Professor Robert Nicholls made a presentation on “Deltas in the Anthropocene” in the SourceToSink series. The presentation highlighted key findings from the ESPA Delta and DECCMA projects and outlined what the future of deltas might look like.
by Sumana Banerjee
On March 7th 2020, three DECCMA colleagues-Katharine Vincent, Tuhin Ghosh and Sumana Banerjee-embarked on a visit to the Indian Sundarban Delta. This activity was undertaken as a scoping visit for a potential small project which aims to look into the gender-responsive adaptation in the delta.
The team tested some key findings on adaptation which emerged from the household surveys undertaken in DECCMA and learnt about people’s development aspirations, and how they can be made resilient in the context of a changing climate.
Focus groups (held separately with women and men) in two villages of two different islands and key informant interviews with the local governance and practitioners helped in adding richness and depth to explain the quantitative data obtained through DECCMA’s household survey. They also exposed some gaps which would have otherwise been filled in with external (false) assumptions.
As well as giving the research team the opportunity to validate research findings, they also helped in shaping ways of working forward in the project. The team took the opportunity to learn from people how they would like to receive messages relating to climate adaptation based on findings from DECCMA.
Needless to say, like any other good fieldtrip, this was an enriching experience and the team looks forward to get back to the field again to share the findings and design messages to appropriately deliver to the knowledge users to enable gender-sensitive adaptation.
It is with great sadness that we announce that Dr Amrita Patel, from DECCMA consortium member Sansristi, passed away in January 2020. Amrita was part of the Mahanadi delta team and played a key role in Work Package One on stakeholder engagement and governance. She was also a valued member of our gender team. Her colleagues offered the above tribute.
A new open access book “Integrated Assessment for the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100: Analysis of selected interventions“, edited by Munsur Rahman, Robert Nicholls, Susan Hanson, Mashfiqus Salehin and Shamsul Alam has just been published.
The book reports analysis undertaken as part of the ESPA Deltas project. Many of the project’s findings are integrated into the Delta Dynamic Integrated Emulator Model (ΔDIEM), which is designed to analyse the present and future of the delta in a policy relevant way in order to benefit the ecosystems, livelihoods and people of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta.
A pilot application of ΔDIEM was trialed based on selected proposals in the BDP 2100, in partnership with the Bangladesh Planning Commission, to assess selected development options being considered as part of the BDP 2100. The new polders in the south central district appear most beneficial both in terms of enhancing incomes and removing people from poverty. However, trade-offs with neighbouring regions due to displaced flooding need to be evaluated and suitable compensatory measures undertaken. The results also show that good maintenance of the existing polder embankments across the region is likely to maintain agriculture and associated livelihoods over the next few decades.
The book “Deltas in the Anthropocene”, edited by Robert J. Nicholls, W. Neil Adger, Craig W. Hutton and Susan E. Hanson has now been published by Palgrave Macmillan. The book is open access, and the entirety of the contents can be downloaded at no cost.
The book’s 11 chapters cover biophysical characteristics, evolution, human use and management of deltas in Africa and Asia.
Individual chapters are as follows:
Delta Challenges and Trade-Offs from the Holocene to the Anthropocene Robert J. Nicholls, W. Neil Adger, Craig W. Hutton, Susan E. Hanson Pages 1-22
Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta, Bangladesh and India: A Transnational Mega-Delta Md. Munsur Rahman, Tuhin Ghosh, Mashfiqus Salehin, Amit Ghosh, Anisul Haque, Mohammed Abed Hossain et al. Pages 23-51
The Mahanadi Delta: A Rapidly Developing Delta in India Sugata Hazra, Shouvik Das, Amit Ghosh, Pokkuluri Venkat Raju, Amrita Patel Pages 53-77
The Volta Delta, Ghana: Challenges in an African Setting Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe, Kwasi Appeaning Addo, Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe, Benjamin Kofi Nyarko, Francisca Martey, Winfred A. Nelson et al. Pages 79-102
Fluvial Sediment Supply and Relative Sea-Level Rise Stephen E. Darby, Kwasi Appeaning Addo, Sugata Hazra, Md. Munsur Rahman, Robert J. Nicholls Pages 103-126
Hotspots of Present and Future Risk Within Deltas: Hazards, Exposure and Vulnerability Chris Hill, Frances Dunn, Anisul Haque, Fiifi Amoako-Johnson, Robert J. Nicholls, Pokkuluri Venkat Raju et al. Pages 127-151
Where People Live and Move in Deltas Ricardo Safra de Campos, Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe, W. Neil Adger, Colette Mortreux, Sugata Hazra, Tasneem Siddiqui et al. Pages 153-177
Delta Economics and Sustainability Iñaki Arto, Ignacio Cazcarro, Anil Markandya, Somnath Hazra, Rabindra N. Bhattacharya, Prince Osei-Wusu Adjei Pages 179-200
Adapting to Change: People and Policies Emma L. Tompkins, Katharine Vincent, Natalie Suckall, Rezaur Rahman, Tuhin Ghosh, Adelina Mensah et al. Pages 201-222
Choices: Future Trade-Offs and Plausible Pathways Attila N. Lázár, Susan E. Hanson, Robert J. Nicholls, Andrew Allan, Craig W. Hutton, Mashfiqus Salehin et al. Pages 223-245
Sustainable Deltas in the Anthropocene Robert J. Nicholls, W. Neil Adger, Craig W. Hutton, Susan E. Hanson, Attila N. Lázár, Katharine Vincent et al. Pages 247-279
by Sumana Banerjee, DECCMA India coordinator
During the past 4.75 years, DECCMA created plenty of opportunities for interaction with communities. When interacting with communities, the question of ethics comes into the minds of researchers and funders.
