Ainun Nishat, PhD
Professor Ainun Nishat is recognized as a pioneering expert of water resource management and climate change in Bangladesh. He did PhD in Civil Engineering from University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, U.K. in 1981. He achieved M.Sc in Civil Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), 1975.
Currently, he is involved in BRAC University as Professor Emeritus, one of the leading private universities in Bangladesh. He was former vice chancellor of this university. He is engaged in carrying out diversified research projects in the field of climate change and environment with the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research, BRAC University. Previously he was the Country Representative, Bangladesh and followed by Senior Advisor Climate Change, Asia Region in International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He started his career as Assistant Engineer at the Water Development Board and later on he joined in BUET as a lecturer in 1972 in the Civil Engineering Department and become a Professor in 1985. He has experience of working as a specialist in the “Master Plan for construction of Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters in the coastal belt of Bangladesh”. In addition, he was the adviser while developing the coastal zone policy for Bangladesh. Furthermore, Mr. Nishat has conducted ample of research work on Sundarban during his work tenure in IUCN.
He is a key member of the Climate Change Negotiation Team for Bangladesh and represented Bangladesh at the United Nations Climate Change Conferences (CoP) since Bali, Indonesia at CoP 13 till today. He is also a member of the Compliance Committee of the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC since 2006. He was a key member of experts that prepared the National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA-2005), Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP 2008 and 2009) and also was one of the Lead Authors of Working Group-II of IPCC in preparation of the Third Assessment Report. He had been closely involved in the preparation of number of strategies and action plans like Bangladesh National Conservation Strategy and National Environment Management Action Plan etc.
As an expert in water resource management, he was a member of the Indo-Bangladesh Joint River Commission and played a vital role in the Ganges Water Treaty Negotiations that were finalized in 1996. He was a member of the Panel of Experts who consulted the construction of the Jamuna Bridge, the longest bridge in Bangladesh and currently a member of the Panel of Experts consulting the construction of the Padma Bridge.
Besides working at various projects of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP and other international and inter-governmental organizations; he has a close association with leading NGO's in Bangladesh. Before joining BRAC University, he was a Member of the Governing Body of BRAC. He also works closely with Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Bangladesh Center for Sustainable Development (CFSD), Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP), Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) and other leading NGOs.He was Adjunct Professor in Institute of Natural Resources Management, University of Manitoba, Canada; IHE, Delft, The etherlands; Bangabandhu Sheik Mujubur Rahman Agriculture University. He also worked as a Professor at North South University, and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB). As a resource person, he delivers lectures regularly at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center (BPATC), Planning Academy, National Academy for Educational Management (NAEM), National Defense Collage and the Armed Forces Staff College at Mirpur, Dhaka etc
Book Chapters
Nishat, A., & Chowdhury, J. K. (2019). Influence of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystems in the Bangladesh sundarbans. In H. S. Sen (Ed.), The Sundarbans: A disaster-prone Eco-region. Coastal Research Library (Vol. 30, pp. 439–468). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00680-8_15
Mirza, M. M. Q., Mandal, U. K., Rabbani, M. G., & Nishat, A. (2019). Integration of national policies towards addressing the challenges of impacts of climate change in the GBM Region. In H. S. Sen (Ed.), The Sundarbans: A disaster-prone Eco-region. Coastal Research Library (Vol. 30, pp. 581–607). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00680-8_20
Mirza, M. M. Q., Talpur, M. A. A., & Nishat, A. (2019). Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into policies in the sundarbans region. In H. S. Sen (Ed.), The Sundarbans: A disaster-prone Eco-region. Coastal Research Library (Vol. 30, pp. 553–577). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00680-8_19
