban issues. Did work in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Thailand. He is invited to numerous national and international events as Motivational Speaker, and Keynote Speaker.

Affiliation
  • Visiting Scientists, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
  • Principal Investigator, Assessing the impacts of SRM (Solar Radiation Management) on hydrology in Bangladesh, DECIMALS Fund,
  • Member of the Expert Commission, multilateral or regional – Water cooperation and water governance in the Hindukush Himalaya region, Water Governance Challenges in South Asia Initiative, Hanns Seidel Foundation, India and Germany
  • Scaling Advisor to the scalingXchange program of IDRC (International Development Research Council of Canada
  • Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Assessment (CCA&RA) Expert-National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Bangladesh (2020 – 2022)
  • Institutional Capacity Development Expert (National Adaptation Plan (NAP)- Capacity Development Bangladesh (2020 – 2022)
  • Lead Author: WMO’s CHy National Assessment of End-to-End Early Warning Systems (E2E EWS) in Flood Forecasting: Moving to best practices in communicating flood early warnings
  • Lead Author, Himalayan Hindu Kush Regional Ecosystem Assessment.
  • Adviser to the “Anticipatory Flood Management to improving flood resilience of Alexandria, Egypt and greater Nile Delta”
  • Adviser to the World Bank Washington team in “Climate Smart Investment Planning for Bangladesh” in Agriculture
  • Co-Principal Investigator, HI-PATH: Pathways for Climate Resilient Development in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE) Research on Glacier and Snowpack Dependent River Basins for Improving Livelihoods, covering whole of South Asia and 4 major river basins.
  • Lead Author, Assessment on Urban and Peri-urban agriculture and adaptation planning in 9 cities in South Asia, East and West Africa, UNEP
  • Adjunct Faculty and external examiner for MSc and PhD research: Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Faculty of Disaster Management, Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU); Dhaka University, Shahjalal University Science and Technology (SUST); Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Chittagong University, Bangladesh
Training and Workshops
  • Environmental Science and Engineering-Environment friendly building & transport system; Evaluate and minimize the environmental impact; cleaner production systems; ensure clean water supply to communities & waste water treatment (through life cycle assessment). Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia; Paid Online Full Course 15 April 2020 to 15 June 2020
  • Key note titled “Climate Smart Investment in Bangladesh Agriculture Sector: A Climate Resilient (low emission) Growth Pathway” in TECHNICAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FOOD FUTURE, Webinar: Workshop Series on Ways to Boost Food Security While Reducing GHG Emissions, Organized by Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and World Resources Institute (WRI); 3-4 August 2021
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia Paid Online Full Course, “Environmental Science and Engineering-Environment friendly; evaluate and minimize the environmental risks and impact” 15 April 2020 to 15 June 2020- The course was mainly on life cycle assessment for various sectors.
  • Key note titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Fisheries under the COVID Pandemic: perspectives-Bangladesh” Webinar, organized College of Fisheries Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Lembucherra, Tripura, India, 29 September 2020 GeoData for Agriculture & Water (G4AW), Netherland Space Office (NSO), Netherlands and Terrasphere, Amsterdam, Netherlands “Automated and Parallel processing in Application of Geospatial Science for Agriculture and Water in a climate change world” 7-10 May 2016
  • The Water Center for the Humid Tropic of Latin America and the Caribbean- CATHALAC, Panama “Advancing the application of the climate and hydrological information and its translation into policy” 5-8 October, 2015
  • Syed, Md. A. 2010. Landscape Level Planning towards Eco-restoration and Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study from Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, Technical Paper: International Day on Biological Diversity, Conference Hall, Bangladesh Forest Department, Agargaon, Dhaka, May 22, 2010
  • Syed, Md. A. 2010. Climate Change: Impacts on Biodiversity, World Environment Day Celebration National Level Technical Discussion Session, Bangabandhu International Conference Centre Dhaka, 06 June. 2010
S.N Field of training Institution Venue/Location Dates
1 Keynote: Adaptation Policy in Water and Livelihoods, Climate Change Adaptation, Policy and Science (CCAPS) Conference HI-AWARE (www.hi- aware.org) Sarina Hotel, Dhaka, Bangladesh 6 Feb 2017
2 3rd Sub–Regional Workshop on Community Resilience to Climate Change in the Bay of Bengal Christian Aid and Professional Inst for Devt. & Socio Env. Management (PRISM), Kolkata, India The Hindustan Hotel, Kolkata, India 11-12 March 2015
3 Professional Training Course on” Watershed Rehabilitation & Irrigation Improvements at Fatehjang Field Station Climate Change, Alternate Energy and Water Resources Institute (CAEWRI) of NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan 5-17 March 2014
4 Geo-informatics for Improved Natural Resource Management (Incorporating Climate Change) and Policy Making in Bangladesh/SA Jointly organized by ITC, Netherlands and BCAS Hotel Bengal Inn, Dhaka, Bangladesh February 12- February 27, 2014
5 TERI (The Energy Research Institute)- BCCR (Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research)-Climate Research School TERI, India, BCCR, Bergen, Norway TERI University, New Delhi, India 3 – 7 Oct 2011
6 NorWRF (Norwegian Weather Research Forecast) Training Workshop BCCR, Bergen, Norway BCCR, Bergen, Norway 7-9 Sept
7 Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement Nansen Initiative Oslo, Norway 5-7 Jun 2011
8 Action Research on Community Based Adaptation in Bangladesh” a short course for NGO and INGO staffs, International Centre for climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) Independent University Bangladesh, ICCCAD, IIED and BCAS. Dhaka, Bangladesh 22-28 Jul 2010
9 Climate Change and Forest Adaptation-Impacts on Biodiversity of Tropical Forests in Bangladesh”, United States Federal Department of Agriculture (USFDA) Institute of Forestry & Environmental Sc. University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Sep 9- Sep 19, 2009
10 Training on regional capacity building in Integrated Water Resources Management CAPNET Global and UNEP Kandy, Sri Lanka 1-4 Dec 2008
11 Integrated water Resources Management in GCC Countries with emphasis on State of Qatar GCC Secretariat and Environmental Studies Centre (ESC) Environmental Studies Centre (ESC), Qatar University 21-26 Mar 2006
S.N Projects Achievements and Responsibilities
1 Project: Piloting Light Detection and Ranging technology (LiDAR) for fast-tracking agricultural transformation” herein after “LiDAR-BARC project”. UN-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) & BARC Period: April 2023 to April2024 (40 hrs/month) Senior Adviser-Geographer (LiDAR in Agriculture Specialist) Coordination of project related activities as representative of FAO and project team, Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) and partners/stakeholders. LiDAR data specification development for agriculture and natural resources in Bangladesh. Air borne LiDAR data acquisition planning and TOR for service providers, Working Groups, partners, LOA (Letter of Agreement) for FAO procurement systems to get services providers and partners. Resource person for training of trainers (Senior Government officials) on remote sensing, GIS and LiDAR data processing trainer on earther observation and data processing (LiDAR) for agriculture.
2 Project: Bandarban Biodiversity, Environmental Risk and Vulnerability Assessment” Funding: USAID, Bangladesh Team Leader-Remote Sensing & GIS Specialist The comprehensive assessment takes a unique approach of synergizing spatio-temporal aspects of climate change impacts on ecosystem services and livelihood practices in finding sustainable solution for participatory management of natural resources in the fragile hill ecosystem. These involve a substantial mapping including satellite (RapidEye 5m, PlanetEarth 2m, Sentinel I & II SAR) image processing, ground truthing, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and analysis as well participatory social science approach to better understand traditional knowledge of the CHT population in natural resources management and conservation and to identify best sustainable and scalable practices. The final product is The Climate Smart Investment Plan for Environmental Risk Management (biodiversity conservation & livelihoods).
