Rashed, Alex and Shourov

Rashedul Islam and Manjurul Hussain Shourov of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) are visiting the University of Southampton to spend time with some of the team members of the ESPA Project ‘An assessment of the ecosystem service and livelihood implications of government development proposals in coastal Bangladesh’, including Prof. Robert Nicholls, Dr Attila Lazar and Dr Alex Chapman. In particular, Rashed and Shourov will be spending time with Attila, who, along with Dr Andres Payo of BGS, coded the ESPA model (ΔDIEM).

The purpose of the visit is to learn about the sensitivity of ΔDIEM, including the processes and coding of the model, how to run results, plot and export maps and how this can be developed in future projects.

ΔDIEM is a Dynamic Integrated Emulator Model developed during the ESPA Deltas project (www.espadeltas.net). It is used for the coastal region of Bangladesh and applies to nine districts.  It shows the relationship between biophysical and socio-economic factors, such as salinity, agricultural productivity, and poverty.  The basis of this integrated model is being used in the DECCMA project to assess migration and adaptation over a larger coastal study area in Bangladesh.  The capacity building gained from this secondment will be beneficial to both projects.

Rashed and Shourov’s visit to Southampton will enable them to explore the use of the model further, and particularly how it can be linked to the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP2100). BUET, the Bangladesh Government (GED) and the University of Southampton are working together to explore the potential of ΔDIEM as a tool for reducing poverty under climate change.

The aim is for Shourov and Rashed to return to Bangladesh, with the knowledge received from Dr Attila Lazar and the rest of the team and provide a knowledge transfer to the BUET team and the Bangladesh Government (GED). This can then be used to continue the development and use of the model within country.  ΔDIEM currently focuses on one of the hotspot areas in Bangladesh but the hope of Shourov, Rashed and the rest of the BUET team is to use the model for a further five vulnerability hotspots in Bangladesh.

Shourov’s aim whilst in Southampton is to learn as much about coding as possible as he is very motivated to push the boundaries of modelling in Bangladesh. Rashed confirmed that this model, with an area this large, is virtually unique and he hopes that it can be transferred to other areas of Bangladesh.

While in Southampton the visitors have enjoyed making use of the local Bengali restaurants and getting to know the families that run them!