|
Home
Education
Research
Publication
Teaching
Achievement
Curriculum Vitae
In situ Measurement
Poster Gallery
My LinkedIn
My Twitter
My Travel Map
|
Research Interest
Groundwater Recharge; Climate Change
in Hydrogeology; Integrated Watershed, Springshed,
and Coastal Management; Natural-cultural Water Heritage; Gender Water
Insecurity
|
Sara Nowreen
Home
|
Ongoing Projects
· Principal Investigator, Enhancing Climate-Resilient Groundwater Supply and Food
Security Using Aquifer Storage and Recovery Technique (ECASRT)
Fund: TWAS
and Elsevier Foundation
Collaboration: Bangladesh Agricultural Development
Corporation (BADC)
Duration: 2023 –2026
· Co-investigator, “Web-based Agricultural Information System (WebAIS)
for Bangladesh”
Fund: BADC, Bangladesh and German Govt.
Collaboration: TH, Koln (Lead), Germany; TU Darmstadt of Germany
and BAU of Bangladesh
Duration: June 2024-June 2028
· Co-investigator, “Downscaling and analyzing
satellite-derived data against in-situ measurements: A step towards
sustainable groundwater use in Bangladesh”
Fund: RISE-BUET
Collaboration: CSE, BUET
Duration: 18 March 2023 - 17 September 2024
Past
Projects as PI
· Principal Investigator, “Field Based Applied Research on “Aquifer Storage and
Recovery (ASR)” technology for increasing cropping intensity of Bangladesh”
Fund: Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF)
Collaboration: Bangladesh Agricultural Development
Corporation (BADC)
Duration: 13 December 2020 – 12 March 2024
· Principal Investigator, "Crop Yield Prediction with High-Resolution
Satellite Image and Deep learning model: A Case Study in Naldanga
Subdistrict, Natore, Bangladesh”
Fund: Planet
Collaboration: CSE, BUET
Duration: 22 September 2023 – 21 September 2024
· Principal
Investigator, “Aggravating Situation of
Coastal Community Life in The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta During
Post-Amphan and COVID – 19 Times”
Fund:
UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub Rapid Response Fund
Collaboration:
Department of Social Services, Ministry of Social Welfare, GoB.
Duration:
June 2021 – March 2022
·
Principal
Investigator,
"Development
of IoT enabled data logger to monitor groundwater and analysis of the
collected data",
Fund: ICT
Innovation Fund, GoB, Bangladesh
Collaboration: CSE, BUET
Duration: 2019 – 2021
·
Principal
Investigator, “Study on abstraction-induced
recharge as an adaptation response to climate variation for shallow aquifer
in Bangladesh “
Fund: International Foundation for
Science (IFS) Research
Grant W5582-2
Duration: October 2018 - October 2021
·
Country-lead, “Data collection and contribution to a comparative article on
living polder strategies in deltas”
Fund: Utrecht
University under Water, Climate & Future Deltas: Seed-money Call 2019
Collaboration: Utrecht University,
Netherlands
Duration: September 2020 - December
2021
·
Principal
Investigator, “Diagnosing Water security in hard to reach
mountainous areas with an environmental security framework”
Fund: International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Research Grant SDC HUC FOCUS
2018
Collaboration: Sikkim University, India
Duration: August 2018 - November 2019
·
Principal
Investigator, “Assessment of River Water Availability in Bangladesh for
Off-stream Uses”
Fund: International
Foundation for Science (IFS) Research Grant W5582-1
Duration: October 2015 - December 2017
Past
Projects as Co-I
·
Co-investigator, “GCRF Living Deltas Hub”
Role: Co-lead in Work Package 1: Heritage, Livelihoods and Delta Living: pasts,
presents and alternative futures
Fund: UKRI
Global Challenges Research Fund
Collaboration:
Newcastle University (UK) as the lead and 39 other partner organizations
spread across 13 countries
Duration: Feb
2019 - May 2024
· Co-Investigator, “Towards
sustainable urban water management in Hindukush Himalayan (HKH) Region: a
participatory approach to improving water security in mountain cities”
Fund: Asia-Pacific Network (APN) for Global
Change Research
Collaboration:
Tribhuvan University, Nepal and TERI School of Advanced Studies, India
Duration:
October 2021- March 2024
· Co-investigator, “REACH-WISER: Water insecurity, equity and
resilience-Unravelling how intra-household dynamics impact on progress
towards water security”
Fund: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(FCDO) under REACH project
Collaboration: University of Oxford, UK as the lead
Duration: Feb 2022- Sep 2024
·
Co-investigator, ”GWMap: Applying Machine Learning to map groundwater levels
in Bangladesh”
Fund: Microsoft Azure credits
equivalent to $15000 USD under AI for Earth Microsoft Azure Compute Grant
Collaboration: CSE, BUET
Duration: 2019 – 2021
· Co-Investigator, “'Engineering and flood risk
through a gender lens: Expanding capabilities in remote sensing and raising
awareness of gender-based vulnerabilities for improved flood risk management
in Bangladesh'.”
