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Samiul Mohsanin
Coordinator, Combating Wildlife Trade - Terrestrial Conservation Program
Samiul Mohsanin joined WCS in October 2020 to coordinate and strengthen the motivation, capacity and collaboration among Government partners to effectively combat illegal wildlife trade in Bangladesh. Before joining WCS Bangladesh, Samiul helped establish a natural history museum in Sreenagar, Munshiganj as research associate for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project (2016-2020), and worked with various organizations for tiger conservation, climate change mitigation, and avifauna tracking and census. He completed his Master of Science degree in Wildlife Biology from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Samiul is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Bird Red List Authority.
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Mohammed Arif Hossain Prodhan
Coordinator, SMART- Terrestrial Conservation Program
Mohammed Arif Hossain Prodhan joined WCS Bangladesh in November 2016 as a Program Officer supporting our work on SMART patrols and wildlife trade. In 2020, Arif was promoted to SMART Coordinator. In this role, Arif provides training and mentoring along with technical support to the Bangladesh Forest Department frontline staff. He contributed to a SMART handbook that provides guidance for conducting systematic law enforcement and wildlife monitoring patrols and using the results for adaptive management. Before joining WCS, Arif worked as Assistant Researcher for the World Bank funded Strengthening Regional Co-operation for Wildlife Protection Project in Kaptai National Park. Arif has a Master of Science degree in Zoology (Wildlife Ecology, Management and Conservation Biology) and a Bachelor of Science Honors degree in Zoology from the Jahangirnagar University.
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Mohammad Zamanur Rahman
Chief Accountant
Mohammad Zamanur Rahman joined WCS Bangladesh in December 2020 as Chief Accountant with a strong background in finance, auditing, budgeting, taxation and reporting. He oversees the accounts and finances, reviews requisition, generates financial reports, ensures compliance with donor grants, and with local government regulations, and supports budget preparations. Before joining WCS Bangladesh, he was the Senior Executive for a local software company and Senior Assistant Manager for a chartered accountant firm. Zamanur completed his post-graduation (MBS) from Dhaka College under the National University, and the Chartered Accountants course from a reputed CA firm. He is currently a professional level student of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB).
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Ashik Jahan Galib
Research Coordinator - Marine Conservation Program
Ashik Jahan Galib served as research assistant and interpreter at educational outreach events before joining WCS Bangladesh as a Marine Protected Area Program Officer in 2017. Galib was promoted to Senior Research Officer in 2020 and currently serves as Research Coordinator. His responsibilities are to lead research and community engagement aspects of the Marine Conservation Program, which includes conducting marine megafauna surveys, ecological and socio-economic investigations of small-scale coastal fisheries, and maintaining citizen science networks. He presents research findings to inform marine policy and conservation management recommendations developed in close consultation with community and government stakeholders, and supports their implementation. Galib is a dedicated conservation practitioner interested in strengthening community-led conservation science that supports threatened species protection, sustainable fisheries, and alternative means of subsistence. Galib holds a Master of Science degree in Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation from the Jagannath University in Bangladesh. His academic research focused on the wintering ecology of globally threatened Indian Skimmers Rynchops albicollis and other shorebirds on Nijhum Dwip.
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Rashedul Alam
Senior Finance Officer – Finance and Administration Program
Rashedul Alam joined the WCS Bangladesh Program in 2014 as Finance Officer. In 2023, he was promoted to Senior Finance Officer. Rashed supports the Finance and Administrative team in accounting, financial reporting, administrative tasks and logistic arrangements. He has a Master of Science degree in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Rajshahi, completed a post-graduate diploma in Financial Management at the Bangladesh Institute of Management, and a certificate course in Accounting from the Institute of Business Administration at the University of Dhaka.