When researchers from universities in the UK visited delta communities in India, they had detailed participant information sheets, consent forms, and debriefing notes as a part of their universities’ ethical requirements to conduct interviews with communities. Most Indian universities do not have such processes in place. For us in Jadavpur University, the only ethical consideration form available is used by the Department of Pharmacy for clinical trials. This does not mean that we did not follow any ethical processes while interacting with communities. We had designed simplified forms to cover all bases for ethics, such as anonymity of participants, non-disclosure of their personal details, freedom to withdraw from the interview at any point, contact persons in case they have queries or requests after the interviews etc. and we also resorted to recording verbal consent at times. Now the difference in institutional processes put me in a reflective mood.
Sumana and Jadavpur University researchers conducting fieldwork with students from the University of Southampton
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Having detailed paperwork as proof of following the guidelines and getting signed consent from participants is indeed a great process. However, based on our experience of working with delta communities in India (West Bengal and Odisha), we faced some practical challenges while executing this process, two of which are outlined below along with the solutions we used:
Contact Details:
Challenge – Mentioning contact details of researchers and their supervisors based in the UK is mandatory but this will have no real meaning for the communities as they won’t obviously email (!) nor have the resources to converse with them if they have questions.
Solution – Include contact details of the organisation closest to the participants who are involved in this research, alongside the mandatory mention of the UK researchers and supervisors.
Signed Consent:
Challenge – The research team explains every detail about the purpose of their visit but there are instances when the respondent feels nervous to sign a paper since the fear of “losing something” lurks in their minds. Also, by handing a pen to an illiterate person to sign we end up reinforcing hierarchies.
Solution – It is important to make it clear that no harm would be brought upon them by consenting to participate by sharing how the researcher does not collect their personal details (government ID numbers etc.) and how the researcher is also bound to maintain the anonymity of the respondents. Handing out a stamp pad along with a pen is often a better idea and gives the respondent the comfort of choosing the appropriate tool without them having to explicitly announce if they are literate or illiterate.
Ethics is not limited to these processes alone. It is the duty of any person who interacts with communities for their work, to keep in mind the basics of moral human behaviour. Focus on vulnerable communities at times leads to teams being extractive and manipulative in their interactions. Staging a scene for a photograph interrupting the daily schedule of a respondent, or coaxing them to say what one wants to hear to support already formed ideas are unethical. Research teams should avoid such practices at any cost and if the team is responsible for any other actor who resorts to such practices, it should immediately be discouraged. These actions not only hamper the trust built with the community, but also reduce the possibilities of fruitful interactions in the future.
As research teams and most importantly as human beings, it is our responsibility to try and reduce the vulnerabilities of communities we work with and not reinforce differences. To conclude my reflections, I share the following quote where the poet sums it up beautifully –
“By plucking her petals you do not gather the beauty of the flower.”
― Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds
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DECCMA’s sister project in the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) has launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Research for Impact. The MOOC, available on Coursera, is convened by the University of Cape Town and Oxfam GB and comprises three main learning objectives:
Understand the key interwoven elements of Research for Impact in the context of development and adaptation research.
Identify the suite of activities involved in Research for Impact.
Appraise opportunities in your research plan through an Research for Impact lens and identify challenges applying a Research for Impact approach.
The 15 hour course with flexible deadlines is free to take (with a fee payable if you require a certificate) and includes experiences from the other CARIAA projects, including DECCMA.
Marking the end of the Collaborative Adaptation Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), IDRC has released a series of “novel insights”. These briefs capitalise on thematic learnings across the four CARIAA consortia that have been investigating adaptation in different hotspots – DECCMA in deltas, ASSAR and PRISE in semi-arid regions and economies, and HiAWARE in glacier-fed river basins. The novel insights synthesise findings on migration, gender and social equity, effective adaptation, the impact of a 1.5C increase in global temperature on the different hotspots, and research for impact.
The DECCMA India team has just released a new infographic “Gendered migration patterns and effects in the Indian Bengal delta“. The infographic is based on household surveys in migrant-sending areas and migrant surveys in migrant-receiving areas and summarises where men and women migrate to, why, and with what effect.