Fund: Nuffic under Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) 2020
Collaboration:
HKV Lijn in water, Netherlands
Duration:
August 2021 to March 2022
·
Co-investigator, “Uptake of Climate Change Adaptation Research Results
in South Asia: Evaluation of Adaptation Trials in the
Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta and its Upscaling to Climate Financing
(Bangladesh)”
Fund: International Development Research Centre
(IDRC)
Duration: 1 July 2020 – 31
December 2021
·
Co-Investigator, “How to
MOOC? Developing online learning on Adaptive Delta Management in support of
the Bangladesh Delta Plan”
Fund: Nuffic under Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) 2020
Collaboration: Climate Adaptation
Services (CAS), Netherlands
Duration: September 2020 - December
2021
·
Co-investigator, “Living Polders: dynamic polder management for
sustainable livelihoods, applied to Bangladesh",
Fund: NWO
Duration:
Since October 2018 – June 2021
·
Co-investigator, ”Developing Flash Flood Early Warning System (FFEWS)”
Role: Hydrodynamic modelling of North-East Region using HEC-RAS
1D-2D model
Fund: International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD)
Duration: December 2017- April 2020
· Co-convener, “Food, water,
policy and people: evaluating the impacts of climate change and groundwater
limitation on food security in NW Bangladesh, to guide policy for adaptation”
Fund: Research Catalyst Grants at University College London, UK as part of
2015 BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities/UCL Grand Challenges Symposium
Series
Duration: May 2015 - April 2017.
· Co-ordinator
& researcher,
“DEltas, vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation
(DECCMA)”
project under “Collaborative
Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA)”
program by
Fund: DFID and IDRC
Collaboration: University of
Southampton (UK), Jadavpur University (India), University of Ghana (Ghana)
and 31 other institutions
Duration: February – October 2014
· Co-investigator, “An assessment of
present and future changes of hydrological cycle of haor basin area – a case
study” under
"High-resolution Regional Climate Change Information for Bangladesh to
inform Impacts Assessments, Vulnerability indicators and Adaptation
Policies"
Fund: DFID
Collaboration: Met Office, UK
Duration: June 2011 - February 2013
·
Focal person of IWFM for DeltaCap: "Capacity Building for the Implementation of Bangladesh
Delta Plan 2100",
Role: workshop coordinator
Fund: Nuffic-NICHE
Duration: Since May 2018 – December 2020
Academic Visits
25 June - 28
June 2019: Sikkim University, India, Worked on Water
security for mountainous people.
3 September–6 November
2016 & 9–28 January 2017: University College London, UK
Worked on groundwater
recharge processes in an Asian Mega-Delta: evidence from high-frequency
monitoring in the Bengal Basin
01
February – 15 March 2013: University College London
(UCL), UK
Worked on the analysis of
projected changes in rainfall intensity within Bangladesh under the DFID research contract of
“Groundwater resources in the Indo-Gangetic Basin: resilience to climate
change and pumping”. Work Plan
2
July - 20 September 2012: Met Office Hadley Centre,
UK
Worked on the assessment of
present and future changes of hydrological cycle of haor basin area Work plan
Achievement
Title
|
Enhancing
Climate-Resilient Groundwater Supply and Food Security Using Aquifer
Storage and Recovery Technique (ECASRT)
|
Funding
Agency
|
TWAS
and Elsevier Foundation
|
Duration
|
2023
– 2026 (3 years)
|
Researcher
from IWFM
|
Dr.