3 Project: Livestock and Dairy Development Project (LDDP). Depart of Livestock Services Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh Period: August 09, 2020, to July 30, 2023 Environment and Social Safeguards Specialist The prime role is to manage, facilitate and coordinate all activities related to Environment and Social Safeguards in this $500+ million LDDP project implementation. Development of Environmental Management Guidelines for DLS and LDDP. Ensure all LDDP activities conforms to National and WB ESS policies. Ensure compliance of environmental and social safeguards and climate resilience of all LDDP activities, supervise all EIA, ESIA assessments, ESMP or environmental management plans development. Ensure climate resilience of the infrastructures and Livestock Producers groups farming activities, guide the project and Design & Supervision and Construction Contractors in implementing three Large, 20 medium Slaughterhouses and 190 Slaughter slabs to ensure environmental and social safeguard. Pilot agromet advisory services for dairy farmers. Creating national baseline of emission from livestock sector and mapping of emission. Developing Level 2 emission data collection mechanism for Methane CH4 emissions from livestock (two sources-enteric fermentation and excrement). Overseeing the activities of Design Consulting and Construction Contractors in implementing three Large, 20 medium Slaughterhouses and 190 Slaughter slabs to ensure environmental and social safeguard of these infrastructures and making them climate smart. Leading Geospatial analysis mapping, screening of individual 7,20,000 farmer’s data for direct Cash Transfer to Covid 19 Pandemic Emergency Response, deworming campaign, farmer’s distribution, different categories of entrepreneurs in the livestock sector throughout Bangladesh.
4 Assessing the impacts of SRM on hydrology in Bangladesh Client: DECIMALS Fund, SRMGI (Solar radiation Management Governance Initiative), Degrees Initiative, TWAS (The World Academy of Sciences), UNESCO Period: Aug 2021 – Aug 2023 Principal Investigator https://www.degrees.ngo/decimals-fund/the-projects/bangladesh-21/ Leading climate and hydrological modelling work to discern how solar radiation management (SRM) use may affect water and food security for climate-vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh, a country threatened by regular floods, by storms from the Bay of Bengal, and by increasing erosion and salinity from sea level rise. The study areas are Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin. This will assist in agromet and climate services in the country through policy engagement and upscale by relevant agencies. The project is hosted at the Centre for Rediscovered and Redefined Natural Resources Research and Education (C4RE) and features collaboration with the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and the University of Chittagong.
5 Client: CC and Disaster Statistics (ECDS) project of BBS and UN-Women Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh Period: Sep 2021- Apr 2022 Senior Consultant, Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Statistics (ECDS) project of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and UN-WomenDevelop a National Report for UN-Women and Ministry of Planning, Government of Bangladesh “Sex, Age and Disability Disaggregated Data (SADDD) for Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The assignment includes sampling and survey tools (questionnaire etc.) design and lead the survey and stakeholder consultation, data collection, processing and analysis as well.Have already completed capacity building training of Senior Officers of BBS on Climate Change, DRR and relevant assessment and monitoring methods.
6 Project: National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Bangladesh, UNDP Bangladesh Partners: CEGIS, BCAS, C3ER Period: 2020 – 2022 Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Assessment (CCA&RA) Expert-National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Bangladesh (2020 – 2022) Substantial contribution in technical proposal development and own the project. Now working on the climate risk and vulnerability assessment based on emission and relevant adaptation and mitigation scenarios from the review and optimal scenario development activities. The inception report has been approved and working on detailed report through different Working Papers on climate extremes, risks and vulnerability, adaptation prioritization, investment packages with bankable projects.
7 Project: National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Bangladesh, UNDP Bangladesh Partners: CEGIS, BCAS, C3ER Period: 2020 – 2022 Institutional Capacity Development Expert (National Adaptation Plan (NAP)- Capacity Development Bangladesh (2020 – 2022) I am contributing in the Institutional framework, Institutional Arrangement and Coordination Mechanism required to implement the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), Bangladesh. Present Institutional Arrangement in Climate Actions, Institutional MappingCapacity Gap Analysis Proposed Institutional Structure and Coordination MechanismMultiple Tasks and enhanced Role of the Institutions, Stakeholders and ActorsCapacity Building Needs Opportunities & Challenges
8 Project: HI-PATH: Pathways for Climate Resilient Development in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region (www.hi-aware.org) Client: International Development Research Council (IDRC), UKAid (FCDO) Partners: UN University Bonn, ICIMOD, Wageningen University, Netherlands; TERI, India; PARC, Pakistan; Date: Mar 2019-Oct 2021 Co-Principal Investigator Building on a series of piloted livelihoods innovations, we seek to co-create climate-resilient development pathways for the upscaling of these innovations in climate change hotpots, with a focus on influencing relevant long-term adaptation planning and policy processes for the transboundary river basins Indus, Ganges & Brahmaputra. Gains in sustainable development are challenged by disaster risks and vulnerability to climate change. Climate change hotspots are of particular concern, as strong climate change effects coincide with large numbers of vulnerable and poor people. Uncertainty over the nature and extent of change creates challenges for decision-makers. Answering these questions requires a long-term systems approach based on a better understanding of how natural processes, interventions and policy influence one-another. In particular, we build on our experience from the livelihood innovations initiated under the Collaborative Adaptation Research in Africa & Asia (CARIAA) – HI-AWARE project. Our approach is transferable to other climate change hotspots for which alternative futures can be foreseen under global change.
9 Project: Climate Smart Investment Plan for Bangladesh (which will be eventually expanded to other Asian countries) Client: World Bank, Head Quarter, Washington, the USA Date: Apr 2018-Jul 2020 Team Leader and Adviser Lead the climate and econometric modeling to generate development scenarios for broader agriculture sector considering climate change and sustainability. Lead the Bangladesh Climate Smart Investment Plan (B-CSIP) team in taking onboard different ministries (Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock of the Government of Bangladesh, to develop a B-CSIP to inform broader agriculture sector planning, foster dialogue, and build capacity concerned sectoral (forestry, agriculture, livestock, fisheries) departments of the government; to operationalize country climate commitments for a productive, resilient, and low-emissions agriculture sector development in the short and medium/longer term. B-CSIP culminated in a $1.2 billion investment plan with a larger program titled “the Livestock Development-being implemented with financing from World Bank. B-CSIP envisioned $900 million public and $3.1 billion Public Private Partnership (PPP) investment. Partners: GoB Ministry of Livestock & Fisheries, GoB Ministry of Agriculture; World Bank; International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), California Environmental Associates (CEA).
10 Project: Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM) conditions in Bangladesh in Sanitation And Water for All (SWA) Client: Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership Partners: University of Technology Sidney (UTS), IRC, SaciWaters and 11 others Africa & Latin America Period: Jul 2020 to March 30, 2021 Co-Principal Investigator The research aimed to investigate the Mutual Accountability Mechanism (MAM) conditions in Bangladesh. The research aimed to assess the evolution and refinement of SWA MAM such that it strengthens country processes and contributes to the three objectives of SWA’s strategic framework (2020-2030). Co-designed and collaborated in an empirical study on multi-stakeholder collaboration, accountability, MAM implementation and COVID-impacts in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in six selected SWA partner countries. These three objectives are: (i) to build and sustain the political will to eliminate inequalities in water, sanitation and hygiene; (ii) to champion multi-stakeholder approaches towards achieving universal access to services; (iii) to rally stakeholders to strengthen system performance and attract new investments. In the context of SWA, mutual accountability refers to the process by which partners i) work together to build robust, transparent and responsive accountability systems, and ii) agree to be held responsible for commitments they make to each other. This has been to mobilize both sector and non-sector actors to ensure achievement of Sustainable Development Goal targets (SDG) 6.1 and 6.2. is a global partnership of governments, donors, civil society organizations and other development partners working together to coordinate high-level action, improve accountability and use scarce resources more effectively.
