Projects

Ongoing

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Global Fellowship (supervisors: Prof. L. Hunter at CU Boulder, and Prof. J. Schanze at TU Dresden) “HoMe: Historical Grounding of Migration Decisions of People at Risks”; € ~265,000 funded by European Union (grant scheme:), May 2020- April 2023

Abstract:

The HoMe (Historical Grounding of Migration Decisions of People at Environmental Risks) project will provide insights on historical reasons of migration decisions (to migrate or to not migrate) of people at environmental risks. It is assumed, the settlement history of a community influences non-migration. For the first time, this project will develop an analytical framework using Ostrom’s socio-ecological system framework for examining the historical grounding of migration decisions. Second, it will model how changes of the social, political and environmental conditions over time influence migration decisions using agent-based modelling. Third, the model will be used to explore possible future migration decisions based on alternative scenarios of changing societal and environmental conditions in the future making use of the findings from the influence of the historical grounding. Results will provide a major contribution to global adaptation policy frameworks, including the SDGs and the EU’s Agenda on Migration. It is hosted by two excellent, highly experienced and internationally renowned institutes: University of Colorado Boulder (outbound) and Technische Universität Dresden (inbound).

Forthcoming

Principal Investigator (with Dr. Thorsten Heimann). “Socio-Spatial and Temporal (Trans-)Formation of Planning and Climate Adaptation Cultures in Flood Risk Management in Bangladesh and Germany (CultPlan)”.  €~660,000 funded by German Research Foundation (DFG), expected to begin in 2022.

Completed

Conference grant (with Prof. Jochen Schanze, Dr. Jude Kimengshi, Dr. M. Domki, Ms. Kendisha Illona Soekardjo Hintz). “Environmental Non-Migration: Framework, Methods and Cases“, held on 19-21 June 2019 at Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), €12000 funded by Graduate Academy and “Friends and Funders e.V.” of TUD. 

Principal Investigator (with Dr. Lisa Koep, Dr. Mathias Damert). “Textile Industry and Human Mobility Pattern in Bangladesh”. €10000 (Grant scheme: Internationalisation under TU Dresden Excellent Initiative) February 2019 – November 2019

Principal Investigator (at the Chair of Environmental Development and Risk Management): “NON-MIGRABILITY - Non-Migration of People at Risks in the Context of Social and Economic Vulnerability”; € ~200,000 (Grant scheme: Open-Topic Post-Doc under TU Dresden Excellent Initiative) November 2017 –October 2019

Team leader (with Kihwan Kim, and Brittany Berger) of an edited book on “Resilient Communities”; US$ 17000 funded under Buck Kingman Initiative of UC Berkeley, September 2015 to August 2017

Project Manager: “ Migrants at Slums – Livelihood at Risks”, €13000 funded by Institute of Regional Science (IfR) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany and Coastal Research Center (CRC), Bangladesh, June 2015 – March 2016

Project Manager: “Informal economy of Sundarbans”, €6000 funded by Institute of Regional Science (IfR) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany and Coastal Research Center (CRC), Bangladesh, April 2015 – December 2015

Project Manager: “ Relocation and Risk at Government supported Gucchagram project in Bangladesh”, €5000 funded by Institute of Regional Science (IfR) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany and Coastal Research Center (CRC), Bangladesh, August 2014 – December 2014

Coordinator of field research (with Prof. Brooke Ackerly, Ms. Ana Carella): “Household Key Informants Interview (HHKII) and Qualitative Survey in Bangladesh” under Integrated Social, Environmental and Engineered Model (ISEE) Project of Vanderbilt University, USA. ~ 85000€ funded by Office of Naval Research, March – July 2014

Editor (with Dr. Benjamin Etzold): edited book on “Environment, Migration and Adaptation: A Case of Bangladesh”, ~ 5000€ funded by International Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Development (ICCCAD) Bangladesh, and published by AHDPH Publishing House- Dhaka. March 2012 – December 2014

Guest Researcher Supervision: Mr. S.M. Tanvir Hassan, Ph.D. Student of ITC Netherlands,  at Institute of Regional Science (IfR) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany. Topic: Flood risks management in GBM Delta, (Feb – April 2014), €2500 funded by Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, May-August 2013

