My Path as an Early Career Ocean Professional in 2024

By Ashraful Moontahab

Introduction

I am Ashraful Moontahab, and I have completed my Master and Bachelor degrees in Oceanography from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University, Bangladesh. During my academic studies, I participated in several ocean science projects, focusing on themes such as climate change and global warming. These experiences motivated me to pursue further research in this field, which subsequently led to my interest in applying for this program. The Early Career Ocean Professionals program, organised by the IORA Blue Carbon Hub, is specifically designed to equip early-career researchers with the opportunity to connect with international experts and explore ways to apply their research knowledge in areas such as climate change, carbon credits, blue carbon, and carbon policies. My interest in joining this program stems from these aspects, as it will allow me to integrate my knowledge of blue carbon policies and other research opportunities to contribute to my country’s sustainable development.

Research Overview

Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to a sustainable development path, aiming to limit global warming to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Bangladesh submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC on 25 September 2015, for three sectors (power, industry and transport) but omitting the forestry sector. The updated NDC covered energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), waste and agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU).

Mangroves are an important blue carbon ecosystem that can included in accounting for the carbon stocks and emission/removal under the AFOLU sector according to the IPCC 2006 guidelines. My research project focused on reviewing existing blue carbon policies in Bangladesh and their impacts on mitigating climate change and conserving the coastal ecosystem. This research will further provide some recommendations and highlight some challenges regarding the adoption of these blue carbon policies.

Evaluating the effectiveness of mangrove afforestation/reforestation in GHG emission removal

Despite the mangrove ecosystem’s role in accounting for GHG emission from the forestry sector, the latest NDC report indicated no changes are projected for this sector by 2030. All other sectors, including the agriculture and livestock sub-sector within AFOLU, are projected to experience increases in GHG emissions by the year 2030. As mangroves are blue carbon ecosystems, they store and sequester more carbon than terrestrial forests. However, the NDC report indicates that GHG emissions are expected to increase by more than 2.4 times from 2012 to the projected year of 2030, assuming the influence of mangrove changes to remain static (Table 1). 

Table 1. The comparison between the sector based GHG emission for 2012 and business-as-usual levels (BAU) 2030 reported by Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in NDCs 2021.

My research examined the influence of mangrove change in Bangladesh on the emission of GHG by estimating the amounts of removal/emissions from mangroves for several years (from 1996 to 2020) following the REDD+ method according to Bangladesh’s forest reference level report (Figure 2).

By understanding the effectiveness of mangrove restoration and afforestation, we can assess the impact of current blue carbon policies in Bangladesh. Mangroves in Bangladesh are home to more than 334 species of flora and 453 species of fauna. Coastal biodiversity data can provide evidence to inform decisions about coastal management. Challenges to blue carbon policies were explored through this project. By the time I wrote this blog, I had explored the mathematical function to compute the emission/removal from the mangrove and other forest classes. Introducing the data source remains a challenge, but I hope this will be resolved soon.

Program Overview

The ECOP program was an exhilarating experience for me. The organization was commendable, and I am deeply grateful to Lauren Hardiman and Mark Wilson. Special thanks to Dr. Mat Vanderklift for his invaluable weekly guidance and support throughout the program. His insightful feedback motivated me to broaden the scope of my research. Over the eight weeks, the overwhelming support and assistance from my six co-professionals were immensely helpful in conducting this project. I would like to thank Dr. Rita Santos for teaching me how to extract fatty acids from sediment samples, which can be used as a biomarker for organic matter and was an additional learning opportunity in this program. Additionally, a very informative short course on the Adaptation Action Plan to Climate Change was arranged, providing another platform to learn and connect with experts worldwide. All ECOP alumni were also very supportive throughout the program.

Benefits

Attending the Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) program provided numerous benefits, especially while working on my project. It helped me to gather valuable experience in conducting research on blue carbon policy initiatives, which is crucial for my professional growth. The mentorship I received from Dr. Mat Vanderklift motivated me to explore new areas and improve my research methodologies. The informative short course on the Adaptation Action Plan to Climate Change enriched my understanding of global climate change strategies. Collaborating with professionals from diverse backgrounds enhanced my teamwork, confidence, and communication skills.

I am looking forward to broadening my research on this field. So, I will be requiring more experts for guidance. I will complete the remaining research objectives with information and knowledge that may help other researchers to gather valuable information for their study. The outcome of my research will hopefully provide input into Bangladesh’s national sustainable development, and blue economy.

Next, I plan to conduct regional research on oceanic dynamics, ocean modeling, climate variability, and renewable energy within the Bay of Bengal domain. This will make a pathway to better understand the oceanic contribution to global climate change and help other researchers to draw the oceanic functions in this region.