Your search found 9 records
1 Sanchez-Triana, E.; Ortolano, L.; Paul, T. 2018. Managing water-related risks in the West Bengal Sundarbans: policy alternatives and institutions. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 34(1):78-96. (Special issue: Politics and Policies for Water Resources Management in India). [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2016.1202099]
Water management ; Risk management ; Climate change ; Weather hazards ; Disaster preparedness ; Strategies ; Water policy ; Institutions ; Biodiversity conservation ; Coastal area ; Sea level ; Migration ; Incentives / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048474)
(3.20 MB)
Persistent pressures from water-related threats – sea-level rise, soil and water salinization, and flooding due to embankment overtopping and failure – have made the West Bengal Sundarbans a challenging place to live, and effects of global climate change will only worsen conditions. Four alternative policy directions are examined: business as usual; intensive rural development; short-term out-migration of residents; and embankment realignment and facilitation of voluntary, permanent out-migration. The last of these is the recommended approach. Study findings have informed ongoing deliberations to build consensus on future policy directions for reducing the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.
2 Mandal, U. K.; Burman, D.; Bhardwaj, A. K.; Nayak, D. B.; Samui, A.; Mullick, S.; Mahanta, K. K.; Lama, T. D.; Maji, B.; Mandal, S.; Raut, S.; Sarangi, S. K. 2019. Waterlogging and coastal salinity management through land shaping and cropping intensification in climatically vulnerable Indian Sundarbans. Agricultural Water Management, 216:12-26. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.01.012]
Waterlogging ; Coastal soils ; Soil salinity ; Land use ; Crops ; Intensification ; Climate change ; Water footprint ; Farm ponds ; Water balance ; Water productivity ; Soil water balance ; Rainwater harvesting ; Runoff ; Evapotranspiration / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049349)
(1.76 MB)
Sundarbans in West Bengal, India located in the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal is one of the vulnerable zones subjected to abrupt climate change. The region receives 2.7 times surplus rainfall as compared to crop evapotranspiration during monsoon months causing widespread waterlogging of the low lying agricultural fields and impedes the productivity. The present study assessed the effects of different land shaping models namely, farm pond (FP), deep furrow and high ridge (RF) and paddy cum fish (PCF) systems for rainwater harvesting in restoring the productivity of degraded coastal soils in Sundarbans. A water balance was run to estimate the soil moisture, crop evapotranspiration, runoff and water depth in the reservoir during normal, excess and deficit rainfall years. The average annual harvested runoff was 2709, 1650 and 1169 m3 per hectare in FP, RF and PCF systems, respectively. The runoff going out of the system was 19.5, 29.1 and 27.75% of the annual rainfall in FP, RF and PCF systems, respectively, whereas in monocrop rice-fallow system it was 34.6% of the annual rainfall. We estimated all the three components of water footprints (WF) i.e., blue WF (WFblue), green WF (WFgreen) and gray WF (WFgray) as an aggregative indicator to evaluate environmental impact. The results indicated that total as well as the components of WF was higher in rice-fallow and rice-rice systems than in each of the land shaping system. Large scale adoption of different land shaping systems increased the cropping intensity and net farm income and there was reduction in salinity during summer and waterlogging during rainy season and overall improvement in soil quality. The dominant soluble salts identified in the study region were NaCl and MgSO4
3 Mukherjee, A. (Ed.) 2018. Groundwater of South Asia. Singapore: Springer. 799p. (Springer Hydrogeology) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3889-1]
Groundwater management ; Water resources ; Groundwater recharge ; Groundwater irrigation ; Water availability ; Water quality ; Freshwater ; Water governance ; Climate change ; Water storage ; Aquifers ; Hydrology ; Geology ; Water pollution ; Contamination ; Arsenic compounds ; Fluorides ; Coastal areas ; Salinity ; Arid zones ; Legal frameworks ; Surface water ; Water security ; Forecasting ; Investment ; Smallholders ; Socioeconomic impact / South Asia / Afghanistan / Bangladesh / Bhutan / India / Myanmar / Nepal / Pakistan / Sri Lanka / West Bengal / Bay of Bengal / Delhi / Kerala / Kashmir / Nadia / Khulna / Satkhira / Sundarbans / Bengal Basin / Kabul River Basin / Gangetic Basin / Ganges River Basin / Meghna River Basin / Indus River Basin / Brahmaputra River Basin / Farakka Barrage
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H049987)
4 Goswami, R.; Roy, K.; Dutta, S.; Ray, K.; Sarkar, S.; Brahmachari, K.; Nanda, M. K.; Mainuddin, M.; Banerjee, H.; Timsina, J.; Majumdar, K. 2021. Multi-faceted impact and outcome of COVID-19 on smallholder agricultural systems: integrating qualitative research and fuzzy cognitive mapping to explore resilient strategies. Agricultural Systems, 189:103051. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103051]
Smallholders ; Agricultural systems ; COVID-19 ; Pandemics ; Cyclones ; Coping strategies ; Irrigation water ; Salinity ; Crop production ; Soil fertility ; Livestock ; Market access ; Labour ; Farmers ; Household income ; Household expenditure ; Stakeholders ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Villages ; Qualitative analysis / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050287)
(4.61 MB)
