Fahim Tonmoy | Griffith University (original) (raw)

Papers by Fahim Tonmoy

Routledge eBooks, Mar 20, 2023

Social Science Research Network, 2023

E3S Web of Conferences

RMG workers in Bangladesh are facing scorching heat due to regional climatic conditions and incre... more RMG workers in Bangladesh are facing scorching heat due to regional climatic conditions and increasing temperatures due to climate change. This research investigates the indoor thermal condition of a ready-made garment (RMG) factory and develops strategies to improve the comfort of workers. Energy optimization is carried out and design features are identified (e.g. window, shading and skylight configurations) that achieve the best energy performance. Eight simulation steps are also carried out to accomplish the process towards the path to net zero energy building (NZEB). Simulation analysis is carried out to measure energy use intensity (EUI) over the year for the base case building. By changing various features, a further seven steps of simulation are carried out to reduce the EUI value and turn it into zero energy building. The EUI value is gradually decreased at each step. The research shows that nearly 750,000 kWh energy can be saved per year in the case RMG factory. The incorpo...

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021

Weber, T., McPhee, M.J. and Anderssen, R.S. (eds) MODSIM2015, 21st International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Nov 29, 2015

Mollymook, Collingwood and Callala beaches and the communities living near them were identified a... more Mollymook, Collingwood and Callala beaches and the communities living near them were identified as especially vulnerable to sea level rise by the Shoalhaven City Council. A number of possible engineering and management solutions have been identified for mitigating or eliminating the effects of expected flooding and erosion (e.g., sea wall, groyne, beach nourishment), based on guidelines developed by Engineers Australia. However, the question remains as to how to assess and compare the benefits (and not just the costs) of each option. While the cost of designing and implementing these options are reasonably easy to estimate, other environmental and aesthetic costs are more difficult to valuate. Even more challenging is quantifying in monetary terms the benefits of each option. Methods are available in the economic literature for estimating some of these parameters, however, their application requires data and resources that are not always available to local government. In this study, we propose a pragmatic approach (relatively simple yet detailed) which combines a monetarybased probabilistic flood-damage estimation technique with an estimate of non-monetary consequences of an adaptation option using local knowledge and stakeholder consultation. These two types of information (monetary and non-monetary) are combined using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods in order to generate a ranking of engineering adaptation options and assist in decision-making. We illustrate the method by applying to Callala beach in Shoalhaven. First, we calculate respective cost-benefit ratios of each option by simulating the likely effects of a flood event (with multiple probabilities of occurrence or return period) with and without proposed adaptation options, for different scenarios of sea level rise. Specifically, a flood model of Callala is developed using high resolution LiDAR Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data and tested for impacts under different sea level rise scenarios (using IPCC AR5 projections) and their corresponding exceedance probabilities (using Canute sea level rise calculator). Second, we estimate the potential damage to properties and infrastructures (cumulative over time) through flood damage function curves (quantifying the relationship between flood depth and potential damage cost of private properties and public infrastructure). Third, we estimate the non-monetary benefits of each option using a simplified approach, based on stakeholder consultation. Finally, we use two different multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approaches (simple additive weight and outranking methods) for comparison of a number of engineering adaptation options (both hard and soft measures). Results show that, in general, a combination of beach nourishment & groynes is the most preferred option for Callala beach, across all decision analysis methods. Our analyses also show that hard measures such as sea walls tend to perform better in cost-benefit analyses where non-monetary factors such as community preferences, aesthetics and environmental factors are omitted. On the other hand, including these factors through MCDA methods seems to push sea walls down the rank.

Ecological Indicators, 2018

Climatic Change, 2018

Australia's coastline is exposed to climate change and sea-level rise impacts from erosion, inund... more Australia's coastline is exposed to climate change and sea-level rise impacts from erosion, inundation, and changes to storm tracks and intensity. It accommodates about 80% of the population. Around 250 local councils are responsible for coastal management, with very different capacities to undertake adaptation. A decision support framework was developed to support coastal managers seeking to understand present-day and future climate change, its impacts and possible response options. Extensive engagement was undertaken with practitioners before commencing the design and at all stages of the build, in order to ensure usefulness and usability. The resulting framework, CoastAdapt (coastadapt.com.au), provides comprehensive guidance and support, including understanding of climate change science, expected impacts, and adaptation options. It contains datasets on historical flooding; present-day coastal sensitivity to erosion; and future climate extremes, sea-level rise, and inundation for each coastal council. A risk management framework supports users through the six stages of adaptation from identifying the challenges through to monitoring and evaluation. The performance of CoastAdapt has been evaluated through 11 6-week test cases with coastal managers in the public and private sectors. In future, if CoastAdapt is to remain a useful resource, it must be seen by practitioners as dynamic, relevant, and current, and ongoing resources will be needed to achieve this.

