Koushik Chowdhury | Department of Development Studies

Bio

Koushik Chowdhury is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Development Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Vivekananda Global University, and is currently teaching courses in Human Geography. He is an integrated geographer and Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Kassel, Germany from 2023-2025. He is awarded CSIR-UGC Junior Research fellowship with the 22 all India Rank and holds a PhD in Natural Resource Management from IIT Kharagpur. He also received Travel grants to attend the International Conference on Critical Geography conference in 2019 Athens, Greece.

His research focuses on socio-ecological systems, sustainability science, nature-based solutions, urban sustainability, and water governance. His research mainly emphasis on groundwater–surface water interactions, ecosystem services, values and local institutions in South Asia. He has been associated with research projects funded by the Swedish Research Council, DST (India), and ICSSR, and actively publishes in peer-reviewed national and international journals. His work combines participatory, qualitative, and quantitative methods and engages with policy-relevant sustainability challenges. Apart from this He also serve as associate editor of the prestigious SN Social Sciences Journal, Springer nature and PLOS One.

Academic Degrees

PhD (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur- 2021
MA (Vidyasagar University, Midnapore 2011)
BA Hons. (Hijli College, Kharagpur- 2009

Academic Appointments

Worked as Assistant Professor (part time ) in Geography at Silda C S College, Silda, November 11, 2011 to July 13, 2013.

Research Interests

Socio-ecological interaction, Nature based solutions, Landscape management, Political ecology, Climate change adaptation, Environmental Policy analysis, Ecosystem services and values, Water governance and management

Publications

14. Zafra-Calvo, N., Altmann B.A., Chowdhury, K., Cortés-Capano, G., Flinzberger, L., Heindorf, C., Huber, J.M., Jay, M., Kmoch, L., Polas A.B., Svobodova, K., Thapa, P., Plieninger, T. 2025. Engaging with justice in Integrated Landscape Approaches. Ecology and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16265-300306
13. Chi, W., Chowdhury, K., Lin, G., Topp, E., and Plieninger, T., 2025. Informing adaptive governance of agricultural heritage landscapes under structural changes – the role of values, rules and knowledge. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-024-01617-z
12. Chowdhury, K., Basu, S., Pramanik, M., and Plieninger, T. 2025. Blue Infrastructure as Nature-based Solutions for Urban Sustainability: Evaluating Local Perceptions from four Indian Megacities. Nature-based Solutions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100211
2024
11. Tun, K. Z., Pramanik, M., Chakrabortty, R., Chowdhary, K., Halder, B., Pande, C. B., Mukhopadhyay, A., and Zhran, M. 2024. Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Adaptation in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review. Earth Systems and Environment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41748-024-00473-2
10 Thapa, P., Torralba M, Nölke, N., Chowdhury, K., Nagendra, H., and Plieninger T. 2024. Disentangling associations of human wellbeing with green infrastructure, degree of urbanity, and social factors around an Asian megacity. Landscape Ecology. 39(8), p-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-024-01937-6
9. Chi, W., Plieninger, T., Lin, G., and Chowdhury, K. 2024. Governing Landscape Simplification in Rapid Commercialization Contexts – the Case of the Dike-Pond System in the Pearl River Delta, China. International Journal of the Commons, 18(1), p. 260–275. https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1300
2023
8. Behera, B., Chowdhury, K., Mishra, T, and Rahut D. B. 2023. Climate Variability, Rainwater-Harvesting Structures and Groundwater Levels in Odisha, India: an Empirical Analysis, International Journal of Water Resources Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2023.2279962
2022
7. Chowdhury, K and Behera, B. 2022. Institutional Dynamics and Water Resource Management: Case of Traditional Water Bodies in West Bengal, India. International Journal of Water Resources Development. 38:5. 836-860. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1916448
2021
6. Chowdhury, K and Behera, B. 2021. Traditional Water Bodies and Cultural Ecosystem Services: Experiences from West Bengal, India. World Development Perspectives, 24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2021.100372
5. Chowdhury, K and Behera, B. 2021. Economic significance of provisioning ecosystem services of traditional water bodies: empirical evidences from West Bengal, India. Resources, Environment and Sustainability, 5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resenv.2021.100033
2020
4. Chowdhury, K and Behera, B. 2020. Traditional Water Bodies and Ecosystem Services: Empirical Evidence from West Bengal, India. Natural Resources Forum, 44: 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/1477-8947.12196
3. Pramanik, M., Chowdhury, K., Rana, M.J., Bisht, P., Pal, R., Szabo, S., Pal, I., Behera, B., Liang, Q., Padmadas, S.S. and Udmale, P. 2020. Climatic influence on the magnitude of COVID-19 outbreak: a stochastic model-based global analysis. International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 32:5, 1095-1110. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2020.1831446
2. Pramanik, M., Udmale, P., Bisht, P., Chowdhury, K., Szabo S., and Pal, I. 2020. Climatic factors influence the spread of COVID-19 in Russia. International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 32:4, 723-737. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2020.1793921
2018
Chowdhury, K and Behera, B. 2018. Is declining groundwater levels linked with the discontinuity of traditional water harvesting systems (tank irrigation)? Empirical evidence from West Bengal, India. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 7: 185-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2018.05.007

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Quick Info

🏛️ Department

Department of Development Studies

🎓 Qualification

PhD (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur- 2021, MA (Vidyasagar University, Midnapore 2011), BA Hons. (Hijli College

⏱️ Experience

1 Appointment

🔬 Specialization

Human-Environmental Geography, Socio-ecological interaction, Nature based solutions, Landscape management, Political ecology, Climate change adaptation, Environmental Policy analysis, Ecosystem services and values, Water governance and management

✉️ Email

koushik.chowdhury@vgu.ac.in

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