The shock of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has disrupted food systems worldwide. Such disruption, affecting multiple systems interfaces in smallholder agriculture, is unprecedented and needs to be understood from multi-stakeholder perspectives. The multiple loops of causality in the pathways of impact renders the system outcomes unpredictable. Understanding the nature of such unpredictable pathways is critical to identify present and future systems intervention strategies. Our study aims to explore the multiple pathways of present and future impact created by the pandemic and “Amphan” cyclonic storm on smallholder agricultural systems. Also, we anticipate the behaviour of the systems elements under different realistic scenarios of intervention. We explored the severity and multi-faceted impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable smallholder agricultural production systems through in-depth interactions with key players at the micro-level. It provided contextual information, and revealed critical insights to understand the cascading effect of the pandemic and the cyclone on farm households. We employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Sundarbans areas in eastern India, to identify the present and future systems outcomes caused by the pandemic, and later compounded by “Amphan”. The immediate adaptation strategies of the farmers were engaging family labors, exchanging labors with neighbouring farmers, borrowing money from relatives, accessing free food rations, replacing dead livestock, early harvesting, and reclamation of waterbodies. The thematic analysis identified several systems elements, such as harvesting, marketing, labor accessibility, among others, through which the impacts of the pandemic were expressed. Drawing on these outputs, we employed Mental Modeler, a Fuzzy-Logic Cognitive Mapping tool, to develop multi-stakeholder mental models for the smallholder agricultural systems of the region. Analysis of the mental models indicated the centrality of “Kharif” (monsoon) rice production, current farm income, and investment for the next crop cycle to determine the pathways and degree of the dual impact on farm households. Current household expenditure, livestock, and soil fertility were other central elements in the shared mental model. Scenario analysis with multiple stakeholders suggested enhanced market access and current household income, sustained investment in farming, rapid improvement in affected soil, irrigation water and livestock as the most effective strategies to enhance the resilience of farm families during and after the pandemic. This study may help in formulating short and long-term intervention strategies in the post-pandemic communities, and the methodological approach can be used elsewhere to understand perturbed socioecological systems to formulate anticipatory intervention strategies based on collective wisdom of stakeholders.
5 Fujita, K.; Mizushima, T. (Eds.) 2021. Sustainable development in India: groundwater irrigation, energy use, and food production. Oxon, UK: Routledge. 251p. (Routledge New Horizons in South Asian Studies) [doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003036074]
Sustainable development ; Groundwater irrigation ; Energy consumption ; Food production ; Nexus ; Sustainability ; Irrigation systems ; Irrigated farming ; Tank irrigation ; Irrigation water ; Canals ; Tube wells ; Water use ; Water market ; Policies ; Farmland ; Land development ; Agriculture ; Diversification ; Organic farming ; Nitrogen cycle ; Fertilizers ; Subsidies ; Agrarian structure ; Villages ; Case studies / South Asia / India / Bihar / Gujarat / Haryana / Karnataka / Orissa / Punjab / Rajasthan / Tamil Nadu / Uttar Pradesh / West Bengal / Sundarbans / Khurda
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H050563)
6 Hasan, Md. M.; Shuvho, Md. B. A.; Chowdhury, M. A.; Alam, A. K. M. M.; Hassan, M.; Hossain, N. 2022. Water criteria evaluation for drinking and irrigation purposes: a case study in one of the largest rivers of Sundarbans World Heritage Region. Water Supply, 22(6):5800-5817. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2022.198]
Drinking water ; Irrigation water ; Water quality ; Hydrochemistry ; Surface water ; Water supply ; River water ; Salinity ; Case studies / Bangladesh / Sundarbans / Pasur River / Khulna
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051256)
https://iwaponline.com/ws/article-pdf/22/6/5800/1070921/ws022065800.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051256.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051256.pdf
(0.64 MB) (654 KB)
Pasur river is one of the largest rivers in the World Heritage Sundarbans mangrove forest region of the southwestern part of Bangladesh. Due to lack of alternative sources, more than 1 million inhabitants living in the Pasur river basin area rely heavily on the river water for domestic, irrigation, and industrial purposes without proper and reliable information on the water qualities and contamination types. The study aimed at evaluating the suitability and sustainability for irrigation and consumption practices, and suitable hydrogeochemical techniques and quality of Pasur river water of Sundarbon region of Bangladesh were investigated. Water samples were collected from six locations during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons and assessed for suitability for drinking and irrigation application. The water quality index (WQI) was calculated to evaluate the suitability for drinking. WQI indicates that the river water samples during both the seasons are safe for drinking in the good category. Sodium percentage (Na%), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), magnesium hazard (MH), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were investigated to assess the feasibility for agricultural applications. Most of the indices, such as SAR, Na%, and RSC results recommend that the river water is safe for irrigation. A suggestion is made that MH in river water should be controlled for the use of water in irrigation. United States Salinity Laboratory (USSL) diagram and Wilcox diagram analysis also identified that river water as a usable category for irrigation purposes is feasible during both seasons.
