Initial Publication Date: May 1, 2023

Azmal Hossan

Ph.D. Student and Graduate Teaching Instructor, Colorado State University

About Me

My name is Azmal Hossan, a Bangladeshi international Ph.D. student of Sociology and a National Science Foundation Supported National Research Trainee of Interdisciplinary Training, Education, and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) at Colorado State University. I am a Network Member of GET READY, GET SETS: GI!- A network of early career scholars and professionals connected virtually across the globe, inspired to become future leaders in urban resilience. I am also a former fellow at Agents of Change in Environmental Justice, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. My research interests are food-energy-water nexus, water governance, and community-based environmental justice with a special focus on the Global South. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I am conducting participatory action research on groundwater injustice among indigenous farmers in Bangladesh.

"Water, water, everywhere/Nor any drop to drink." Being born and raised in Bangladesh, a poster child of global climate change located in the world's largest and most densely populated delta, Coleridge's (1798) above lines have become the harsh reality in my life. Consequently, with the beginning of my academic journey, I have been confronted with a fundamental question: Why do social systems tend to exceed their ecological carrying capacities? Studying sociology, I came to understand that environmental problems like water scarcity and pollution are not merely resulted from the depletion of water, but they are mostly coming from the unequal distribution of global and regional power in water governance. With this understanding, it is my long-standing passion to equip myself with indispensable sociological knowledge and analytical skills to become a true sociologist – one who not only masters the method and theory but also has a deep empathy for those confronted by serious real-world problems like water shortage. Given these life experiences, I am passionate about working to make our planet more sustainable and equitable so that every member of the planet has their fair share to survive and thrive with their own responsibility.

In my free time, I spend time exploring nature by traveling to different corners of the planet with my wife and little daughter. I am also an amateur athlete passionate about all the different kinds of sports (both indoor and outdoor) like soccer, cricket, tennis, ping pong, volleyball, etc.

Focus of current FEW-Nexus-based education work

I am a Ph.D. student of Sociology and a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported National Research Trainee in Interdisciplinary Training, Education, and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) at Colorado State University (CSU). InTERFEWS is a graduate student training program that brings together students from traditionally disparate disciplines to conduct research on key problems in the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus with a focus on the water-scarce arid region. The program is designed to train students on how to apply the systems-level thinking approach to the wicked FEW nexus through coursework, apprenticeship, and community-based activism. The objectives of the program are very much aligned with the idea mentioned in the NC-FEW visioning document. In addition, my fellowship at the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice program at Columbia University, and my contribution to the graduate pursuit program at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center are also consistent with the NC-FEW visioning document.

FEW-Nexus-based education experience, expertise and interests

For my Ph.D. dissertation, I am conducting participatory action research to explore groundwater injustice among the indigenous farmers in Bangladesh. Large-scale irrigation to produce dry-season rice made Bangladesh food self-sufficient but at a high price: The country lost significant terrestrial water storage. Shamsudduha et al. (2022), in their seminal research featured on the front page of Science Magazine, proposed a nature-based solution to this problem. Quantifying the magnitude of freshwater captured by what they called The Bengal Water Machine (BWM) through the operation of shallow tube wells by ~16 million smallholder farmers, they argued that groundwater depletion resulting from intensive irrigation practices created conditions for recharge from monsoon rains which then replenishes it. This replenishment brings two benefits: Irrigation water during dry season and flood mitigation during monsoon rain. Using environmental justice lens, I am presenting a critique of this nature-based solution arguing that the benefits of the BWM are not equally distributed among ethnic groups. Natural resource-based indigenous communities are often deprived of groundwater managed and controlled by local political elites who are predominantly mainstream Bengali communities.

The project is inspired by a CSU Extension Summer Internship that I accomplished in 2021 under the project Agricultural Water Use in the Upper Colorado Basin at Western Colorado Research Center – Grand Valley. I joined an interdisciplinary research team to examine how the transformation of an irrigation system from a traditional furrow to a water-efficient drip can help local communities conserve consumptive water. In doing so, I installed a drip irrigation system and collected data on soil moisture, evapotranspiration, flow measurement, and forage sampling. I also contributed to the center's community engagement program to identify the barriers to water conservation in the US West, a region that mostly depends on water coming from the Colorado River. The 1,450 miles long transboundary river supplies drinking water for nearly 40 million people and irrigation water for over 5 million acres of agricultural land. In 2021, the federal government declared the first water shortage on the Colorado River amid a historic and prolonged drought. With legal rights to 70% - 80% of the Colorado River surface water flows, irrigated farmers and ranchers were asked to conserve water to share their agricultural water rights with other users. But the existence of legal, political, and cultural barriers hinders them to conserve water. For example, the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation is the defining characteristic of water governance in the U.S. West under which water rights are determined by historical priority. As senior water rights holders, agricultural producers are fearful that if they do not consume their allotted water on time, they will lose their water rights. This fear is propagating water conflict between expanded urban settings and rural agricultural communities and among the states.

My Ph.D. project is also inspired by a Community of Practice (CoP) program titled Building Resilient Communities at the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. We proposed to develop a set of guidelines to help water providers in the South-central region be better prepared for future droughts. Improving resilience to drought will help these communities grow, physically and economically. Building on the results of climate change studies across the region, the guidelines will focus on the vulnerability of water supplies and help these communities identify the best options for enhancing water supply resilience. Our group is also focusing on community engagement organizing annual science meetings and webinars on the issue of climate change resilience.