11 Project: “Hydro-Social Deltas”: Understanding flows of water and people to improve policies and strategies for disaster risk reduction and sustainable development of delta areas in the Netherlands and Bangladesh Partners: IHE, FHRC, WUR Client: Urbanizing Delta of the World (UDW), NOW, Netherlands Date: Aug 2015- Sept 2019 Co-Principal Investigator (Team Leader-Bangladesh Part) This project focuses on hydro-social dynamics in the urbanising deltas of Bangladesh (Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna) and Netherlands (Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta). It aims to: i) better understand the interplay between hydrological and social processes in urbanizing deltas, ii) develop novel methods to cope with the dynamic nature of environmental (including climate) disaster risk and its spatial distribution, and iii) support the development of new policies for flood risk reduction, addressing rural-urban migration (in Bangladesh) and demographic trends (in the Netherlands), notably through building stakeholder capacity and strengthening local governance capacities. The project analyzed the interactions and feedbacks between water and human systems. The advanced understanding of the complex web of interactions between dynamic physical and social process will help improve current policies for disaster risk reduction and urban development in delta areas. Enhancing fundamental knowledge on delta systems, developing new approaches and technologies in planning or design, Developing policies for sustainable development of deltas. Two PhD and one Post-Doc have completed their researches successfully under this project.
12 Project: “Waterapps”: Water information services for sustainable food production in peri-urban delta areas in Ghana and Bangladesh Partners: Urbanizing Delta of the World (UDW), NOW, Netherlands Date: Aug 2014-Sept 2020 Co-Principal Investigator (Team Leader-Bangladesh and NE India)“WaterApps” Water information services for sustainable food production in peri-urban delta areas in Ghana and Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi and Ghanaian partners developed case studies around the cities of Khulna and Accra. In both cases, partners are involved in research on peri-urban water management in deltas, including the study of climate change impacts and enhancing resilience. The SME, MDF West Africa used innovation results for training and for its consultancies on institutional capacity building. The project used its extensive experience with interactions between public authorities and water users in deltas and want to benefit from research and experiment outcomes on virtual communities for water information services. A total of 112 farmer field schools (FFS) have been established. This enables the farmers to interpret the meteoblue and FarmerSupport APP (WATERAPP) across the regions in Bangladesh and Ghana. The farmers are able to interpret the meteoblue forecast diagrams for weekly (7 days), biweekly (14 days), and seasonal (months) forecasts. Moreover, farmers now recognize the importance of weather forecasts obtained from the FarmerSupport APP to take better decision-making in their daily farming activities. Farmers who attended the farmer school also help peer farmers by sharing forecast information. These enhanced the capacities and resilience of the FFS communities. By doing so, many non-participants farmers now proactively ask forecast information to the weather school farmers. Four PhD students have already graduated and 2 Post-doc are nearing completion.
13 Project: Sustainable Forests And Livelihoods (SUFAL) Project, Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) and World Bank Partners: Ministry of Env. Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bangladesh Date: Nov 2018-Jul 2019 Team Leader: through C4RE Services Ltd.Community Operation Manual (COM) and Innovation Grant Manual (IGM) development for successful implementation of SUFAL by BFD. SUFAL strive to diversify livelihoods of Forest Dependent Communities; reduce their poverty and dependency on forest ecosystems. The COM and IGM consist of four parts where Part-1: Interpretation of SUFAL project including collaborative forest management institution and forest protection considering climate risks and vulnerabilities; Part-2: Sustainable livelihood framework and social wellbeing; Part-3: Community financing and including audit and account, and Part-4: Monitoring and conflict resolution. SUFAL strive to diversify livelihoods of Forest Dependent Communities; reduce their poverty and dependency on forest ecosystems. Thus, BFD expect to enhance forest cover and conservation areas in Bangladesh. This $500 million project will be implemented following COM and IGM manual. COM is complete operational and compliance (ethical and financial) manual for BFD and stakeholders. IGM is for promoting and capacity building in research on climate change and forest conservation related fields. I executed series of community consultation meeting, stakeholders’ consultation workshops, review of the existing policy etc. Environmental and social safeguard issues were included in the manuals.
14 Project: “Development and Extension of Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, Dulahazara, Cox’s Bazar” Client: Wild life and Nature Conservation Division, Chottagram, Bangladesh Forest Department, Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoFCC) Date: Apr 2016-Jun 2016 National Consultant: Geospatial Planning Specialist (with wildlife and forest conservation background) Coordinated with 6 (six) international wildlife and safari park experts on various amenities and facilities for visitors, wild lives and exhibits. Cages for different wild lives based on their natural behavior and preferences, spatially locating them in the Master Plan, Landscaping and amenities (walkways, services provisions, visitors area, parking, entrances, exits, A master plan is going to be prepared in this financial year. The team and PD as well would like to do a thread bear discussion on the preliminary report to be submitted. Forest Department high officials including CCF participated in discussion on the draft Master Plan for Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park. Theirs comments, suggestion and guidance were incorporated. Again, the final draft was shared in stakeholder consultation in Cox’s Bazar and inputs from there also were incorporated to finalize the Master plan.
15 Project: Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE) Research on Glacier and Snowpack Dependent River Basins for Improving Livelihoods, covering Indus, Ganges and Brahmpaputra basins. Client: International Development Research Council (IDRC), UKAid Partners: ICIMOD, Wageningen University, Netherlands; TERI, India; PARC, Pakistan; Date: Mar 2013-Oct 2018 Co-Principal Investigator, (Team Leader-Bangladesh and NE India)HI-AWARE is one of the four consortia of the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA). Conducted research and pilot interventions, capacity building and policy engagement on climate resilience and adaptation in the mountains and flood plains of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra river basins. Its approaches were synergy of bio-physical and socioeconomic conditions leading vulnerability in South Asia. Contribute to increasing the climate resilience and adaptive capacities of the poor and vulnerable women, men, and children in these river basins;As Co-PI, ex officio member of Consortium Research Management Committee which made all policy decision on researches and related other issues. Participatory vulnerability; and land use mapping using GeoEye 1 (0.5m) dataIn addition to conducting research on water, energy, food security, human health, water-induced hazards—such as floods, landslides and droughts—and extreme weather events, HI-AWARE is also in the process of testing adaptation measures in observatory labs in these sites and designing adaptation pathways for out-scaling and up-scaling.Worked on out-scale, upscale of Climate and Flood Resilient Habitat (CFRH) piloted under HI-AWARE in Brahmpautra basin and the uptake of the robust evidence generated at various scales through the development of synergies between science-based knowledge, DRR and adaptation practices of communities.Generate science-based knowledge on the biophysical, socio-economic, gender, and governance conditions and drivers leading to vulnerability to climate change impacts. Taking these to review of BCCSAP, NAP preparation and contributed in NAP, Nepal.8 peer reviewed publication (open access) from this regional work (www.hi-aware.org)Working Papers, Key Messages, Policy analysis, gap identification and recommendation for Planning Commission, Bangladesh and India, SAARC Secretariat were developed.
16 Project: EIA and ESIA and Master Plan, BSM Shilpanagar, Mirersorai, Chattogram, Bangladesh Client: Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) Period: June 2018 to Sep 2019 Team Leader Detail land use and land cover survey, socio-economic survey for the planned export processing zone within the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar, Mirersorai, Chattogram. Geospatial analysis to find the mitigation of social and environmental risks from infrastructure (roads, bridges, culverts, industrial and residential building) development. Technical reports EIA and ESIA reports following the guidelines of Department of Environment (DoE) with maps and different scenarios were developed with a master plan of the Zone Development.
17 Project: Tailor Made Training Capacity building of Bangladesh RS & GIS professionals Partners: ITC (Faculty of Geoinformation Science & Earth Observation, University of Twente, the Netherland Period: June 2017 to June 2019 Team Leader, Capacity building of Bangladesh RS & GIS professionals on the use of UAV (drone-based LiDAR) images and its applications in food security, water resources, coastal zone management, forestry, adaptation. Worked with ITC, in developing the concept and the program. Planned 4 (four) phased training for professionals from different Govt. departments (Survey of Bangladesh, Department of Agriculture, Forest Department, SPARRSO and NGOs), Faculties from Shahjalal Science and Technology University, Patuakhali University of Science and Technology and Jahangir Nagor University. Three phases (two weeks each) of trainings have been completed home and abroad (AIT, Thailand). Trainings include UAV operation, data collection, processing and analysis for 3D surface model, DEM (Digital Elevation Model), Digital Terrain Model (DTM) DSM (Digital Surface Model) and Canopy Height, Stand Density and stand volume etc. Carbon estimation and mapping through DEM, DSM, DTM and stand volume.