Dasgupta, S., Kamal, F. A., Khan, Z. H., Choudhury, S., & Nishat, A. (2015). River salinity and climate change: Evidence from coastal Bangladesh. In World Scientific Reference on Asia and the World Economy (pp. 205–242). World Scientific Publishing Co. https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814578622_0031
Nishat, A., & Mukherjee, N. (2013). Sea level rise and its impacts in coastal areas of Bangladesh. In R. Shaw, F. Mallick, & A. Islam (Eds.), Climate Change Adaptation Actions in Bangladesh (Methods, Approaches and Practices) (pp. 43–50). Tokyo: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54249-0_3
Nishat, A., Nishat, B., & Abdullah Khan, M. F. (2010). A strategic view of land management planning in Bangladesh. In Flood Risk Science and Management (pp. 484–498). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444324846.ch24
Journals
Mukul, S. A., Huq, S., Herbohn, J., Nishat, A., Atiq Rahman, A., Amin, R., & Ahmed, F. U. (2019). Rohingya refugees and the environment. Science, 364(6436), 138. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw9474
McEvoy, D., Ahmed, I., Trundle, A., Sang, L. T., Diem, N. N., Suu, L. T. T., … Nishat, A. (2014). In support of urban adaptation: A participatory assessment process for secondary cities in Vietnam and Bangladesh. Climate and Development, 6(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.886991
Rahman, M. D. M., Nishat, A., & Vacik, H. (2009). Anthropogenic disturbances and plant diversity of the madhupur sal forests (Shorea robusta C.F. Gaertn) of Bangladesh. International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management, 5(3), 162–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/17451590903236741
Biswas, S. R., Mallik, A. U., Choudhury, J. K., & Nishat, A. (2009). A unified framework for the restoration of Southeast Asian mangroves-bridging ecology, society and economics. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 17(4), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-008-9113-7
Rahman, M. M., Nishat, A., Rahman, G. M. M., Ruprecht, H., & Vacik, H. (2008). Analysis of spatial diversity of sal (Shorea robusta Gaertn.f) forests using neighbourhood-based measures. Community Ecology, 9(2), 193–199. https://doi.org/10.1556/ComEc.9.2008.2.8
Biswas, S. R., Choudhury, J. K., Nishat, A., & Rahman, M. M. (2007). Do invasive plants threaten the Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh? Forest Ecology and Management, 245(1–3), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.02.011
Rahman, M. M., Begum, F., Nishat, A., Islam, K. K., & Vacik, H. (2007). Erratum: Comparison of structural diversity of tree-crop associations in Peripheral and Buffer zones of Gachabari Sal forest area, Bangladesh. Journal of Forestry Research, 18(2), 165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-007-0034-8
Islam, G. M. T., Kabir, M. R., & Nishat, A. (2006). Nodal point relation for the distribution of sediments at channel bifurcation. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 132(10), 1105–1109. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2006)132:10(1105)
Haque, M. R., Chowdhury, N. K., Khan, M. H., Ahmed, R., Rahman, M. M., & Nishat, A. (2004). Swanp forest restoration in Haor area for livelihood security - A community based approach. International Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 30(3), 309–315.
Faisal, I. M., Kabir, M. R., & Nishat, A. (2003). The disastrous flood of 1998 and long term mitigation strategies for Dhaka City. Natural Hazards, 28(1), 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021173832234
Faisal, I. M., Kabir, M. R., & Nishat, A. (1999). Non-structural flood mitigation measures for Dhaka City. Urban Water, 1(2), 145–153.
Brichieri-Colombi, J. S. A., & Nishat, A. (1988). Irrigation system study in international basin. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 114(1), 117–118. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1988)114:1(117)
Conferences
Nishat, A. (2015). Climate changes-challenges and options for Bangladesh. Defense Service Command and Staff College.
Nishat, A. (2015). Climate change scenarios for new design approaches for embankments and flood control structure in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. Ministry of Water Resources Bangladesh water Development Board.
Nishat, A. (2015). Bridging climate change and development. Dhaka: Alliance Française of Dhaka.
Islam, G. M. T., Kabir, M. R., & Nishat, A. (2001). Scouring around nose-tip of channel bifurcation. In D. Phelps & G. Shelke (Eds.), Bridging the Gap: Meeting the World’s Water and Environmental Resources Challenges (Vol. 111). Florida, United States: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). https://doi.org/10.1061/40569(2001)279
Hossain, G. M. A., & Nishat, A. (1999). Impact on fishery and navigation of SSFCDI project in Bangladesh: Recommended mitigation measures. In E. M. Wilson (Ed.), 29th Annual Water Resources Planning and Management Conference, WRPMD 1999. Tempe, Arizona, United States: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). https://doi.org/10.1061/40430(1999)78