Meet Dr Gawsia W Chowdhury: The scientist fighting off plastic pollution in aquatic habitats

In 2004, when Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury, a fresh graduate of zoology from Dhaka University, embarked on her Master's degree programme at the same university, she hit a brick wall. 

Her thesis demanded state-of-the-art lab equipment. But her department's lab did not house it. 

When she sought a lab facility from a reputed organisation in the country, they asked for Tk300,000. At the time, she could not afford it. 

Although let down at that moment, Gawsia did not give up on her goal. "My motto in life has always been: Never take a no as a no. I have always moved forward believing there are 10 yeses behind every no," Dr Gawsia recently told The Business Standard. 

It was one of the researchers from that reputed organisation who stumbled upon a weeping Gawsia on the stairs and proceeded to offer her help. She guided Gawsia,  providing her with personal resources and networking.

Fast forward through a long couple of decades, Dr Gawsia became one of the leading scientists in the country. One of the several accomplishments under her belt is her PhD in zoology (wetland ecology) from the University of Cambridge in 2012.  

And more recently, in June this year, she was named in Asia's 'best and brightest' 100 scientists list published in the eighth edition of the Singapore-based magazine Asian Scientist for her contribution to research. Dr Gawsia, along with another Bangladeshi female scientist (Child Health Research Foundation's Dr Senjuti Saha), is one of the only two Bangladeshi names on the list of 100. 

The Business Standard caught up with Dr Gawsia to speak about her journey to this achievement for her research on the threatened aquatic systems and species of Bangladesh, and beyond.

A life dedicated to Mother Earth

Dr Gawsia's original goal was to pursue a career in medicine. But the plan fell through due to an unavoidable family emergency at the time of her medical entrance exam.

This setback led Dr Gawsia to investigate zoology.

It was during Dr Gawsia's final year at Dhaka University, her first research on the haematological aspects of Labeo rohita came to fruition. It was a very small research looking at the components of the blood of Rui fish. She later published an article in the daily Janakantha on it, which charted the start of her scientific research.

Of all the research projects Dr Gawsia has worked on, the 2019–2020 National Geographic "Sea to Source: Ganges" voyage has produced some of the most astounding discoveries. Dr Gawsia served as the Bangladesh lead and was in charge of a global female-led research team, including scientists and storytellers. 

The goal of the expedition was to document plastic waste in the Ganges watershed. 

The expedition crew traversed the river's 2,575-kilometre length, from the Bay of Bengal to its source in the Himalayas in India, over the course of seven months. And used rapid assessment methods (doing extensive research in a short period of time) to provide the first empirical baseline data on the source, quantities and flow of plastic pollution.

They quickly learned the startling reality regarding the primary source of plastic pollution after analysing data from 10 sampling locations. It was abandoned, lost and discarded plastic fishing nets. 

"Realising fishing gear [such as fishing nets] was the major source of plastic pollution in the river system was a big shock for us. We identified this as posing a significant risk to aquatic species," she said.

The effects of plastic pollution are uniquely experienced in the Ganges, identified as one of 14 continental rivers into which over a quarter of global waste is discarded. More than 655 million people are sustained along the length of the river, including many inland fisheries.

During the expedition, the research team interviewed thousands of individuals living locally on the river. This helped them understand the behavioural drivers that lead communities to dispose of fishing gear in the river. From here, they could start working towards solutions.

Not just this, but Dr Gawsia said the team also identified research gaps in Bangladesh that they are trying to address now. One is research on the trophic transfer of microplastics in the Sundarbans, which is being financially supported by the Grants for Advanced Research in Education of the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) and the Ministry of Education. 

The research looks at how organisms in the Sundarbans are contaminated by microplastics. The findings confirm the presence of microplastics at every trophic of the mangrove.

As part of the work with National Geographic, Dr Gawsia also made a pledge to find solutions to beat the threat of plastic pollution. 

To that end, Dr Gawsia is also working with the fisherfolk – especially women in Bhola's Char Fasson upazila and fishing communities in Cox's Bazar. It is imperative, she believes, to help the fishing communities running the breadth of the Ganges to understand the findings. 

And Dr Gawsia is particularly focused on educating and empowering the women in these communities. She believes educating women is more sustainable for the community and enables a long-term impact. "Their role is not always well recognised in Bangladesh despite their contribution," she explained, and that it is vital to change the narrative at the root level. 

In order to help women find new means of income and safeguard aquatic habitats, she is also encouraging women from underprivileged and marginalised regions to upcycle abandoned fishing nets into items like carpets. 