18 Project: Geodata to control potato late blight in Bangladesh (GEOPOTATO) Client: Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW), Netherlands Space Office (NSO), Partners: Wageningen University, mPower Period: Jun 2016 to June 2020 Principal Investigator/Team Leader Prepare forecast and agromet service with advisories for potato farmers-based climate modelling and satellite data and met data and DSS; Potato growth and late blight monitoring. GEOPOTATO developed and implementing a decision support service (DSS) for over 750,000 farmers in (potatoes on 450,000 ha in the dry winter season) Bangladesh for an optimal control strategy of late blight in potato. The DSS has successfully ensured 10%+ increase in farmer’s income through providing preventive spray advice along with other farming information. Satellite data (vegetative growth, vigor, soil moisture etc) and various models used important aspects of the DSS, which continuously measures and forecasts weather and biomass growth of potato crops in relation to the late blight disease cycle. Based good results Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Govt. of Bangladesh requested to expand project area to Bogura Rangpur, Dinajpur from Munshiganj only to make the potato farmers more resilient to weather and climate.
19 Project: Investing in Hilsa fishery as an Economic Infrastructure for Bangladesh: Client: World Fish Centre and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) Partners: IIED, London, UK Duration: Feb 2014 to June 2017 Team Leader- Environmental Monitoring of Hilsa in coastal Bangladesh The research works encompassed activities designed to address each of these five key areas of Environmental Monitoring of Hilsa with remote sensing work and so support the three intermediate results (IRs) of the broader EcoFishBD project: improved science-based fisheries management decision making (IR1), strengthened fisheries adaptive co-management (IR2), and enhanced socio-ecological resilience of target communities (IR3) for better conservation of this fish species. evaluating the impact of the compensation scheme;understanding the profitability, power structures, financing opportunities and systemic constraints along the supply chain;modeling socio-ecological systems to develop a business model with a clear exit strategy; andidentifying optimal policy mixes that enable an effective and sustainable incentive-based schemeIdentifying the geographical extent Hilsha spawning and breeding areas and habitat. RADARSAT (RADAR) time series data were used to detect boats or fishing during ban and non-ban period. Landsat time series used to map Hilsha habitat. Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has amended boundaries of Hilsha Sanctuaries based on our findings.
20 Project: Mapping of Ministries by Targets of SDGs aligning with 7th Five Year Plan (2016-20) Client: Sustainable and Inclusive Planning (SSIP) Project General Economics Division (GED) Planning Commission and UNDP Policy Adviser Analyzed the strength and weakness in MDGs, identified sector and Ministry specific targets, indicators and parameters for 13 SDGs of Bangladesh. This is the first instrument to implement programs towards achieving SDGs. Also developed policy briefs on: “Challenges of Inclusive Social and Economic Development in Bangladesh”“Equity, Sustainability and Human Rights”Inclusive Social and Economic Development in Bangladesh
21 Project: Climate-Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CREL) Geospatial planning, NRM policy analyses, co-management of NRM, livelihoods ­­­ Client: Winrock International and USAID, Bangladesh Forest Dept. Fisheries Dept. Date: Mar 2013-Jul 2018 Natural Resources and Geospatial Planning Specialist (Team Lead-BCAS), Climate-Resilient Ecosystems and Livelihoods (CREL) Had been very much involved in last three preceding calls/programs viz., NISHORGO, IPAC, CREL. I had been the Team Leader Invest Planning Project prior to CREL, and engaged 11 International and 5 National Consultants for developing Investment for Select PAs in Bangladesh. As follow up of Invest Plan CREL was formulated. I have been very much involved from developing concept, project and implementation and M&E plan of the CREL. Had been also involved in identifying and engaging right COP for CREL at the beginning. Forest land cover, land use mapping, Landscape Level Palling (LLP), remote sensing and participatory GIS mapping of PAs, ECAs for strengthened geospatial planning and implementation of climate-resilient forest management through, NRM and adaptation options for 35 select forest and wetland Protected Areas (PAs)Developed the $35 million project with Winrock Arlington Head Quarter and USAID Bangladesh and HQ to improve diversified livelihoods that are environmentally sustainable & resilient to cc.Participatory Climate Vulnerability Assessment (PCVA) carried out in 23 Forest Protected Areas (PAs) and 12 Wetland Environmentally Critical Areas (ECAs) to identify people dependent on these PAs and ECAs Identified livelihood improvement options and implemented through partners (CNRS, NACOM, YPSA, CODEC) so that their dependency on PAs/ECAs are reduced;Carbon inventory, Standard Procedure of Operation for inventory, biophysical survey, decadal change analysis forest and wetland for carbon assessment, REDD+ Enhanced knowledge and capacity of key stakeholders (national level down to communities) for addressing policy gap.
22 Nansen-Bangladesh International Centre for Coastal, Ocean and Climate Studies (NABIC) Establishing the institution, capacity building of Bangladeshi post universities in environment, ocean, coastal and marine ecosystem remote sensing, GIS studies Date: Sep 2009- till date Founder and Director and member of International Advisory Board and Nansen Centre Networks Scientific Council of this international centers of excellence and coordinating the development of research facilities for oceanographic, coastal and climate modeling and remote sensing in Bangladesh in collaboration with 5 universities Planning, designing and assist in organizing and selecting candidates for PhD, post-doctoral, short courses, curriculum, students and conducting courses on environmental modeling, remote sensing and GIS.Conduct course on high resolution remote sensing and modeling.Participation in planning and designing future action research.Strategic Planning of Scientific research visions of NANSEN Network Institutions for coordinated and integrated research on Indian Ocean and its Bays while research going carried out at different centers.Coordination and negotiation of technical and fund-raising issues with international development partners especially Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, NERSC, Bergen University, NASA, USAID-Washington and Bangladesh, Nippon Foundation, Japan for sustainable NABIC.
23 Project: Resilient livelihood Climate change and disaster risk reduction Client: Christian Aid (CA) Bangladesh Date: Jul 2009 – Jun 2021 Policy Adviser Post – 2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were analyzed focusing Hard To Reach poor Worked with General Economic Division (GED), Planning Commission, Bangladesh in analyzing SDGs, indicators and SDG mapping for different sectors.Developed policy briefs i) Resilient livelihoods ii) climate change adaptation, iii) disaster risk management and emergency response
24 Project: Transforming Climate Knowledge with and for Society (TRACKS) Client: University of Bergen, Norway and Norwegian Embassy Date: Mar 2014-Sep 2017 Chief Climate Modeler and Team Leader Mobilizing high-quality knowledge on climate variability with communities in northeast BangladeshInitiate an innovative ‘post-normal science approach’ that brings together scientific and local narratives to mobilize high-quality knowledge on climate Explore the relationship between scientific and local narratives of climate variability and its impacts on communities in northeast Bangladesh, to promote a robust understanding based on high-quality climate and local knowledge.Synergy of physical climate modeling and “post-normal” or “citizen science”
25 Project: The Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Building in Higher Education (NICHE), Capacity Development of Higher Education on IWRM Client: NOW, Netherlands Partners: UNESCO-IHE, CUET and DUET, Date: Jun 2012-Jun 13 Team Leader at BCASConduct market survey on demand for IWRM professionals in consultations with stakeholder’s viz. Bangladesh Water Development Board, Institute of Water Modeling (IWM), Water Resources Planning Organization (WARPO), CEGIS and Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) major employers;Conduct technical consultation workshops to their expectation from fresh graduates in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and design Undergraduate and Graduate courses for Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) and Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Bangladesh. Design undergraduate and graduate curriculum and courses on IWRM and developed undergraduate and graduate courses and curriculum for CUET.
