Abdullah Al Mamun is an Associate Professor in the Department of Folklore at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. He is a multidisciplinary academic and researcher who has held positions at several Australian universities, including Western Sydney University, the University of Wollongong, and the University of Technology, Sydney. As a scholar and educator, his work spans a wide range of fields, including Economic and Urban Geography, Climate Change and Development, Urban Planning and Sustainability, Environmental and Economic Folkloristics, Community and Heritage Economies, Social and Economic Inequality, Community Development and Resilience, Circular Economy and Society, Principles of Economics, Macroeconomics, Development Economics, Political Economy, Climate and Health Economics, Medical Folkloristics and Planetary Health, and Net-Zero Futures.

He holds a PhD in Social Science from the Discipline of Geography, Heritage and Planning at Western Sydney University, Australia (2025). His doctoral research on Ecosystem-based Adaptation: Alleviating Climate Change Impacts on Folkloric Heritage-based Livelihoods explores the complex interplay between economic geography, heritage economies, climate adaptation, and urban sustainability. His PhD research investigates how rapid urbanization and climate-induced stresses—particularly extreme heatwaves and drought—degrade ecosystems and deepen vulnerabilities in heritage-based economies and livelihoods, exacerbating inequalities in climate action within disadvantaged communities across Global South cities. Employing a mixed-methods approach—textual, geospatial, quantitative, and qualitative—his PhD research emphasizes community-led, nature-positive planning to restore ecosystems and foster inclusive, climate-resilient urban development. By integrating naturalism, local knowledge, circular economy practices, and social equity principles, his PhD work develops socioecological economy frameworks and ecocentric Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) policies to regenerate ecosystems, build resilient livelihoods, and reduce climate vulnerabilities in Global South cities.

A/Prof Mamun holds a Master of Economics by Research in Economic Development and Policy from Kobe University, Japan (2016), where he applied advanced econometric techniques—instrumental variables (IV) and system generalized method of moments (GMM)—to examine the impact of foreign aid on economic growth critically. His research proposed innovative models, such as investment frameworks in community-driven heritage economies and social business. His earlier Master of Arts in Folkloristics from the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh (2003) explored the contributions of craftsmanship and local entrepreneurship to building sustainable community economies using qualitative and semi-quantitative methods.

As a multidisciplinary researcher, he has developed deep expertise across both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. He is highly skilled in econometric modelling, cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis using STATA and R, advanced qualitative analysis using NVivo, geospatial analysis through ArcGIS, survey design with Qualtrics, and life cycle and environmental impact assessments using OpenLCA. His technical toolkit is complemented by rich field experience, including extensive use of household surveys, knowledge-attitude-practices (KAP) surveys, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs), and storytelling methods. His proficiency in participatory methods—Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA), Participatory Action Research (PAR), and Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA)—ensures culturally sensitive and community-driven research processes.

A/Prof Mamun has published extensively in prestigious international journals and contributed significantly to scholarly debates on climate change, environment, inequality, heritage, and sustainability. His notable works include Sustainable Futures in Agricultural Heritage: Geospatial Exploration and Predicting Groundwater-Level Variations in the Barind Tract of Bangladesh (Science of the Total Environment, 2023) and Towards Green and Climate-Resilient Urbanization in Rajshahi City (Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies, 2025). His book chapter Local Heritage "Dhopkols": Building Back Better Water Access to Reduce Gender-Based Vulnerabilities in Bangladesh (Routledge, 2022) has been widely recognized for its innovative integration of Indigenous knowledge in climate adaptation discourse. Other influential publications include Floating Gardening as a Climate Adaptation Strategy in Bangladesh (International Journal of Environmental Studies, 2014), Loneliness Among Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Cogent Gerontology, 2024), and Tobacco-Related Health Hazards in Rural Bangladesh (International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature, 2013). He has also contributed important book chapters, notably A Quantitative Cross-Cultural Analysis of Folk Crafts and Foreign Aid in Developing Countries (Peter Lang, 2019).

He serves as Associate Editor for the International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management (Emerald Publishers). He has co-edited a special issue on Circular Economy and Climate Change: Valuing Indigeneity and Sustainability (2024). His 2024 editorial highlights his pioneering commitment to ecological and social sustainability at the intersection of disadvantaged communities, heritage economies, and ecosystem restoration. He is also involved in two editorial projects with Springer on the Handbook of Climate Change Management and Nature-based Solutions to Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (2025).