7 Giri, S.; Daw, T. M.; Hazra, S.; Troell, M.; Samanta, S.; Basu, O.; Marcinko, C. L. J.; Chanda, A. 2022. Economic incentives drive the conversion of agriculture to aquaculture in the Indian Sundarbans: livelihood and environmental implications of different aquaculture types. Ambio, 51(9):1963-1977. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01720-4]
Agriculture ; Aquaculture techniques ; Livelihoods ; Environmental impact ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Incentives ; Sustainability ; Farmers ; Farmland ; Nature reserves ; Mangroves ; Brackish water ; Shrimp culture / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051325)
(6.76 MB)
Expansion of aquaculture in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR) is irreversibly replacing agricultural land and the drivers of this change are disputed. Based on in-depth interviews with 67 aquaculture farmers, this paper characterizes major aquaculture types in the SBR, their impacts, and identifies drivers of conversion from agricultural land. Aquaculture types included traditional, improved-traditional, modified-extensive, and semi-intensive systems. Extensive capture of wild shrimp larvae is environmentally harmful but constitutes an important livelihood. Semi-intensive aquaculture of exotic shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) has much higher unit-area profitability than other types but involves greater financial risk. Profitability is the main driver for the transition from agriculture, but environmental factors such as lowered crop yields and cyclone impacts also contributed. Many conversions from agriculture to aquaculture are illegal according to the stakeholders. Existing legislation, if enforced, could halt the loss of agriculture, while the promotion of improved-traditional aquaculture could reduce the demand for wild seed.
8 Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. Climate change: put water at the heart of solutions. Nature, 605(7909):195. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01273-2]
Climate change adaptation ; Climate change mitigation ; Water insecurity ; Weather hazards ; Carbon / India / Sundarbans
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051431)
(0.08 MB) (85.3 KB)
9 Saha, D.; Taron, Avinandan. 2023. Economic valuation of restoring and conserving ecosystem services of Indian Sundarbans. Environmental Development, 46:100846. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2023.100846]
Ecosystem services ; Forest conservation ; Environmental restoration ; Contingent valuation ; Economic value ; Willingness to pay ; Livelihoods ; Households ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Communities ; Participatory approaches ; Mangroves / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans / Gosaba
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051824)
(1.64 MB)
Conservation of forest ecosystem is fundamental for economic-ecological sustainability. Indian Sundarbans provide several ecosystem services, which needs sustainable exploitation since forest dwellers are heavily dependent on the forest. In our study, we attempt to estimate the option value of the forest dwellers through a non-market based valuation technique. Using contingent valuation, we seek to estimate the contribution forest fringe dwellers are ready to provide for restoration and conservation of the ecosystem services. Assuming a random utility framework, mean willingness to pay is estimated from the forest dwellers’ responses to the Dichotomous Choice bidding as well as open-ended bidding question using socio-economic variables which determine the value towards forest ecosystem services. The results indicate that forest dwellers have a positive option value and hence are willing to forgo present extraction of forest resources for future use. This value the forest dwellers associate with non-use ecosystem services indicates their willingness to participate in forest conservation. The study therefore concludes that institutions like Joint Forest Management should be promoted for efficient management of the mangrove in providing livelihood and ecosystem services.
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