26 Project: Quantifying Project Impacts Under 2°C Warming (IMPACT2C) Client: FP7, European Union Date: Jun 2011-Jun 2016 Team Leader IMPACT2C integrates and synthesizes findings on +2°C warming in Europe, South Asia, East Africa and West Africa. Lead South Asia (Bangladesh & Maldives) component of the modeling, impact and DRR and adaptation study of this collaborative research project led by Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht Zentrum für Materialund Küstenforschung GmbH, Climate Service Center/ HZG, GermanyInvestigated +2°C warming in Bangladesh, Maldives, East Africa and West Africa Lead the project development process and planned execution in South Asia, Bangladesh and Maldives.Science policy Dialogue in UN Africa Head Quarter, Bangladesh and Maldives and policy recommendations
27 Project: The Third National Communication of Bangladesh (TNC) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Client: Department of Environment, MoEFCC and UNDP Date: Jan 2015 Oct 2016 Forest and LULUCF Specialist (with Forestry, RS & GIS background). Coordinated Activity 8 Detailed micro-level analyses of climate variability for different months of the year and their impacts on various sectors, especially water resources and agriculture and Activity 9: Process of erosion and accretion in the coastal zone; Lead the team in all required literature review and remote sensing and GIS analysis to discern the erosion dynamics of the coastal region. Detailed Chapter 8 and 9 of TNC Final Report have been written based on those analysis. Contributed in Chapters on:Emission of Greenhouse Gases: An inventory for BangladeshProgramme Containing Measures to Mitigate GHG EmissionsStudies on Vulnerability and Impacts and Programme containing Measures to Facilitate Adequate Adaptation to Climate Change
28 Project: Capacity Building of Bangladesh Institutional Support and Capacity Building for studies of, and adapting to, climate change in Bangladesh Client: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), USA and Bjerkness Centre for Climate Research (BCCR), Norway Team Leader (Climate Modeler, Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist) To provide necessary and useful knowledge and skills of using of the next-generation muti-scale numerical climate model for the benefit of local institutes, researchers, students, etc. who are working on hydro-meteorological researches and climate change. Climate and geospatial modeling temporal change in monsoon, variability of rainfall and temperature over Bangladesh and their impacts in different ecosystem investigated and explained. Probable mechanisms for variability on inter-seasonal and inter-annual time scales were explored. Modeling and pertaining analyses revealed a significant linkage between temperature and rainfall in pre-monsoon and winter seasons of Bangladesh. These findings were validated through a structured questionnaire survey executed in 6 different agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. Both the onset and withdrawal are happening earlier and with reduction in number of rainy days in the South Eastern and Eastern part of the country. Consequently, the ecosystems biodiversity, watersheds, agricultural productivity of land thus and food security in the regions are affected by these observed climatic changes. Total 50 early and mid-level researchers were trained through those events. The aims of the training workshop were:To create awareness about global and regional climate modelsTo give a brief over view of different climate models and their versionsTo provide hands on training on NORESM and WRFTo acquaint the researchers with the current scientific knowledge about climate modelingTo address the issues pertaining to impact modelingThree researchers from BCAS got trained TERI-BCCR Climate Research School, India and ADPC-Bjerknes Workshop on WRF Model, Thailand in climate modeling. 1 PhD (my own) and two MPhil researches on climate modeling were supported.
29 Understanding the Findings of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 2007 – Integrating CC Adaptation and Mitigation in Development Planning Clients: SysTem for Analysis, Research & Training (START), Washington, UNFCC, WMO, UNEP, WMO, Date: Jul 2009-Mar 2014 Team Leader and Lead Author on Peri-urban water and food security Land use, land cover change in urbanization which is a large RS &GIS mapping exercise.Coordination of South Asia regional assessment on urban and peri-urban Agriculture production and Food Security of Growing population 3 cities in South Asia, 3 in East and 3 in West AfricaAs a Lead Author of two chapters of a planned book from this titled “Dhaka City and Climate Change” I am writing two chapters. Institutional and policy analysis were done on governance of Dhaka City. A sustainable governance and institutional framework developed and shared with policy makers Lead mapping exercise using GeoEye 1 data for Greater Dhaka city and wrote reports by Lead Authors (who are senior and internationally acclaimed professors in their respective fields) on climate change, impacts, vulnerability and adaptation(i) Regional knowledge sharing strategies; (ii) Regional & National Science-Policy Dialogues; (iii) Conduct training seminars and (iv) Undertake regional knowledge assessments.
30 Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty and Economic Growth and the Options of Coping with the Adverse Effects of CC in Bangladesh-Mainstreaming CC into Development Planning Clients: Planning Commission, Bangladesh Government, UNDP Date: Jul 2009-Dec 2012 Climate Change SpecialistBased on the conceptual framework and analyzing available literature on climate change and poverty including PRSP (Bangladesh Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper), National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (NSAPR) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), strategies have been developed to deal with adverse impacts of climate change which will enhance the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable sectors and communities. Captured expert knowledge and understanding on impacts of cc on different sectors, impacts of economic growth and strategies with actions;This strategy documents include policy and advocacy tools which enhanced capacity of General Economic Division (GED), Planning Commission to address climate change (cc) issues and impacts in their planning process. Conduct capacity building training and plan for GED, Planning Commission;
31 Capacity Building and Strengthening of Awareness among young scientist in Bangladesh on Geo-Information science (RS &GIS)-young scientist capacity building Client: ICIMOD Date: Dec 2011-Dec 2014 Team Leader (BCAS)Program planning, project development and management. Successful execution of SERVIR Himalaya Bangladesh Youth Forums 2012 and 2014.Coordinate with country’ most senior environment and NRM experts for their motivational talks;Conduct week long training and awareness program, so that they understand how they can utilize RS & GIS in their higher study, research and professional works;Successful completion of Decision Support Tool (DST) for Forest Protected Areas in Bangladesh under SERVIR Himalaya Bangladesh by Dec 2014.
32 Second National Communication (SNC) under the UNFCC for GoB Clients: Department of Environment, Govt. of Bangladesh, UNDP and MoFCC Date: Jul 2010-Dec 2012 Expert on emission from Land use change and Forest.The GPG for LULUCF described six broad land-use categories for reporting national inventories under the Convention: i) Forest land ii) Cultivable land iii) Village Area iv) Built-up area and v) Inland Water/Wet Land; Review of relevant primary and secondary data along with literature to decide classification criteria and classes. Carry out all remote sensing and GIS analysis to map the emission from different sector particularly from land use change and Forest, transportation, industrial sectors.
33 Remote Sensing and GIS Mapping Support to Investment Planning for Sustainable Management and Eco-restoration of Protected Areas (PAs) and Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA) in Four Select Landscapes in Bangladesh; RS, GIS, forest mapping and REDD project development, investment plan Client: Widemann Associates Inc. (WAI), Arlington, USA and USAID-Bangladesh Date: Mar 2009- Dec 2011 Team Leader (Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist) The project developed a methodology for “Investment Planning for Forest Resources Management and Intervention at Landscape Level” in 4 select landscapes 1300 sq.km. for REDD, REDD+ Coordination with WAI, USA and USAID-Bangladesh. All RS & GIS analysis to (i) mainstreaming climate change and environment in protected area conservation and sustainable management towards eco-restoration. Coordinate with Ministry of Environment & Forests, Bangladesh Forest Department, Organized national, sub-national and community consultations to understand the relationship between forest ecosystem and people surrounding the habitat and finalization of report writing. Prototype landscape level investment plan for protected areas and ecologically critical areas through co-management approach for community-based adaptation climate change impacts.Poverty reduction of the neighboring and dependent population with popular participation in Co-Management Model with provision for alternative income generation/livelihood option
34 Disaster Management Information Network (DMIN), Design, Test and Demonstrate a DMIN down to household level. Clients: Comprehensive Disaster Management Program (CDMP) ADPC & CDMP. Date: May 2008 to Jul 2010 Technical Coordinator for Disaster Management Information Network (DMIN)Developing, testing and implementation of DMIN down to Household Level for Comprehensive Disaster Management Program, Bangladesh. Based on the design a national level integrated Disaster Management Information Centre (DMIC) was establish to automatically integrate all early warning (EW) information, generate and disseminate EW.Mapping of different hazards and identify most vulnerable districts and upazilas for house hold survey on disaster management and early warning issues.This involves extensive use of remote sensing and Participatory GIS for different hazard mapping and risk zoning.Institutional (district, sub-district and union) level consultations and gap analysis; Institutional capacity building on Early Warning communication at all levels.