Sara Nowreen
|
Partner
Institute
|
Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC)
|
Short
Description
|
Among
several promising strategies to arrest declining water tables, underground
storing via aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) presents some intriguing
possibilities to defuse irrigation tensions in many parts of Bangladesh.
The study will attempt to systematically assess the potential of multiple
ASR wells in augmenting GW recharge along with improved quality of water,
sufficient for subsequent irrigation abstraction in the dry season.
Specific objectives are: (1) enhance operational capabilities of ASR against
chronic clogging; (2) reduce vulnerability of coastal aquifer via using
multiple ASR wells in diluting saline concentration to a tolerable limit
for crop production; and (3) training farmers, including women, to maintain
ASR wells for resilient water management. Mineralogical and
hydrogeochemical aspects of ASR will be examined in detail. The proposed
study expects to improve the technical capability of Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation (in collaboration) as well as
community women to spearhead ASR adoption and application.
|
Title
|
Field Based Applied Research on
“Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)” technology for increasing cropping
intensity of Bangladesh
|
Funding
Agency
|
Krishi Gobeshona
Foundation (KGF)
|
Duration
|
13 December 2020 – 12 March 2024 (3.25 years)
|
Researcher from IWFM
|
Dr. Sara Nowreen
Prof. Mashfiqus
Salehin
|
Partner Institute
|
Bangladesh
Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC)
|
Short
Description
|
Aquifer Storage and Recovery
(ASR) is a concept of artificial recharge and recently been promoted by
Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. India has many success stories of implementing
ASR for increasing cropping intensity by (a) removal of waterlogging, and
(b) supplying irrigation cum domestic water. However, no field-based
application has yet been attempted in Bangladesh for agricultural purposes.
With this aim to increase cropping intensity of Bangladesh, bore well
aquifer type ASR is expected to be useful, innovative water management
solution for farmers facing drought, water-logged and salinity situations.
ASR gets their land free from water logging in peak monsoon and during
post-monsoon period allows farmers to access best quality irrigation water
at their farming land. ASR is an added benefit along with salinity solution
for the coastal region. Thereby, first, the study will explore the
opportunity of using ASR set-up in the saline prone coastal area namely, Dacope. Second, it will assess the possibility of using
existing STW structures in both recharging and irrigation pumping for the
North region (i.e., Nator, Rajshahi, and Tangail)
to the current experimental set-up of ASR.
|
Title
|
Aggravating
Situation of Coastal Community Life in The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta
During Post-Amphan and COVID – 19 Times
|
Funding
Agency
|
UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub’s Rapid Response
|
Duration
|
June 2021 – March 2022 (9 months)
|
Researcher
from IWFM
|
Dr.
Sara Nowreen
|
Partner
Institutes
|
Department of Social
Services, Ministry of Social Welfare, GoB.
|
Short
Description
|
The proposed research will measure the impact of
COVID-19 and Cyclone Amphan on different livelihood groups and associated
aggravation of risks on them. It will further compare aggravated risks at
household level between men and women. The present study aims to assess the
current status of vulnerable coastal communities,
particularly, the local livelihood groups of the Southwest region of
Bangladesh and compute how uninsurable damages aggravate livelihood risks
among poor households. To be specific, this research will address the
following research questions:
a. What
risks are arising in peoples’ livelihood?
b. How
aggravating risks are affecting families at household levels?
c. Is
there any difference in aggravating risks between men and women?
The proposed project will pursue its aim by
attaining the following specific objectives:
i. Assess
the impacts on different livelihood groups during post-cyclone-Amphan
periods and ongoing COVID – 19 outbreaks.
ii. Evaluate
the aggravation risks of different livelihood groups including gender in a
distal delta.
Finally, this research will provide policy
recommendations required to response in assisting the vulnerable families
in crisis and improving their livelihoods thereby.
|
Title
|
To
enable data collection and contribution to a comparative article on living
polder strategies in deltas
|
Funding
Agency
|
Utrecht University Pathways to Sustainability
program: Seed Money Project 2019
|
Duration
|
September 2019 – December 2021
(1.3 years)
|
Researcher
from IWFM
|
Dr.
Sara Nowreen
|
Short
Description
|
Key
motivation to set up this project is the apparent global interest in hybrid
polder management strategies and (temporary) restoration of flood dynamics
on delta lands, summarized here as ‘living polder strategies’.