Publication of Ph.D dissertation: “Der gesellschaftliche Umgang mit zunehmender Verwundbarkeit: Eine Analyse der sozialen Bedingungen für vulnerabilitätsorientierte räumliche Planungen in der Küstenzone von Bangladesch“ [in English: The societal dealings with increasing vulnerability. An analysis of social relationships for vulnerability oriented spatial planning in coastal areas of Bangladesh], €1000 from KAAD (Catholic Academic Exchange Program), December 2013

Principal Investigator (with Dr. A. Gain et al.) Project: “Interdisciplinary discourse on climate change adaptation (IDCCA): global implications and local response to extreme events in Asian trans-boundary river basins”, €4000 funded under BIARI Climate Change Award 2011, Brown University, July 2011 – June 2012

Project Manager: Field research - “Societal dealings with cyclone Sidr of 2007 and Aila of 2009”, €~8000 funded by Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists (KHYS) of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, and Coastal Research Center (CRC), Bangladesh, March-August 2009

Author : “Living With Cyclone Aila”, €~1500 funded by Coastal Research Center (CRC), Bangladesh, September – December 2009

Project Manager: Reviews on Micro-Credit and Societal Change, €3000 funded by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), under DAAD-STIBET programme, December 2009 – March 2010

Research Partnership

Research Partner for the NSF SEES Project: Linking rural smallholder soil and water management practices in tropical deltas to sea level rise vulnerability. Principal Investigator: Dr. Kimberly RG. Rogers, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, since January 2017

Foreign Research Fellow for the project on “Environmental stress and human migration in a low-lying developing nation: A comparison of co-evolving natural and human landscapes in the physically and culturally diverse context of Bangladesh", A joint research project of Vanderbilt University, funded by: Office of Naval Research, USA, March 2013 –  September 2017

Travel grants

DAAD Conference Travel Grant for attending ‘Practicing the Commons – Self-governance, cooperation and institutional change’, at Utrecht, the Netherlands [09 – 14/07/2017]

AAG Enrichment Funds for attending American Association for Geographers (AAG) Meeting 2017 at Boston, USA [05 – 09/04/2017]

European Science Foundation (ESF) Travel grant for ESF-Bielefeld conference on 'Tracing Social Inequalities in Environmentally-Induced Migration, Bielefeld, Germany [9-13/12/2012]

NSF-DFG Grant for NSF-DFG Conference "Reckoning with the Risk of Catastrophe", Washington DC, USA [3-5/10/2012]

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Travel Grant, for researchers' workshop on Climate-induced Migration at ADB, Manila, Philippines, [14-15/09/2011]

Graduate School of Climate and Environment (GRACE) of KIT Travel Grant for ASCE Conference on Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2011 at Anchorage, Alaska, [26-28/06/2011]

KAAD Travel Grant for Colorado Conference of "Earth System Governance: Crossing Boundaries and Building Bridges", Fort Collins, Colorado State University [17-20/05/2011]

European Science Foundation (ESF) Travel grant for ESF-Bielefeld conference on 'Environmental Change and Migration: From Vulnerabilities to Capabilities, Bad Salzuflen, Germany [5-9/12/2010]

Organization of scientific events

19 – 21 June 2019

Lead host & Coordinator of the international conference on 'Environmental Non-Migration: Framework, Methods and Cases’, in Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), Germany

07 July 2018

Coordinator of expert workshop on 'River Navigability and Inland Shipping in Bangladesh: Economic Importance and Impacts of Environmental Change' co-hosted by Vanderbilt University- USA, University of Dhaka (DU), Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB), International Centre for Climate Change Adaptation and Development (ICCCAD) and Riverine People.

05 April 2018

Lead host & coordinator of international conference on “Immobility in the face of climate change in Bangladesh” at Independent University of Bangladesh, in collaboration with ICCCAD-Bangladesh.

04 April 2018

Lead host & coordinator of expert-discussion on ‘Climate Change adaptation: Resilience and Migration Debates’, at Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS)” of the University of Dhaka.

02 May 2016

Lead host & Coordinator of the international workshop on 'Livelihood and Environment of Southwest Bangladesh – Stakeholders perspective for policy planning', CSS Ava Centre, Khulna, Bangladesh in cooperation with Vanderbilt University (VU), Dhaka University (DU), Khulna University (KU), and Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP)

30 April 2016:

Lead host & Coordinator of the international round-table discussion on "Coupled human-natural interactions: environmental and social changes in southwest Bangladesh", at Planners Auditorium at Dhaka, in cooperation with Vanderbilt University (VU), Dhaka University (DU), Khulna University (KU), and Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP)