Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury
Email: gwc21@cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 336617
Research Interests
Bangladesh has been bestowed with the world's largest delta made up of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna river systems. According to the Ramsar Convention about two third of Bangladesh can be considered as wetlands. This resource is a major component of the natural heritage of the country. However, the proper implementation of wetland related laws or conventions has not yet been established. Lack of awareness is a challenge for wetland conservation - currently there are no viable protected freshwater wetland areas and as a result these systems are being degraded. Moreover, information on the status of wetlands is scarce and the current institutional arrangements for wetland management are inadequate.
In my PhD project I will focus on developing a biotic index which will provide a useful tool for the standardised monitoring of lakes in Bangladesh. The findings will include a classification of different lake systems and an indication of the factors. My research also investigates how freshwater mussel abundance predicts the biodiversity in some study sites.
My work is funded by: The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK; The Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh; Selwyn College’s Cott Fund; Graduate Grant and The Cambridge Philosophical Society's travel grant.
 at Jahangirnagar University Lake 3.jpg "Lesser whistling duck (local migratory) at Jahangirnagar University Lake, Bangladesh")