35 Development of Training Manuals, Designing and Conducting Training Workshops in Four Coastal Upazilas – (CBACC-CF) Project Date: Feb 2009 – Dec 2010 Team Leader – Climate Change Adaptation through Coastal AfforestationDevelopment of Training Manuals, Designing and Conducting Training Workshops in Four Coastal Upazilas under Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change ThroughCoastal Afforestation in Bangladesh (CBACC-CF) ProjectConduct trainings, four coastal Upazilas with various stakeholders including government agencies and local government institutions. Monitoring and evaluation of Coastal Afforestation raised under CBACC-CF project.An independent GIS database developed for monitoring and evaluation of the plantations.
36 Development of Environment Management Guideline (EMG) & Interactive GIS Database Date: Feb 2008 – Dec 2009 Environment Specialist (Senior National Consultant) Developed Environmental Management Guidelines (EMGs) for 3 industrial sectors: a) Iron and Steel Re-rolling mills b) Rice Mills c) Welding workshops and 4. Hospital, Heath Clinics and Diagnostic Centers. Sector and location wise interactive GIS database on potential environmental pollution by industries developed for Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur & Savar and Chattogram area, Bangladesh.EMGs adopted by Department of Environment (DOE), Govt. of Bangladesh and in execution since then.
37 Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Lead Remote Sensing and GIS lab. Conduct undergraduate courses in RS and GIS. Develop project concept and proposal, technical negotiation with clients (most multinational petroleum companies). Guide M.Ss. and PhD students GIS works. RS and GIS data analysis for different consultancy projects. Partners/Clients: RasGas, QatarGas, GISQatar, supreme council for environment and natural reserves, Qatar and various Qatar govt. institutions, Qatar Foundation. Date: April 2002 – Jan 2008 Lecturer/Research Associate / Assistant Professor (RS & GIS, Environmental Monitoring) (Full time) Conduct undergraduate and graduate classes on Remote Sensing, GIS and cartography. Guided 2 PhD and 5 M.Sc. researches of exchange students.Completed Major Remote Sensing and GIS Projects:Desert mangrove change detection and ecosystem analysis towards establishing Al Dhakhira Nature Park. Land use and park management plan development for Al Dhakhira NP. Policy and management guidelines developed for it based on Landsat ETM and SPOT 5 multi dates image analysis, IUCN guidelines and other protocols.Detail aerial survey were planned and carried out with MEIS sensor onboard. “Environmental Index Mapping” and “Coastal Environmental Atlas” produced.Urban growth pattern and its impacts in and around Doha City during 1972-2002 using Landsat TM/ETM data from 1972, 1985, 2000 and 2002.“Environmental Monitoring of coastal water at Ras Laffan Industrial City using ASTER-MODIS Data with RASGAS. Sea Surface Temperature and Sedimentation Pattern mapping in the coast.Biodiversity assessment and vegetation mapping of Qatar (times series 1972-2006 Landsat, MSS, TM & ETM data).Landsat TM & ETM and MEIS data utilized for Environmental monitoring in Messaid (MIC) and Ras Laffan (RLC) Industrial cities and their off shore water.Monitoring coastal environment (SST, vegetation, coral reefs) gas exploration and infrastructure development using Landsat TM & ETM data of 1985 to 2002.
38 Client: Centre for Environment and GIS (CEGIS) Cropping pattern in the south west region from RADASAT and ETM data. Settlement and Infrastructure Mapping and Modeling for Bangladesh using IRS data. Model bank erosion of Jamuna and optimum bridge length Bank lines of Padma-Meghna for Padma optimum bridge length of the bridge. Date: Apr2001-Apr 2002 Remote Sensing and GIS Expert/ Project Leader Lead the team to procure, analyze and generate environmental risk maps of settlements and infrastructures in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area. Data order and procurement, download, rectification and processing of IKONOS, IRS, SPOT, TM & ETM, SPOT and RADARSAT data. Real Time Ground truth and image processing, interpretation and reports on results.Landsat ETM and RADASAT data procured and analyzed. Cropping pattern in different seasons was developed through image, GIS analysis and ground truth data for monitoring Cropping Pattern in the Southwest region of Bangladesh;Development of Prototype Model for Flood Monitoring;Generate GIS layers of bank lines of Jamuna river for 4 decades to monitor and model the river bank erosion in the upper and lower stream of the bridge;Channel migration analysis of Jamuna, Brahmmaputra studied using time series satellite data;Map of predicted erosion in both rivers were produced River Training works for 5.6km Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge;Identify optimum width of Jamuna River for the bridge.GIS Analysis of Bank line vector files generated from TM/ETM data Channel dynamics of Padma-Meghna River systems utilizing TM/ETM data.GIS analyses were done map Channel migration of Padma-Meghna river systems Jamuna and Brahmmaputra. Landsat images were processed to produce temporal bank line of Padma-Meghna river system.
39 Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), Ministry of Environment and Forest, Management of participatory forestry program, represent BFD & MOEF Client: BFD. Date: Aug 1999 – Aug 2001 Assistant Conservator of Forests (Remote sensing and GIS), Resources Information Management System (RIMS) unit, BFD Worked on various forest inventory data and SPOT and Landsat TM data analysis from georeferencing to classification. Update RIMS database based new survey, inventory and mapping exercises Identify forest boundaries and degraded forest in Chittagong Hill Tracts and other forest land areas through the country. Coordinate with Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO), Directorate of Land Records and Survey of Bangladesh (SoB) on the issues related forest lands and other stakeholders
40 Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), Ministry of Environment and Forest, Management of participatory forestry program, represent BFD & MOEF Client: BFD. Date: Dec 1997 – Aug 1999 Assistant Conservator of Forests Monitoring and evaluation report during and after plantation. Management of forest resources, plantations and nurseries in Dhaka, Gazipur and Narayanganj districts. 15 officers and other more than hundred staffs. Represent BFD Monthly DDC Meetings. Liaise with District and Sub District Administrative offices. Monthly District Agricultural Development Coordination Committee (DDC) Meeting. Coordinate with Asian Development (ADB), World Bank (WB).Coordinate awareness programs to conserve forest and environment. Organize Annual Tree Fair (tree, sapling exhibition –national program to aware mass people about environment and trees). Execution of Forest and Environment related government decisions and in the grass root level. Plan participatory forestry and conservation projects implemented by different agencies.