"And we are also working towards establishing a supply chain for such products. Through this project, we are also closely collaborating with the World Bank towards implementing a Plastic Action Plan, which will act as a guideline that the government can take up in the future," said Dr Gawsia.  

"I am also involved in promoting citizen science and active learning-based conservation education, which I believe will go a long way in changing how we perceive and interact with nature, especially among the younger generations," she further added. 

And to this end, Dr Gawsia is also preparing the next generation of conservationists through higher education. She has taught at the University of Dhaka since 2013, covering animal diversity, wetland ecology and other zoology topics. She loves to conduct brainstorming sessions with the youths as they always have something to offer to the table.

Dr Gawsia is a published author on these topics and has received many awards and grants, including a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Conservation Education Fellowship.

And she received the OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award in 2022 in recognition of her efforts to protect Bangladesh's aquatic habitats and fragile species. 

The journey 

After completing her Master's degree, she joined the faculty of the Fisheries and Marine Science Department at Noakhali Science and Technology University in 2006. Later on, she received the prestigious Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarship which paved her way to the University of Cambridge. 

There, she specialised in wetlands ecology research with the Aquatic Ecology Group.

And Dr Gawsia never looked back. 

She joined her Alma Mater as a faculty and collaborated with numerous national and international organisations, including WildTeam, National Geographic Society,  Elsevier and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and continued her research projects.

In many of her projects, time and again, she faced challenges in managing necessary lab instruments. But as luck would have it, time and again, she got help from other professors from other faculties who were kind enough to share their resources to aid her journey.

"These women are more than professors or colleagues to me. Their mentorship and cooperative mindset played a vital role in my professional journey. We are a developing country and we have limitations in terms of academic resources. A mentality to share resources and a stronger sisterhood can nurture more female scientists," Dr Gawsia explained.

Moreover, a staunch believer in making research findings available, Dr Gawsia works on ways to make science open for all. For instance, the findings from the National Geographic "Sea to Source: Ganges" expedition, were published in an article in Elsevier's journal Science of the Total Environment: Riverine plastic pollution from fisheries: Insights from the Ganges River system in February 2021. 

And they chose to make the publication open access so the findings could be accessed by as wide an audience as possible. 

The findings from this expedition have already been the inspiration for exploration across other rivers in Bangladesh. Dr Gawsia also proudly shared that one of her students is conducting similar research work in Bangladesh's largest mangrove forest.

While open access is ideal, Dr Gawsia notes the challenge it can present researchers when it comes to securing funding. 

"Fundings are scarce in this country. We have working hour limitations too. Most of our labs close within 5 pm, making the research more challenging. Abroad, we get to do the lab work even in the middle of the night," added Gawsia.

The gender factor

A journey in advanced science is never easy. It requires long shifts, sleepless nights, countless trials and errors, and most importantly, an unshakable determination. However, women in this country face additional obstacles.

The lack of support, both from family and work, is indeed a significant barrier that many women encounter, impacting their ability to continue their studies and pursue careers in STEM. Societal expectations and stereotypes often play a role in discouraging women from pursuing advanced studies.

"Once I encountered a junior of mine who enrolled in a post-graduation programme in zoology just after her marriage. The programme was research-intensive, which required arduous fieldwork, and she had to stay outside the home for long hours," she said.

"The lack of support from her in-laws made her studies overwhelming. Once her mother called me and asked me to convince her to discontinue her study to save her marriage," she recalled, talking about why there are not many female scientists around us.

And, when asked about how she balances her personal life with work, Dr Gawsia shared the bright side of living in a joint family. Both her parents and in-laws' homes are joint households. 

Dr Gawsia's research projects demand weeks-long, sometimes even months-long fieldwork. In her absence, the other family members take care of her only daughter. 

"As society increasingly gravitates towards nuclear families, the advantages of living in a joint family often go unnoticed or undervalued," she said.

Whilst living in a joint family does present its own set of challenges and complexities, Dr Gawsia emphasises the positivities and the support it provides, particularly for working women.

Broadening the scope for new possibilities 

"My work was well known at my university but not so much outside of it. It was a big celebration when I received the award [2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World]. Now, a lot of people know about my research and support my work. I feel like this win has created a new promise for me to continue my research," Dr Gawsia said. 

"It has also been good to prove what women in science and conservation can achieve. Recognition inspires everyone — not only scientists like me but also my junior colleagues and students. They can see what scientific research can accomplish and how it can lead to global recognition," Dr Gawsia concluded.