Besides creating learning opportunities for its members, the DECCMA project also encourages them to make use of opportunities provided by institutes external to the project. Training opportunities help researchers to garner new knowledge and implement the lessons in their ongoing research.
Two researchers from the DECCMA-Indian Team, Dr Somnath Hazra & Subhajit Ghosh attended two trainings each during the past two months. While attending the trainings organized by the DECCMA consortium, the researchers were aware where in the project the knowledge will be utilised. For the trainings organized by other institutes, the knowledge provided a foundation for further learning and it helped them think about the applicability of the training in their DECCMA research areas.
The training details along with the feedback from the researchers are stated below.
Title of the workshop 1
Statistical Ecology and Related Topics
Organizer: Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and wildlife conservation society
Dates: 8th to 11th December, 2016
Location: Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore
Attended by: Subhajit Ghosh
Purpose of the workshop: Understating the role of statistics in Ecology and wild life conservation with special focus on likelihood and Bayesian methods
Experience gathered: The workshop was distinctively divided into three parts which are as follows: .Ecology & quantitative ecology, Advance statistical computing, and Wildlife conservation. First two days the discussion continued regarding ecology, role of statistics in ecology and general ecological data analysis. On day three, in the advance statistical computing part, Bayesian theory was discussed at depth as well as its application in ecology through various examples. They also discussed different likelihood estimation techniques. On the last day discussion continued on selected topics related to wild life conservation and different sampling techniques for conservation ecology. All the sessions were delivered in the form of theoretical discussions with selected example based on ecology and related topics.
How is it relevant to DECCMA? Which area/WP will benefit from this training: DECCMA is interested in applying Bayesian method to develop an integrated tool (WP5). Theoretical discussion on Bayesian methods as well as parameters estimation techniques in the advance statistical computing session provided better understanding on the topic which will aid in WP5 work more efficiently.
Title of the workshop 2
Delft 3D Training
Organizer: Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), BUET
Dates & location: 5th to 16th November, 2016, IWFM, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Purpose of the workshop: Hands on training on hydrodynamic software DELFT3D
Attended by: Subhajit Ghosh
Experience gathered: This two week training workshop has been conducted by the young Researchers and MSc students of the institute under the supervision of Prof. Anisul Haque. The training covered theoretical aspects of hydrodynamic behavior in a very simple way as well as familiarization with different modules of DELFT 3D software along with the scope of hands on practice. Basic hydrodynamic modeling as along with required data preparation technique have been covered extensively and modules like salinity, storm surge and sediment transport module were demonstrated in a very basic way. Maybe with more time, further discussions on model sensitivity and calibration could be taken up extensively. Extensive support during the hands on sessions was extended by the researchers and the students of the institute.
How is it relevant to DECCMA? Which area/WP will benefit from this training : As DECCMA is interested in understanding vulnerability of the region, long term hydrodynamic model can ensure proving suitable results. It gives accurate flooded area along with water level as well as the temporal flood risk of a region/place. Long term hydrodynamic model with salinity component can be used to understand the change in salinity zonation over time. Hydrodynamic models also have the capability to simulate extreme events like storm surge to understand the areal extent of damage or risk of the region. The data can be used not only to the asses flood risk of the region, but also help policy makers to come up with an appropriate adaptation strategy depending upon the extremity of the risk at different areas and stages of risk full events.
Title of the workshop 3
Hands-on Training on CGE Modeling and GAMS
Organizer: BC3, Bilbao, Spain.
Dates & location: 9th -22nd December, 2016 at BC3, Bilbao, Spain
Purpose of the workshop: Hands-on training to enhance the knowledge on policy research capacity using advanced CGE models and GAMS.
Attended by: Dr Somnath Hazra
Experience gathered: Dr. Inaki Arto, Dr. Ignacio Cazcarro, Dr. Mikel Gonzalez-Eguino, and other Researchers of BC3 were the trainers of this special hands-on training on advanced CGE and GAMS. The training covered all the practical issues of Social Accounting Matrix and understanding of the advanced CGE model and GAMS. The course discussed on dynamic general equilibrium modelling and how this can work as a practical tool for forecasting and policy analysis. The training also covered theory of MPSGE (mathematical programming system for general equilibrium analysis), computation, application and result interpretation.
How is it relevant to DECCMA? Which area/WP will benefit from this training?
The knowledge gathered from BC3’s hands-on training will be used to analyze the economic effects of different impacts of climate change such as extreme events, changes in the availability of resources (water, land) or changes in crop productivity. In addition, the knowledge of MPSGE can also determine the impact of economic growth or climatic factors on demand for goods and services for each delta.
Title of the workshop 4
Ninth South Asian Training Program on CGE Modeling
Organizer: South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Dhaka, Bangladesh in association with South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), Kathmandu, and the Centre for WTO Studies (CWS), New Delhi.
Dates & location: 12-16 November, 2016 at Hotel Sea Crown, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Purpose of the workshop: to impart basic knowledge of theory and applications of Computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to researchers in South Asia, enhance policy research capacity using CGE models on issues related to the inter linkages between trade, climate change and food security, and expand the network of South Asian researchers.
Attended by: Dr Somnath Hazra
Experience gathered: Dr. Selim Raihan, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Executive Director, SANEM was the Instructor for the training. The training covered all the theoretical aspects of Social Accounting Matrix(SAM) and understanding of the general functioning and capabilities of CGE model. In the last two days Prof. Selim taught how to run CGE simulations through General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) software and how to interpret CGE simulation results. The training was informative, applied. To further extend the knowledge gathered from this training, an intensive hands-on training could be beneficial for the participants.