41 Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), Ministry of Environment and Forest, Management of participatory forestry program, represent BFD & MOEF Client: Forest Extension Division Bogra, Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD), Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoEF), Govt. of Bangladesh Date: Mar 1993 – Dec 1997 Assistant Conservator of Forests (Full time) Management of forest resources, plantations and nurseries Joypurhat and part of Bogra districts. 12 officers and other more than hundred staffs. Represent BFD Monthly DDC Meeting. Liaise with District and Sub District Administrative offices. Monthly District Agricultural Development Coordination Committee (DDC) Meeting. Coordinate with Asian Development (ADB), World Bank (WB), Officials. Coordinate awareness programs to conserve forest and environment. Organize Annual Tree Fair (tree, sapling exhibition –national program to aware mass people about environment and trees). Execution of Forest and Environment related government decisions and in the grass root level. Plan participatory forestry and conservation projects implemented by different agencies. Monitoring and evaluation report during and after plantation. Design and develop environmental conservation-oriented training course for officers from both the Govt. organization and social forestry participants. Technical expertise in Environmental Conservation Training Program by Bangladesh Forest Department, World Food Program (WFP), Local Govt. Engineering Department (LGED) and other organizations.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
  • Sarah Dickin, Abu Syed, Nishrin Qowamuna, George Njoroge, Carla Liera, Mohamad Mova Al’Afghani, Sidratun Chowdhury, Zoraida Sanchez, Abdulwahab Moalin Salad, Keren Winterfordg, Erma Uijtewaal, Virginia Roaf, John Butterworth and Juliet Willetts (2022) Assessing mutual accountability to strengthen national WASH systems and achieve the SDG targets for water and sanitation; H2Open Journal Vol 5 No 2, 1 doi: 10.2166/h2oj.2022.032; https://iwaponline.com/h2open/article/5/2/166/88103/Assessing-mutual-accountability-to-strengthen.
  • Ashraful Kabira, Abu Syed, Chris Zevenbergen, Jannatul Ferdousa and Assela Pathirana (2022), Capacity development for the Bangladesh Delta Plan from the perspective of delta professionals: a qualitative study, Water Policy Vol 00 No 0, 1 doi: 10.2166/wp.2022.229; https://iwaponline.com/wp/article/doi/10.2166/wp.2022.229/88713/Capacity-development-for-the-Bangladesh-Delta-Plan
  • Syed, Md Abu. Mandira Singh Shrestha, Vijay Khadgi, Chapter 33 – Last mile communication of multihazard early warning—A case study on Bangladesh, Editor(s): Indrajit Pal, Rajib Shaw, Riyanti Djalante, Sangam Shrestha, Disaster Resilience and Sustainability, Elsevier, 2021, Pages 725-765,ISBN 9780323851954, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85195-4.00002-0
  • Syed, M. Abu. Hasan, M. Tanvir and Raihan, Ahmed Tahmid (2020) Geoinformatics for conservation planning in coastal fisheries: Monitoring Hilsa (Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) through remote sensing in coastal Bangladesh; in Eds: “Impact of Climate Change on Hydrological Cycle, Ecosystem, Fisheries and Food Security” has been published. https://www.nphindia.com/book/9789390309115/impact-of-climate-change-on-hydrology-and-fisheries; ISBN: 9789390309115
  • Avash Pandey; Anjal Prakash, Anamika Barua, Md. Abu Syed and Santosh Nepal 2020. Upstream-downstream linkages in Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin: the hydro-social imperatives, Water Policy (2020) 22 (6): 1082–1097, https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2020.231
  • Krishnan, Raghvan; Arun B. Shrestha; Guoyu Ren; Rupak Rajbhandari; Sajjad Saeed; Jayanaranan Sanjay; Md. Abu Syed; Ramesh Vellore; Ying Xu; Qinglong You and Yuyu Ren. 2019 “Unravelling Climate Change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Rapid Warming in the Mountains and Increasing Extremes”, Chapter 3 in P. Wester, A. Mishra, A. Mukherji, A.B. Shrestha (eds) The Hind Kush Himalaya Assessment – Mountains, Climate Change, Sustainability and People. Springer Nature, Dordrecht; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_3
  • Tanzina Dilshada, Dwijen Mallicka, Pranita B. Udasb, Chanda G. Goodrichb, Anjal Prakashb, Ganesh Gortic, Suruchi Bhadwalc, Muhammad Zubair Anward, Neha Khandekar, S.M. Tanvir Hassana, Nusrat Habibd, Saqib Shakeel Abbasid, Md. Abu Syed and Atiq Rahman, 2019. Growing social vulnerability in the river basins: Evidence from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Region, Environmental Development 31 (2019) 19 – 33; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2018.12.004
  • Arthur. F. Lutz, Herbert W. ter Maat, René R. Wijngaard, Hester Biemans, Abu Syed, Arun B. Shrestha, Walter W. Immerzeel 2018. South Asian river basins in a 1.5 °C warmer world, Regional Environmental Change, Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-1433-4
  • Bladon, A, Syed, A, Hassan, SM T, Raihan, A T, Uddin, N, Ali, L, Ali, S, Hussein, B, Mohammed, E Y, Porras, I, Steele, P (2016) Finding evidence for the impact of incentive-based hilsa fishery management in Bangladesh: combining theory testing and remote sensing methods. IIED Working Paper. IIED, London. http://pubs.iied.org/16625IIED ISBN 978-1-78431-424-8
  • Arfanuzzaman, M. and Syed, M.A. Water Demand and Ecosystem Nexus in the Transboundary River Basin: A Zero-sum Game, Environment, Development and Sustainability, Springer (Africa, Asia & Europe), doi:10.1007/s10668-017-9915-
  • Syed, M.A.; Al Amin, M. Geospatial Modeling for Investigating Spatial Pattern and Change Trend of Temperature and Rainfall. Climate 2016, 4, 21. http://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/4/2/21; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli4020021 Arfanuzzaman, M. Mamnun, N. Islam, M.S. Dilshad, T and Syed, M.A. 2016. Evaluation of Adaptation Practices in the Agriculture Sector of Bangladesh: An Ecosystem Based Assessment, Climate 2016, 4, 11, doi:10.3390/cli4010011
  • Cor Jacobs, Tanya Singh, Salar Saeed, Ganesh Gorti, Usman Iftikhar, Abu Syed, Farhat Abbas, Bashir Ahmad, Christian Siderius 2018. Patterns of outdoor exposure to heat in three South-Asian cities, Science of the Total Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.087
  • Reeve, M.S. Syed, M.A. Spengler, T. and Spinney, J. 2014. Complementing Scientific Monsoon Definitions with Social perceptions in Bangladesh, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), June 2, 2014, http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00144.1
  • Matin, N. Syed, M.A. Musingo T. E. Mbuvi, Odit, B.O. and Ongugo, P.O. 2014. Group Inequality and Environmental Sustainability: Insights from Bangladesh and Kenyan Forest Commons, Sustainability, Vol. 6, 1462-1488; doi:10.3390/su6031462
  • Akhter, S. Raihan, F. Sohel, M.S.I. Syed, M.A. Das, S.K. and Alamgir, M. 2013, Coping with Climate Change by Using Indigenous Knowledge of Ethnic Communities from in and around Lawachara National Park of Bangladesh, Journal of Forest Science, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 181-193, August, 2013, pISSN: 2287-2396, eISSN: 2287-240X
  • Arfanuzzaman, M. and Syed, M.A. Water Demand and Ecosystem Nexus in the Transboundary River Basin: A Zero-sum Game, Environment, Development and Sustainability, Springer (Africa, Asia & Europe) http://link.springer.com/journal/10668
  • Wesselink, A. Warner, J.Chan, F. Tran, D.D. Huq, H. Terpstra, T. Thuy, N.L. Staveren, M. Syed, M.A and Zegwaard, A. 2015. Soft flood risk management in deltas around the world: can we learn lessons from comparison? Special Issue by Jacobi/Empinotti/Warner of International Journal for Water Governance.
