About Me
🌍 Dr. (Assad) M. Assaduzzaman
- Climate Change and Sustainable Development Professional, Innovative Entrepreneur
Dr. Mohammad Assaduzzaman, known as Dr. Assad, is a highly accomplished climate change and development professional with over twenty years of experience spanning the areas of environment, sustainable agriculture, climate change, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and disaster risk reduction. His work focuses on crucial areas like policy and planning, adaptation, mitigation, migration, and finance of climate change. Nonetheless, he is an innovative entrepreneur as well. ________________________________________
💼 Current Role and Career Highlights
Dr. Assad currently serves as the Senior Policy Advisor-Water and Climate at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Prior to this role, he held significant positions at prominent national and international organizations, including:
- Climate Change Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
- Senior Technical Advisor (Climate Change) at the German International Development Cooperation (GIZ).
- Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)
- World Bank
- Acclimatise UK
- Oxford Policy Management (OPM), UK
- Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Center (BDPC)
- Bangladesh Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK)
- Bangladesh Center For Advanced Studies (BCAS)
He has also contributed his expertise to various other national and international organizations.
🎓 Academic Background and Research
A seasoned researcher, Dr. Assad is a Research Affiliate at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, where he also earned his Ph.D. His doctoral research focused on Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh: Sen’s Capability Approach and the Role of Freedom of Choice.
Dr. Assad’s extensive academic background provides a strong foundation for his professional work:
- He holds a Ph.D. in Climate Change from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, where his thesis focused on “Climate Change Adaptation in Bangladesh: Sen’s Capability Approach and the Role of Freedom of Choice.”
- He is an agriculturist by training, having graduated with a BSc in Agricultural Science from Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
- He further pursued multiple Master’s degrees, including:
- Master of Science in Environmental Science from State University of Bangladesh.
- Master of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from Bangladesh Agricultural University.
- Master of South Asian Studies from Lund University, Sweden.
💡 Key Contributions and Advocacy
Dr. Assad’s work extends beyond climate policy diplomacy into critical research and advisory areas. He focuses on:
- Multi-level governance of climate change and transformative climate adaptation.
- Capabilities and Freedom of Choices
- Migration and displacement.
- Access to climate finance
- Gender, Ethnicity and Intersectionality.
- Circularity in water and textiles.
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food security.
His research primarily centers on environment, development, gender and intersectionality, and climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, all aimed at reducing human poverty and vulnerability.
He is a great proponent of integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge, considering it a core requirement for pro-people and sustainable development.
In his role as an agriculturist, he leads the Pesticide Action Network in Bangladesh (PAN-Bangladesh). Furthermore, as a social business entrepreneur, he has co-founded several business initiatives and provides advisory for agriculture entrepreneurship. Dr. Assad is an eloquent advocate for equity, justice, and good governance to protect the rights of the poor and marginalized in Bangladesh.