The research questions that we seek to answer include:
1. To what extent are the intended
benefits of the living polder strategy achieved?
2.
What
specific physical conditions (geography, flood dynamics, river discharge,
sediment load) apply to the living polder strategy in question, and to what
extent have these helped or hindered the performance of the strategy?
3.
What
are specific institutional conditions (institutions, governance modes,
societal engagement) that apply to the living polder strategy in question,
and to what extent have these helped or hindered the performance of the
strategy?
|
Title
|
Diagnosing Water security in hard to reach mountainous areas with an environmental
security framework
|
Funding
Agency
|
International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
|
Duration
|
August 2018 - November 2019 (1.5 years)
|
Researcher from IWFM
|
Dr. Sara Nowreen
Dr. Ishtiaque Amin Chowdhury
Ms. Binata
Roy
|
Collaboration
|
Sikkim University, India
|
Short
Description
|
Water
security problems in mountainous areas are often systemic and rooted in an
approach to water security by the local government that gives
little consideration to spring-based water management system.
Therefore, to avert impending crises of water much progress has been made, in particular, in India and Nepal through Spring-shed
management (e.g., Dhara Vikas). In contrast, Bangladesh Government has
never been officially exposed to such ideas although has already built
several structural interventions addressing the need of using spring water
for upland communities. There is a need in Bangladesh to tackle these
projects using science and traditional knowledge leading to resource-based
spring-shed management approach. Hence, the overall objective of the project
is to generate and disseminate knowledge on water security in hard to reach mountainous areas with an environmental
security framework. The specific objectives are: i. Developing an environmental security framework for
diagnosing the community water security using four interrelated concepts
that are availability, access, utility, and stability of water resources.
ii. Develop conceptual basis of recharge process at local scale and find
out best short term and long term measures for the
sustainable water security in the study area based on site observations,
hydrogeological parameter analysis and participatory social science
research. iii. Knowledge and experience sharing of the local scale
concept/learning with Sikkim, India and beyond explicitly accounting water
security issues of upland community.
|
Title
|
Study on abstraction-induced
recharge as an adaptation response to climate variation for shallow aquifer
in Bangladesh
|
Funding
Agency
|
International Foundation for
Science (IFS)
|
Duration
|
October 2018 - April 2021 (2.5 years)
|
Researcher from IWFM
|
Dr. Sara Nowreen
|
Short
Description
|
The
importance of groundwater is expected to heighten in future under the need
to offset the substantial ill effects of climate change. The adaptive
capacity is important because, while more frequent and intense variability
of rainfall will rapidly enhance the risk of significant reduction in the
volume of reliable surface water resources, aquifers are likely to be
affected much more slowly by the projected climate change. On the other
hand, population increase, irrigation demand and climate change in combination
will continue to increase the stress on the groundwater resource in the
future. Against this backdrop, a PhD study by Nowreen, 2017 proposes
piloting abstraction-induced recharge concept (AI-R) as an adaptation
option for some probable locations in Bangladesh to meet the un-met water
challenges in future. The underlying and implicit assumption of the AI-R
concept is that the underground store can be rapidly filled in during the
wet season and used up during in the following dry season. But A-IR concept
does not have the potential to be applied at the large basin scale in whole
Bangladesh but probable locations are already
identified at the farm scales by the PhD study of Nowreen, 2017. However,
given the concerns over the mobilisation of natural occurring arsenic due
to heavy abstraction through pumping, continuing use/increase of irrigation
water should be carefully monitored and managed. One of the most challenging aspects of
reviving the A-IR is to maintain the required flows during the low-flow period.
This is particularly true, because many stretches of the river already have
an unacceptable level of low flows in the dry season. Therefore, implementation of AI-R would
require testing in pilot projects within limited areas. The aquifer
condition, response to rainfall events etc. are at least needed to be
observed on potential sites where piloting can be attempted.
|
Title
|
Development of IoT enabled data
logger to monitor groundwater and analysis of the collected data
|
Funding
Agency
|
ICT Division, GoB Bangladesh
|
Duration
|
December 2019 – December 2021 (2
years)
|
Researcher from IWFM
|
Dr.
