Rivers are vital freshwater resources that cater to the needs of society. The burgeoning population and the consequent land-use changes have altered the hydrologic regime with biophysical and chemical integrity changes. This necessitates understanding the land-use dynamics, flow dynamics, hydrologic regime, and water quality of riverine ecosystems. An assessment of the land-use dynamics in the Aghanashini River basin reveals a decline in vegetation cover from 86.06% (1973) to 50.78% (2018). The computation of eco-hydrological indices (EHI) highlights that the sub-watersheds with native vegetation had higher infiltration (and storage) than water loss due to evapotranspiration and meeting the societal demand. The computation of water quality index helped to assess the overall water quality across seasons. The study provides insights into hydrology linkages with the catchment landscape dynamics to the hydrologists and land-use managers. These insights would aid in the prudent management of river basins to address water stress issues through watershed treatment involving afforestation with native species, appropriate cropping, and soil conservation measures.
Resistance from climate extremes requires robust adaptation strategy, especially in regions that have greater density and limited resource availability. Weather extremes, such as anomalous precipitation leading to floods have now become a frequent global phenomenon. These situations could lead to unforeseen disaster if the region remains under-equipped to adapt against the vulnerabilities. Therefore, the research objective aims to explore the current status of adaptability within proposed capital region of Andhra Pradesh on backdrop of future urban growth that region may undergo. Andhra Pradesh Capital Region (APCR) has experienced severe flood events in past due to intense rainfall, overflowing Krishna river and causing inundation due to sudden releases from reservoirs upstream. An index based assessment of Mandalas were carried out by selecting relevant factors through various literature reviews. The method comprises of assigning comparative scores to the mandals based on their performance for each parameter and categorizing them on a Likert scale of 1 to 5. The selected parameters are then prioritized by adding weights through pairwise comparison techniques using Analytical Hierarchical Process. Risk Map for the region was developed using weighted sum of flood vulnerability factors and urban development scenario of 2050. The results substantiate that the regional vulnerability is cumulatively influenced by exposure and sensitivity factors. The empirical findings identify female literacy and elevation as major contributor to flood vulnerability. Requirement for immediate interventions were suggested for the mandals with higher vulnerability and greater scope of urban transformation. The proposed method will help in quick identification of susceptible mandals that may suffer higher vulnerability in future. The method proposed will also be effective for formulation policies for redirecting scarce resources in areas needing adaptation against climate disasters.
<p>Coastal flooding are natural processes that are both i) essential (providing nutrients to the coastal vegetation, habitats) and ii) hazardous (negatively impact human activities, livelihood, assets, livestock and so on). Climate changes have induced higher frequency of floods, rising sea levels, high amplitude tides and other climatic extremes at regional to global scales. The increasing intensity, duration of floods is proportionately increasing the risks associated with coastal human habitations. The regional risks are defined based on the physical, demographic, socio-economic vulnerability of the habitants. Sea level rise would further enhance the coastal inundations permanently breaching these productive, densely populated regions. This necessitates the need for spatially assessing the relative hazard, vulnerability and risks at regional scales to reduce/mitigate risks.</p><p>Indian subcontinent supports the second largest global population, with numerous megacities, towns and villages along the coast and mainland. This study's main objective is to quantify the risk associated with inundations caused by rising sea levels, tidal surge at the regional level. As a case study, Sagar Island located in the verge of Sundarbans, south of West Bengal is considered. Flood risk assessment in the island has been carried out using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework based on 23 spatial parameters.</p><p>Results indicate, within a century (1922 &#8211; 2020), the island has lost most of its natural vegetation (mangroves - Sundarbans) (47% to 3%), with increasing cultivated (agriculture, horticulture) spaces (77.4 %) and built-up environs (8.2%). Sea level rise varies from 4.4 mm/year (South) to 5.25 mm/year (North) and in the last century has breached over 2824 hectares of mainland. The study's findings reveal 19.8% of horticulture and 33.3% of agriculture assets are highly exposed to natural hazards. 1.34% population are at relatively very high-risk levels, 17.81% at high-risk levels. The study's findings reveal the variable importance of socio-economic, demographic, topographic and proximity to public service, in defining the flood vulnerability and risk towards the habitants. The approach and findings of paves the way for planning authorities to prioritise risk mitigation strategies that are region-specific to reduce the impact of inundation due to natural hazards</p><p><em>Keywords: Sea level rise, Flood risk, MCDA, Vulnerability, flood hazard</em></p>
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