A special issue of Science of the Total Environment on “Delineating climate change impacts on biophysical conditions in deltas” has just been published, edited by DECCMA team members Kwasi Appeaning Adddo, Anisul Haque, Chris Hill, Robert Nicholls, Venkat Raju, Paul Whitehead. The special issue contains the following DECCMA papers:
Arto, I., García-Muros, X. Cazcarro, I., González-Eguino, M., Markandya, A. and Hazra, S. 2019. The socioeconomic future of deltas in a changing environment. Science of the Total Environment 648, 1284-1296.
Dunn, F.E., Nicholls, R.J., Darby, S.E., Cohen, S., Zarfl, C. and Fekete, B.M. 2018. Projections of historical and 21st century fluvial sediment delivery to the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna, Mahanadi and Volta delta. Science of the Total Environment 642, 105-116.
Hossain, M.A.R., Ahmed, M., Ojea, E. and Fernandes, J.A. 2018. Impacts and responses to environmental change in coastal livelihoods of south-west Bangladesh. Science of the Total Enivronment 637-638, 954-970.
Hossain, M.A.R., Das, I., Genevier, L., Hazra, S., Rahman, M., Barange, M. and Fernandes, J.A. 2018. Biology and fisheries of Hilsa shad in Bay of Bengal. Science of the Total Environment 651(2), 1720-1734.
Janes, T., MacGrath, F., Macadam, I. and Jones, R. 2019. High-resolution climate projections for South Asia to inform climate impacts and adaptation studies in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Mahanadi deltas. Science of the Total Environment 650(1), 1499-1520.
Kebede, A.S., Nicholls, R.J., Allan, A., Arto, I., Cazcarro, I., Hill, C.T., Hutton, C.W., Kay, S., Lázár, A.N., Macadam, I., Fernandes, J.A., Palmer, M., Suckall, N., Tompkins, E.L., Vincent, K. and Whitehead, P.W., 2018. Applying the global RCP-SSP-SPA scenario framework at sub-national scale: A multi-scale and participatory scenario approach. Science of the Total Environment 635, 659-672.
Lauria, V., Das, I., Hazra, S., Cazcarro, I., Arto, I., Kay, S., Ofori-Danson, P., Ahmed, M., Hossain, A.R., Barange, M. and Fernandes, J.A. 2018. Importance of fisheries for food security across three climate change vulnerable deltas. Science of the Total Environment 640-641, 1566-1577.
Li, J., Whitehead, P.G., Appeaning-Addo, K., Amisigo, B., Macadam, I., Janes, T., Crossman, J., Nicholls, R.J., McCartney, M. and Rodda, H.J.E. 2018. Modeling future flows of the Volta River system: Impacts of climate change and socio-economic changes. Science of the Total Environment 637-638, 1069-1080.
Li, J., Whitehead, P.G., Rodda, H., Macadam, I. and Sarkar, S. 2018. Simulating climate change and socio-economic change impacts on flows and water quality in the Mahanadi river system, India. Science of the Total Environment 637-638, 907-917.
Mukhopadhyay, A., Ghosh, P., Chanda, A., Ghosh, A., Ghosh, S., Das, S. Ghosh, T. and Hazra, S. 2018. Threats to coastal communities of Mahanadi delta due to imminent consequences of erosion-Present and near future. Science of the Total Environment 637-638, 717-729.
Pathak, D., Whitehead, P.G., Futter, M.N. and Sinha, R. 2018. Water quality assessment and catchment-scale nutrient flux modeling in the Ramganga River Basin in north India: An application of INCA model. Science of the Total Environment 637-638, 201-215.
Rahman, M., Dustegir, M., Karim, R., Haque, A., Nicholls, R.J., Darby, S.E., Nakagawa, H., Hossain, M., Dunn, F.E. and Akter, M. 2018. Recent sediment flux to the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna delta system. Science of the Total Environment 643, 1054-1064.
Suckall, N., Tompkins, E.L., Nicholls, R.J., Kebede, A.S., Lázár, A.N., Vincent, K., Allan, A., Chapman, A., Rahman, R., Ghosh, T., Hutton, C. and Mensah, A. 2018. A framework for identifying and selecting long term adaptation policy directions for deltas. Science of the Total Environment 633, 946-957.
Whitehead, P.G., Jin, L., Macadam, I., Janes, T., Sarkar, S., Rodda, H.J.E., Sinha, R. and Nicholls, R.J. 2018. Modelling impacts of climate change and socio-economic change on the Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Hooghly and Mahanadi river systems in India and Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment 636, 1362-1372.
Whitehead, P., Bussi, G., Hossain, M.A., Dolk, M., Das, P., Comber, S., Peters, R., Charles, K.J., Hope, R., and Hossain, R. 2018. Restoring water quality in the polluted Turag-Tongi-Balu river system, Dhaka: Modelling nutrient and total coliform intervention strategies, Science of the Total Environment 633, 946-957.