Sara Nowreen
|
Partner Department
|
CSE,
BUET
|
Short
Description
|
We aim to innovate a complete
system, comprising necessary hardware, firmware and software, for
monitoring groundwater as well as other environmental parameters through
research and development. While designing the hardware, we will maximize
the use of locally available components and locally develop all the
required software and firmware. We will design the system with special
attention to the climate and geography of Bangladesh. This project will
ensure the best utilization of our groundwater by allowing the government
to accomplish activities like identification of existing or potential
changes of water level due to groundwater withdrawal and assessment of the
effects of climate on groundwater level fluctuation.
|
Title
|
Towards
sustainable urban water management in Hindukush Himalayan (HKH) Region: a
participatory approach to improving water security in mountain cities”
|
Funding Agency
|
Asia-Pacific
Network (APN) for Global Change Research
|
Duration
|
October
2021- September 2023 (2 years)
|
Researcher
from IWFM
|
Dr. Sara Nowreen
|
Partner Institutes
|
·
Tribhuvan
University, Nepal and
·
TERI School
of Advanced Studies, India
|
Short Description
|
Achieving urban water security, particularly in
mountainous regions of Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), is a major challenge for
sustainable development. Water security problems here in HKH are often
systemic but governed by diverse factors with complex interactions among
each other. Hence, this study attempts to examine the complex linkages
between water security and urban management at a local level of two
countries, namely Nepal and Bangladesh learning from the experience of
India. The systematic study will (1) identify underlying geographical,
climatic, institutional and socio-economic vulnerabilities, (2) assess
their impacts on urban mountain communities, and (3) document current and
potential adaptation mechanisms to strengthen water security. Unlike indicators-based
water security framework, this study will consider perception-based
measures applying a mix of participatory research methods namely in-depth
interviews and focus group discussions. To collate and analyse data tools
like problem and solution tree, seasonal calendars and participatory GIS
will be seamlessly integrated into the study. The major outcomes expected
from the study include an issue brief that will help in developing
framework guidelines for policymakers to engage with local water users for
greater collective resource management. The study will also facilitate the
sharing of knowledge by exchange visits and train young researchers on
linking science with policy through participatory research.
|
Title
|
Designing Flash Flood Early
Warning System (FFEWS) Sub-component for Haor Region of North-eastern
Bangladesh under Climate Adaptation and Livelihood Protection (CALIP)
|
Funding
Agency
|
International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) and implemented by Local Government
Engineering Department (LGED)
|
Duration
|
May 2015 – June 2019 (4 years)
|
Researcher from IWFM
|
Prof. A.K.M. Saiful Islam
Prof. G.M. Tarekul Islam
Prof. Mashfiqus Salehin
Prof. Sujit Kumar Bala and
Prof. M. Shahjahan Mondal
Dr. Sara Nowreen
Ms. Shammi
Haque
Mr. Partho Das
Ms. Binota Roy
|
Partner
Institutes
|
·
Flood
Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC) of
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB)
·
Bangladesh
Meteorological Department (BMD)
·
Institute of
Water modeling (IWM)
|
Short
Description
|
The Climate Adaptation and
Livelihood Protection (CALIP) is a supplementary project integrated with
IFAD's Haor Infrastructure and Livelihoods Improvement Project (HILIP)
launched in 2012.The CALIP project will work in the same project areas as
HILIP in the five Haor districts of Netrakona, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria,
Kishoreganj and Sunamganj in 28 Upazilas selected on the
basis of their exposure to climate risks and poverty context. These
include 4 Upazilas in Netrakona, 4 Upazilas in
Kishoreganj, 6 Upazilas in Brahmanbaria, 3
Upazilas in Habiganj and 11 Upazilas in
Sunamganj. The objective of the HILIP/CALIP project is to enhance
livelihood opportunities and reduce vulnerability of the poor. The main
outcomes expected from the HILIP/CALIP project include: (i) enhanced access to markets, livelihood opportunities
and social services; (ii) enhanced village mobility, reduction in
production losses and protection against extreme weather events; (iii)
enhanced access to fishery resources and conservation of biodiversity; (iv)
enhanced production, diversification and marketing of crop and livestock
produce; (v) efficient, cost effective and equitable use of project
resources; and vi) enhanced capacity and knowledge for building resilience
(new outcome introduced by CALIP).
|
|