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Arafat Rahman Khan
Senior Officer - Education Outreach Program
Md. Arafat Rahman Khan started his journey with WCS Bangladesh as student intern for the ‘Fish for Future’ exhibition in 2017 and the Marine Megafauna and Fisheries Survey in 2018. He joined the WCS Educational Outreach Program as Visual Communication Officer in 2019 and was promoted to Senior Program Officer in 2023. Arafat’s primary responsibility is to visually enhance and publicize WCS discoveries and resulting recommendations to inspire people for wildlife conservation. This includes conceptualizing communication and training methods and designing supporting tools that enhance effective outreach programs, trainings, and policy developments. He also supports the terrestrial and marine programs with technological solutions. Arafat completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Zoology and a Masters in Fisheries from Jagannath University in Dhaka, Bangladesh. For this MSc thesis, Arafat collaborated with WCS Giant freshwater whipray research. He has been involved in a variety of research, including on the feeding behavior of Pig-tailed macaques, karyological studies of Hilsha shad, and fish assessments in the Andharmanik River in coastal Bangladesh.
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Robiul Kauser
Marine Field Officer - Marine Conservation Program
Robiul Kauser joined WCS Bangladesh in October 2020 as Field Officer for the Marine Conservation Program. Currently he is working on collecting, entering and verifying data from major shark and ray landing sites and mentoring citizen scientists. He has prior experience with hilsa fishery research in the Northern Bay of Bengal, investigated the eco-engineering role of fish, shellfish, molluscs and benthos species on Kutubdia Island, and supported the preparation of an agricultural sector development plan for the Cox’s Bazar district. Robiul completed a Bachelor and a Master of Science degree in Fisheries from the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh.
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Mohammad Rasel Mia
Training and Education Officer - Educational Outreach Program
Mohammad Rasel Mia started working with the WCS Bangladesh Program as a student intern during his undergraduate studies, participating in a marine megafauna at-sea survey and several educational outreach programs in Dhaka and the coastal region. In February 2021 he joined as Training and Education Officer to support the Educational Outreach Program in the development, implementation, and evaluation of educational outreach and training programs, communication strategies, and locally appropriate communication and training tools for improved protection of threatened wildlife and their priority habitats. Rasel graduated in Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation from the Jagannath University in Dhaka. For his thesis research on bat diversity in the capital city he was awarded a USAID research grant and a National Science and Technology Fellowship from the Government of Bangladesh. Previous to that, he received a grant from the Youth Activity Fund of The Explorers Club for a study on pig-tailed macaque. Before joining WCS, Rasel was a program officer for the Marinelife Alliance stationed on St. Martin’s Island.
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Raisa Noor
Marine Data Management Officer - Marine Conservation Program
Raisa Noor holds a Masters degree in Geography and Environment from the University of Dhaka. Prior to joining WCS Bangladesh in January 2023, she worked on GIS and remote sensing for different government projects as Technical Assistant at the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). As Marine Data Management Officer, Raisa processes large volumes of data on small-scale fisheries and elasmobranch landings collected through our citizen science networks and dedicated surveys. Her support extends to processing satellite imagery, visualizing data, supporting marine spatial planning processes, and informing training and communication tools to improve data collection by citizen science fishermen, landing site data collectors, and government partners for informing effective marine conservation policies and interventions in Bangladesh.
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S. M. Imam Abed Al Hadi
SMART Patrol Mentor - Terrestrial Conservation Program
S. M. Imam Abed Al Hadi interned at WCS Bangladesh as observer on an at-sea marine megafauna and fisheries survey before joining as SMART Patrol Mentor in October 2020. Hadi accompanies Bangladesh Forest Department patrol teams on their boat-based SMART patrols of the Sundarbans Reserved Forest to provide onboard mentoring in data collection, navigation, and data transfer. Between patrols he supports the WCS SMART Program in preparing and conducting educational outreach and training programs. Prior to joining WCS, Hadi worked as Research Assistant for the WildTeam on USAID BAGH Activity Project. Hadi holds a Master of Science degree in Zoology (Fisheries) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the National University of Bangladesh.
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