Umme Kulsum

Dr Umme Kulsum is a Postdoctoral Fellow in FOCI’s IWP #1, conducting research that will undertake methodological comparison and advance application of ‘foresighting’ and ‘full-spectrum sustainability scenario comparison’ for future ocean and coastal infrastructures. 

She will play a leadership role in contributing to the synthesis framework, practical toolkit for coastal community and other practitioners. She is involved in engaging the Consortium’s ‘trainee caucus’, and the international Community of Practice organized by the work package.  

Kulsum in her most recent activities in Bangladesh, as National Climate Change and Risk Management Expert in Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has supported Department of Fisheries (DoF) on community-based climate resilient fisheries and aquaculture. She has facilitated climate risk and vulnerability assessment, developed manual, conducted training on integrated climate information services, climate resilience and ecosystem approaches to fisheries and aquaculture.    

She is an environmental science graduate from Khulna University, Bangladesh. Her interdisciplinary doctoral research has focused on participatory scenario-based approaches in bridging coastal community adaptation with adaptive delta management under uncertain climate and socioeconomic change. This research was in collaborative ‘Adaptive Delta Management’ project at Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology (Tudelft), in Netherlands, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Technology (BUET) in Bangladesh and other international groups.  She has a long experience in coastal community development, disaster risk management, food and livelihood security.  

Currently, Kulsum is working under the supervision of Asoc Prof Paul Foley and Dr Rob Stephenson (in FOCI) to integrate and apply the concepts of foresighting and full-spectrum sustainability, to further the aims and objectives of the wider FOCI project working groups.