PLOS Climate PhD interview: Ekhtekharul Islam

For our next interview with a PhD student in climate, PLOS Climate speaks to Ekhtekharul Islam of the University of Copenhagen.

What did you study before your PhD, and why did you decide to go on to do a PhD?

I studied Environmental Sciences at both BSc and MSc levels, which gave me an interdisciplinary foundation in understanding environmental change, society, and development. I then pursued an MSc in Development Studies at Lund University, Sweden, which further strengthened my interest in the social and political dimensions of climate change and development.

My decision to pursue a PhD on internal migration in Bangladesh was motivated by two main reasons. First, over the past seven years, I have developed both a deeper understanding of and a strong urge to explore the complex intersections of climate change, (im)mobility, transformative adaptation, and justice. The foundation for this interest was laid through my engagement with the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), one of Bangladesh’s leading migration-focused think tanks. At RMMRU, I had the opportunity to contribute to the migration policy landscape of Bangladesh and beyond. I co-authored the Action Plan for the implementation of the National Strategy on Internal Displacement Management in Bangladesh, which was adopted by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Government of Bangladesh, in 2024. This document now serves as an important guiding framework for the government and other agencies working on disaster- and climate-induced migration and displacement. Subsequently, I became part of RMMRU’s work on developing a guiding template for Climate Vulnerable Forum member states to support their processes of adopting displacement management strategies, drawing on Bangladesh’s experience. These engagements deepened my understanding of the climate change–mobility nexus and motivated me to pursue advanced research on migration and displacement.

Secondly, I have been involved in academia for nearly 14 years and have been teaching at Bangladesh’s top-ranked private university. Pursuing a PhD is therefore also part of my broader academic vision: strengthening my own knowledge and research capacity, and creating a stronger, more research-informed classroom environment for learners.

Could you tell us about your project? What are the key questions you’re hoping to address, and what methods/approaches are you using?

My PhD research sits at the intersection of climate change, migration, and governance. It investigates how migrants living in low-income communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh adapt to water stress, and whether these adaptation processes demonstrate transformative characteristics. The PhD is part of a larger project titled “Climate Change, Migration, Health and Hygiene – Adapting to a WATer-SCARCE future (WatScarce)”, funded by the Danida Fellowship Centre and implemented in two informal settlements in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The wider project adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examine the everyday realities of households experiencing water stress, and how they cope with and adapt to a changing environment.

Within this broader project, my primary focus is on the political and governance mechanisms that shape migrants’ choices and strategies for adaptation, particularly transformative adaptation. The fundamental research questions are: how do governance systems, institutional frameworks, and policy structures influence migrants’ adaptation to water stress in low-income settlements? And to what extent do current adaptation strategies address the root causes of their vulnerability to climate change impacts?

Methodologically, my research adopts a qualitative approach. It relies on interviews with migrants at both origin and destination, as well as interviews with experts, to explore the governance structures and institutional conditions that influence adaptation choices and strategies. Findings from other work packages of the WatScarce project will also supplement my analysis and help situate my interpretation within the project’s broader interdisciplinary evidence base.

What excites you most about your project, and about the wider field?

What excites me most about my project is also one of its most challenging aspects: the opportunity to look deeply into political processes and how they reshape the lives of internal migrants living in informal settlements. I am particularly interested in how everyday survival, access to services, and a sense of security are often mediated through political relationships. It fascinates me, but also saddens me, to see how poverty and poor socioeconomic conditions can become tied to political loyalty. In this process, political actors may move higher up the ladder of power and influence, while migrants themselves often remain trapped in a vicious cycle of uncertainty, poverty, hardship, and limited rights.

Migration and adaptation are often discussed in broad policy terms, but the everyday political conditions that shape migrants’ lives receive far less attention. As a researcher, I find it meaningful to document and analyze these realities. I hope that the insights from my research will contribute to systemic change in policies and structural processes, particularly in relation to resettlement, the integration of climate change considerations into resettlement planning and implementation, and the recognition of migrants’ rights and agency.

Where you would like to take your career next?

I must admit that I started my PhD relatively late, although there were several valid reasons behind that decision. However, I carry the same energy, commitment, and inspiration to embrace this journey. As I mentioned earlier, I have been in academia for nearly 14 years, and teaching and research are areas to which I feel deeply connected. I will certainly continue along that path.

The outcomes of my PhD will significantly shape the next phase of my career. I hope to engage more deeply in research, particularly in the fields of (im)mobility, displacement, planned relocation, and adaptation justice. Through my PhD, I expect to strengthen my theoretical grounding, methodological capacity, and ability to contribute to academic and policy debates on climate change and migration.

At the same time, I see my future career as a blend of teaching, research, and advocacy. Coming from a low-income country, I often feel a certain fatigue from continuously doing research, documenting challenges, and asking where real change is and how it can be achieved. Research and publication are extremely important, but they may not be enough on their own to bring about the kind of change that is needed. I therefore also take my current work as an inspiration to implement some of the ideas and insights that emerge from my research.

Looking ahead, I would like to establish an environmental community organization that works with and for the most vulnerable segments of society. My long-term career vision is to remain rooted in academia while also building stronger bridges between research, policy, advocacy, and community-level action.

What are your thoughts on the future of climate research? 

At this point, I see the future of climate research from two broad perspectives: the global scale and the local scale. On the global scale, climate research has made significant progress and has contributed greatly to decision-making architecture. Our scientific understanding of how the climate is changing has become much clearer and more evidence based. This has helped shape global climate negotiations, policy frameworks, and planning processes.

However, when it comes to the local scale, particularly in the context of Bangladesh, I feel there is still considerable scope for more rigorous research. One important area of focus should be the downscaling of global climate data to the local level, so that projections become more accurate, context-specific, and useful for planning. In many cases, there is also a tendency to relate almost every environmental problem to climate change. As a result, we sometimes overlook the local and regional causes of environmental degradation, as well as the ways in which these drivers interact with climate change. Therefore, stronger local-level data, modelling, and contextual analysis will be required to develop a more complete picture of local environmental and climate-related challenges.