  • http://www.internationalwatergovernance.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=215:doi-10756415-ijwg90&catid=44:international-journal-of-water-governance
  • Reeve, M.S. Syed, M.A. Spengler, T. and Spinney, J. 2014. Complementing Scientific Monsoon Definitions with Social perceptions in Bangladesh, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS), June 2, 2014, http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/pdf/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00144.1
  • Akhter, S. Raihan, F. Sohel, M.S.I. Syed, M.A. Das, S.K. and Alamgir, M. 2013, Coping with Climate Change by Using Indigenous Knowledge of Ethnic Communities from in and around Lawachara National Park of Bangladesh, Journal of Forest Science, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 181-193, August, 2013, pISSN: 2287-2396, eISSN: 2287-240X
  • Reeve, A. M, Spengler, T. Lunde, T.M. and Syed, M.A. 2012. Hva er egentlig monsunen? (“What comes to your mind when you hear the word monsoon?” Climate Journal KLIMA of CICERO, 3-2012, Oslo, Norway, http://www.cicero.uio.no/fulltext/index.aspx?id=9461&lang=no
  • Syed, M.A. Rahman, A.K.M. Atiqur. Maainuddin, G. and Ahmed, A. K. 2012. Disaster Management Information Network – Community Based Multi-hazard Early Warning Information Communication process for Bangladesh; Global Risk Forum, Davos, Switzerland
  • Syed, Md A. and Shahabuddin, 2012. “Changing Trend and Relation between Temperature and Rainfall in Bangladesh” presented in the International Conference on “Opportunities and Challenges in Monsoon Prediction in a Changing Climate” (OCHAMP-2012), 21-25 February, 2012 Pune, India, ELSEVIER special issue
  • Amin, S. M. A. Rahman, A.A. and Syed, M.A. 2012, Opportunities and Challenges of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (UPA): A Critical Analysis of Policy and Urban Governance of Dhaka City, International Conference on UP Environment 2012, Pune, India
  • Syed, Md. A. and Y. A. Hussin. 2005. Assessing Fragmented Mangroves of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh Using Optical and Radar Satellite Images. Asian Journal of Geoinformatics, Vol. 5, No. 3 (2005) July 2005, ARSRIN, Bangkok, Thailand. http://intranet.itc.nl/papers/2005/peer_jrnl/hussin_ass.pdf
  • Syed, M. A and A.M. Sadiq. 2002. Digital Image Processing for Information Gathering from Remote Sensing Data: Case Study from the State of Qatar, Proceedings of International Arab Conference on Information Technology-ACIT’2002 held at University of Qatar, Qatar http://www.acit2k.org/sub2002.html? ACIT2002/abstracts2002#211
  • Syed, M. A and A. M. Sadiq. 2002. Assessing Desert Vegetation Cover Using Remotely Sensed Data: A Case Study from the State of Qatar, Proceedings of the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing 2002 (ACRS 2002), Nov 25-29 held in Kathmandu, Nepal http://www.gisdevelopment.net/aars/acrs/2002/sol/013.pdf
  • Syed, M. A., Y. A. Hussein and M.J.C. Weir. 2001. Detecting Fragmented Mangroves in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh Using Optical and RADAR Satellite Images. Proceedings of the Asian Conference on Remote Sensing 20011, Nov 6-9 held in Singapore. http://www.crisp.nus.edu.sg/~acrs2001/pdf/018syed.pdf
  • Syed, M. A. 2001. Detecting High Contrast Edges in the Fragmented Mangroves of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh Using JERS-SAR Data. Chittagong University Journal of Sciences, November 2001.
  • Syed, M. A. 1997. People’s Participation in Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of Participatory Forestry Programme, Proceedings of XI World Forestry Congress, Anatalya, Turkey, 13 to 22 October 1997
  • Syed, Md. A. 2010. Landscape Level Planning towards Eco-restoration and Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study from Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, Technical Paper: International Day on Biological Diversity, Conference Hall, Bangladesh Forest Department, Agargaon, Dhaka, May 22, 2010
  • Syed, Md. A. 2010. Climate Change: Impacts on Biodiversity, World Environment Day Celebration National Level Technical Discussion Session, Bangabandhu International Conference Centre Dhaka, 06 June. 2010
  • Syed, Md. A. 2010. High Resolution Data Needs for Downscaling ARW-WRF for South Asia, Proceedings of the WRF Lecture Series at the Bjerknes Centre on Downscaling of ARW-WRF, (NCAR Visit to the Bjerknes Centre), Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway September 20-24, 2010
Book Chapters
  • Wesselink, Anna. Warner, Jeroen. Kooy, Michelle. Sultana, Parvin. Thompson, Paul and Syed, Abu. 2018 Climate Change Governance and Adaptation in book Climate Migration and Flood Related Disasters, CRC Press, eBook ISBN9781315166704 https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781315166704-5/climate-migration-flood-related-disasters-anna-wesselink-jeroen-warner-michelle-kooy-parvin-sultana-paul-thompson-abu-syed
  • Syed, M.A. 2015. Regional analysis, import-export and related issues on food security, Chapter 7 in Food Security and Risk Reduction in Bangladesh, Eds. Umma Habiba, Md. Anwarul Abedin, Abu Wali Raghib Hassan, Rajib Shaw, Springer Japan KK, Tokyo; http://www.ifmcbd.org/FoodSecurity&RiskReductionInBangladesh.pdf
  • Syed, M.A. Al Amin, M. Rahman, A. and Mallick, D. 2015. Synergies of Remote Sensing with Social Science Tools for Participatory, Management of Natural Resources, ASPRS – The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, 5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 210, Bethesda, MD 20814 USA
  • Syed, M.A. 2014. Low Emission Development in Forestry Sector in Bangladesh, A Chapter in the Special Edition titled “Understanding the Low Emission Development”, by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington,
  • Syed, M.A. and Al Amin, M 2010. Landscape Level Planning towards Developing a Decision Support System for Sustainable Management and Eco-restoration of Protected Areas (PAs), Proceedings of “International symposium Benefiting from earth Observation-Bridging the Gap for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region, 4-6 October 2010, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Katmandu, Nepal
National Reports
  • Syed, M.A. 2016. Post-2015 Development Agenda: civil society position in Bangladesh, The General Economic Division, Planning Commission, the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Christian Aid UK.
  • Syed, M.A. 2016. The path to development, The Daily Dhaka Tribune, February 11, 2016, http://www.dhakatribune.com/long-form/2016/feb/11/path-development
  • Syed, M.A. 2016. The path to development, The Daily Dhaka Tribune, February 10, 2016, http://www.dhakatribune.com/long-form/2016/feb/10/path-development
  • Syed, M.A. (as Lead Author and Editor-with 9 Lead Authors with National Top Experts in their respective areas and 3 contributing authors), Knowledge Assessments on Climate Change and Peri-urban/Urban Agriculture in South Asia, UNEP
  • Syed, M.A. (as one of the principal researchers), Project Completion Report for DMIN (CDMP5b1) support project, Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (Component 5b), Support for a Disaster Management Information network (DMINN) Report on Communication Ready Certification: A post evaluation of DMIN pilot field testing, CDMP Support for a Disaster Management Information network (DMIN)
  • Syed, M.A. (as one of the principal researcher and Technical Coordinator of the project), Report on Communication Mapping and Planning at Community Levels, CDMP-Component 5b-1 Support for DMIN
  • Syed, M.A. (as one of the principal researchers) The Probable Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty and Economic Growth and the Options of Coping with Adverse Effect of Climate Change in Bangladesh, General Economic Division, Planning Commission And United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • Syed, M. A. 2006. “Remote Sensing and GIS Study of Al Dakhira Desert Mangrove Ecosystem”. In final report “Environmental Studies towards the Establishment of Al Dhakhira Nature Park”. (Eds. Bari, E. A. and Ansi M. A.) Pp.55-88 (A 33 pages detailed report prepared and submitted to National Committee on Al Dhakhira Nature Reserve Project,
  • Syed, M. A. 2003. “Assessing Desert Vegetation and Biodiversity in The State of Qatar Using Remotely Sensed Data”. In national report “The Qatar National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan-Assessment, Biodiversity Inventory”. (Eds. Bari, E. A., Bari, A. A., Jassim M. A. and Ansi M. A.) Pp.105-116 (A 10 pages Chapter on Environmental Analysis of Biodiversity issues in Presented to the government and published in April 2004.)
  • Syed, M. A. 2004. “Environmental Assessment of MeSaied Coasts”. In final report “Ecological Survey of The Marine and Coastal Environment of MeSaied Industrial City”. (Eds. Bari, A. A. and Jassim M. A.) Pp.33-44. (An 11 pages Chapter on Environmental Analysis including Sedimentation, industrial effluent discharges, and industrial fumes.)