I think these projects on the complex FEW-Nexus would be some vital case studies for NC-FEW community. I am open to collaborate with the community to further my understanding on these issues. In that case, I welcome interdiscipinary insights from people coming from different disciplinary background.

Publications, presentations, and other references

Publications:

  • Best, K., Jouzi, Z., Islam, M., Kirby, T., Nixon, R., Hossan, A., Nyiawung, R. (2023). Typologies of multiple vulnerabilities and climate gentrification across the East Coast of the United States. Urban Climate, 48: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101430.
  • Guinto, R. R., Deivanayagam, T. A., Chuji, P. T., Hossan, A., Jensen, A., Jung, L., et al. (2022). Achieving climate justice, safeguarding planetary health: Diagnosis and demands from next generation leaders for COP27 and beyond. PLOS Global Public Health, 2(11): e0001304. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001304
  • Hossan, A. (2022). CO2: Friend or foe to food? How rising carbon dioxide uproots Bangladesh's food systems. Anthroposphere: The Oxford Climate Review. Available: https://www.anthroposphere.co.uk/post/co2-friend-or-foe-to-food
  • Hossan, A. (2022). A Tale of water conservation efforts of a CSU Agriculture Experiment Station. Colorado Water, 39(2), 8-9. Colorado Water Center, Colorado State University. Available: https://watercenter.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2022/02/CWC-V39-Issue-2-r3.pdf#page=10
  • Hossan, A. (2021). Thirst for energy: Ensuring energy and environmental justice in the Rampal coal-fired power plant project. Rethinking Bangladesh, a special issue of Himal Southasians. Available: https://www.himalmag.com/thirst-for-energy-bangladesh-2021/?fbclid
  • Hossan, A. (2021). Weaponization of water in South Asia: Climate change and unbalanced regional political power are driving an ongoing water crisis in Bangladesh. Environmental Health News. Available: https://www.ehn.org/india-and-bangladesh-water-dispute
  • Clay, L., Biehl, E., Colon-Ramos, U., Dunn, C., Hossan, A., Josephson, A., Marks, A. B., Belarmino, E. H., Neff, R., Niles, M., Slotter, R. (2020). Research agenda-setting paper on COVID-19 and food insecurity. CONVERGE, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder. Available: https://converge.colorado.edu/v1/uploads/images/covid_19_food_insecurity-1595251841996.pdf

Publications under Review:

  • Clay, L., Koyratty, Nadia., Rogus, S., Colon-Ramos, U., Hossan, A., Josephson, A., Neff, R., Zack, R., Niles, M., (2023). A mixed methods approach to the development of a disaster food security framework. Submitted to Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
  • Kirby, T., Nixon, R., Nyiawung, R., Best, K., Jouzi, Z., Islam, M., Hossan, A. (2023). Proposing a framework for the study of climate gentrification in the coastal U.S.: A systematic review. Submitted to Environmental Research Letter.

Science Communications: 

  • Interviewed and quoted in a Forbes Magazine article titled Young climate justice activists are fighting for our collective survival (2022). https://www.forbes.com/sites/madhukarpai/2022/07/28/young-climate-justice-activists-are-fighting-for-our-collective-survival/?sh=445b6755798e
  • Co-authored a blog post on National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center's website. One year later: Climate Gentrification Graduate Pursuit reflects on professional and personal growth (2021). https://www.sesync.org/news/thu-2021-06-24-1751/one-year-later-climate-gentrification-graduate-pursuit-reflects-on?
  • Featured by the Colorado State University Office of Engagement and Extension video series for the summer internship. Azmal Hossan (2021). https://vimeo.com/595519945?1&ref=fbshare
  • Highlighted by the Colorado State University Office of Engagement and Extension blog series. Extension internship spotlight: Azmal Hossan on water conservation and community connection (2021). https://engagement.source.colostate.edu/extension-internship-spotlight-azmal-hossan-on-water-conservation-and-community-connection/
  • Attended Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast. Azmal Hossan on the sociology of climate crises in South Asia (2021). https://www.ehn.org/climate-change-in-south-asia 2655010098.html
  • Hosted Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast inviting Dr. Katharine Hayhoe to talk about unconventional career pathways to climate change science and communication, and the importance of DEI in the field of climate change (2021). https://www.ehn.org/katharine-hayhoe 2656597065.html
  • Attended as a guest in a special episode of the Future Cities podcast on Climate gentrification in coastal cities (2021). https://open.spotify.com/episode/0xRIRWSQQnQIuTKT1yGhKV?si=2I
  • Featured by Agents of Change in Environmental Justice Fellowship blog series. Agents of change: New fellows focused on justice and diversity in science (2021). https://www.ehn.org/agents-of-change environmental-justice-fellows-2653507186.html

Talks and Presentations: 

  • Panel speaker at the Women in Science Annual Symposium on Multicultural aspects of one health organized by Women in Science Network in association with the Office of Inclusive Excellence, Colorado State University. 2023
  • Poster presentation on Agricultural water use in the upper Colorado Basin at Annual Extension Forum, Colorado State University. 2021
  • Paper presentation on Political economy of water conflict in South Asia at DELFT International Conference on Sociohydrology jointly organized by the Delft University of Technology, IHE Delft Institute of Water Education, Wageningen University, University of Twente, and Utrecht University. 2021
  • E-poster presentation on Fact or fiction? A sociological investigation on climate change debate. Annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.