ABSTRACT Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) allows policy makers to incorporate clima... more ABSTRACT Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment (CCVA) allows policy makers to incorporate climate futures in planning. Indicator-based vulnerability rankings are widely-used and sometimes contested forms of risk assessment. One of the challenges of indicator-based vulnerability metrics is to combine multiple indicators from both the biophysical and socio-economic domains into indices of vulnerability for a given climatic stress, to generate a ranking of vulnerabilities. The predominant aggregation approach in the literature is based on multiple-attribute utility theory (MAUT). Scholars have critiqued this approach as theoretically flawed because a) it requires the conversion of incommensurable indicators into comparable scales; b) does not account for different types of uncertainty often present in the analysis and c) produces only a linear, threshold-free scaling of the effects of an indicator on vulnerability. In this paper, we develop an analogy between multi-criteria decision-analysis (MCDA) and Indicator-based Vulnerability Assessment (IBVA) showing that the two problems are structurally similar and share the features of incommensurability and fuzzy data. We argue that a set of techniques called Outranking Methods, based on a Condorcet approach and developed in MCDA, offer a more theoretically sound approach to aggregation. Hence, we redefine IBVA as a fuzzy problem and introduce concepts of thresholds of vulnerability difference, mirrored on MCDA, to quantify fuzziness. We use an outranking method, ELECTRE III (developed by Roy and his colleagues), to assess the vulnerability to heat stress of 15 local government areas in metropolitan Sydney, where heat-related mortality may be a significant public health threat. We apply different thresholds in the model, compare the resulting rankings and find that the use of dominance thresholds generates significantly different rankings compared to MAUT. Finally, we suggest further developments of the proposed methodology to integrate non-linearities in the relationship between vulnerability and indicator, and apply the outranking framework to a multi stakeholder setting of vulnerability assessment.

Piantadosi, J., Anderssen, R.S. and Boland J. (eds) MODSIM2013, 20th International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Dec 1, 2013

Climate change impacts pose significant threat to our cities, built environments and infrastructu... more Climate change impacts pose significant threat to our cities, built environments and infrastructure systems. Assessing vulnerability to climate change can help policymakers in incorporating climate futures in planning, better allocating adaptation resources, monitoring the effects of adaptation measures, and communicating risk and justifying policy to the public. Indicator Based Vulnerability Assessment (IBVA) has been widely used in a number of sectors because it is relatively simple to design, implement and communicate to policy makers. However, this approach faces significant difficulties from conceptual, theoretical and methodological points of view. A number of assumptions are typically made in methods used for aggregation of indicators-a linear, monotonic relationship between indicator and vulnerability; complete compensation between indicators; precise knowledge of vulnerable system by stakeholders who provide input data for the assessment exercise-none of which usually hold in reality. Aggregation approaches based on multi-attribute utility theory have stringent theoretical requirements (e.g., additive independence of indicators) that are hardly ever satisfied in the IBVA context. The goal of the thesis is to develop a new set of aggregation methods for IBVA that are better suited for the mix of indicators arising from the biophysical, institutional and socioeconomic components of vulnerability, and that can incorporate uncertainties, partial compensation and non-linearities. Following a metaanalysis of the IBVA literature in chapter 2, the thesis proposes a) a general mathematical framework for vulnerability assessment that better identifies sources of uncertainty and non-linearity; b) a new IBVA assessment methodology and computer tool based on a pair-wise outranking approach, borrowed from decision science and which foregrounds and incorporates the normative nature of some indicators, as well as partial compensation between indicators; c) a new IBVA methodology and ABSTRACT iii computer tool that can represent various sources of non-linearity in the relationship between indicators and vulnerability; and d) a system dynamics model, integrated in IBVA, for studying vulnerability of infrastructure systems and better representing the mechanistic interdependency of their components. These methods are applied to a real-life, indicator-based assessment of the vulnerability to sea-level rise of residents and infrastructure systems in Shoalhaven, south of Sydney, at local scale. The assessment is conducted in collaboration with the local council and includes an analysis of the sensitivity of vulnerability rankings to uncertainty and community preferences. In addition, the effect of using an outranking framework on the way vulnerability is conceptualized by stakeholders is critically appraised. Finally, future directions for IBVA are discussed and suggestions for further research are made. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Undertaking this PhD has been a truly life-changing experience for me and it would not have been possible to do without the support and guidance that I received from many people. This thesis could not have been written without the support, in different ways, of my supervisor A/Prof. Abbas El-Zein. I express my sincere gratitude to him, for his kind and valuable guidance rendered to me for preparation of this thesis. His continuous encouragement, constructive advice, and contribution to improve my writing throughout this research have been of inestimable value. The joy and enthusiasm he has for his research was contagious and motivational for me I am also indebted to my annual progress review committee member, Prof. David Airey for his valuable suggestions, criticism and encouragement at various stages of the work. I acknowledge the support that I received, during the initial part of this research, from Dr. Ali El Hanandeh. The supports that I received from the Shoalhaven Council stakeholders during data collections, especially from Isabelle Ghetti, Ray

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) engaged the National Climate Change Ad... more The Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) engaged the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) and the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) to develop a Human Health and Wellbeing Climate Adaptation Plan (H-CAP) with the health, aged care and childcare sectors in Queensland. This is one of the eight sector adaptation plans, developed as part of Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy (QCAS). The plan was launched at the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane on the 11th September 2018 by the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services, the Honourable Dr Stephen Miles. The goal of the H-CAP is to support human health and wellbeing services to be innovative and resilient in managing the risks associated with a changing climate, and to harness the opportunities provided by responding to the challenges of climate change. It provides a preliminary climate change adaptation framework and guidance for stakeholders across health care, aged care, and c...

Climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) can inform adaptation policy and help in incorpora... more Climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) can inform adaptation policy and help in incorporating climate futures in planning. The literature on CCVA stem from a number of research paradigms (e.g., risk assessment, natural disaster management, urban planning), therefore making it difficult to extract major directions and methodologies from this body of work. A large number of assessments are based, partly or totally, on indicators which bring up specific methodological problems and constraints. In this paper, first, we discuss the most important methodological challenges facing indicator-based vulnerability assessment (IBVA) based on a set of key conceptual 2 papers in the field. Second, we conduct a meta-analysis of a representative sample of peer-reviewed IBVA studies, in order to identify how current research on IBVA is engaging with these challenges. We attempt to elicit major thematic and methodological trends in this corpus with specific focus on issues related to geograph...