In addition to research leadership, A/Prof Mamun has more than 17 years of teaching experience across face-to-face, hybrid, and online modalities. He has made distinguished contributions to higher education through curriculum design, pedagogical innovation, and academic mentorship. His teaching philosophy fosters critical thinking, inclusivity, evidence-based inquiry, and professional engagement, creating dynamic and empowering learning environments for students.

A/Prof Mamun has designed and delivered a diverse range of interdisciplinary courses such as Environmental Folkloristics and Sustainability, Medical Folkloristics and Public Health, and Social Research Methodology and Bangladesh Studies at the University of Rajshahi. His teaching and research emphasize community development, climate actions, resilient informal and community economies, social impact, inequality, development, sustainability and folklore policy and planning.

At the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, he has taught Economics for Business at the UTS School of Business for over three years. At the University of Wollongong, Australia, he has taught for over four years where his teaching has included Global Political Economy and Human Security, Global Capitalism, and the Environment at the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry; Economic Essentials for Business, Economics and Society at the School of Business; and Health Economics, Policy and Promotion at the School of Social Sciences.

In addition, at Western Sydney University, Australia, he has taught People, Places and Social Differences, Cultural and Social Geographies, Working with Communities, Investigating and Communicating Social Problems and Issues in World Development: Rich World, Poor World at the School of Social Sciences for over five years. The "Issues in World Development: Rich World, Poor World" unit draws on institutional and development economics in accordance with the work "Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty" by economists Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, which explores how political institutions—rather than culture or natural resources—determine why nations develop differently, with some succeeding in the accumulation of power and prosperity while others fail. This critical understanding culminated in Dr Daron Acemoglu, Dr Simon Johnson, and Dr James Robinson being awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2024.

Outside academia, A/Prof Mamun has actively contributed to applied research at UTS, including projects on sustainable fashion models through peer-to-peer clothing rental systems at the UTS School of Business, commercializing lower-carbon concrete to reduce emissions at the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UTS, and optimizing distributed energy resources and business models for renewable energy microgrids at the School of Electrical and Data Engineering, UTS. His industry collaborations exemplify a commitment to advancing net-zero transitions, circular economy solutions, and social inclusion across energy, construction, and community sectors. He has also coordinated multinational research focused on climate, community, circularity, and sustainability in collaboration with Western Sydney University, UTS, the University of Sydney, and the University of Florida.

A range deeply informs his research and academic leadership of theoretical traditions, including Ecological Systems Theory, the Social Ecological Model, the Health Belief Model, Circular Economy Theory, Access Theory, Cultural Ecology, Human Ecology, and Structuration Theory. His research consistently links science and society, advancing health equity, planetary wellbeing, sustainable economies, and resilient communities.

A/Prof Mamun is also an elected leader within the American Association of Geographers (AAG), serving on the boards of the Economic Geography Specialty Group (2024–2025), Development Geographies (2021–2023), Geographies of Food and Agriculture (2023–2024), and as an advisor for the Energy and Environment Specialty Group (2025–2027). His ability to communicate complex research findings across academic, policy, and community audiences is demonstrated through presentations at major international conferences, including the AAG Annual Meetings (2022 and 2023), the Beyond SDG11 Symposium (2020) of Australian Academy of Science, and the University of Oxford's Nature-based Solutions Conference (2022).

As a scholar, teacher, mentor, and practitioner, A/Prof Mamun drives innovative, evidence-based planning and policy development that addresses urgent challenges in urban development and sustainability, economic and environmental resilience, climate action, planetary health, social equity, and access to clean energy—particularly for disadvantaged communities. He is committed to advancing inclusive, nature-positive, and net-zero futures by leveraging expertise in urban sustainability, heritage economies, planetary health resilience, low-carbon transitions, and techno-economic-social design. Through interdisciplinary research and cross-sector collaboration, his goal is to foster equitable, climate-resilient communities and sustainable heritage economies—reducing environmental impacts, enhancing planetary health and wellbeing, promoting social inclusion, and bridging the intersections of technology, economics, and society to address the complex, interlinked challenges of health, energy, ecology, and economy in cities across the Global South and beyond.