Flood risk of natural and embanked landscapes on the Ganges–Brahmaputra tidal delta plain

Auerbach, L. Wallace; Goodbred, S. L.; Mondal, D. R.; Wilson, Carol; Ahmed, Kazi Rifat; Roy, Kushal; Steckler, Michael S.; Small, Christopher; Gilligan, Jonathan M.; Ackerly, Brooke A.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2472

Cited by 262 publications

(253 citation statements)

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“…Low rates of accumulation of 0.6 to 1.2 mm year −1 have among others been found by Craft and Casey (2000), while high rates of accumulation in the order of 20-180 mm year −1 have been found by Darke and Megonigal (2003), Mitsch et al (2014), Auerbach et al (2015), and Roberts et al (2015). Negative sediment budgets, such as found for the Zuiderklip area, have been reported by among others (Sheehan and Ellison 2015) and Van der Wal and Pye (2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…A recent example is Polder 32, which is located on the tidal delta plain of southwest Bangladesh. This polder area has received tens of centimetres of newly deposited sediment after dike breaches and inundation by the Cyclone Aila in 2009 (Auerbach et al 2015). Increased vertical marsh accretion is also found in several delta restoration projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors controlling sediment trapping in two freshwater tidal wetlands in the Biesbosch area, The Netherlands

2017

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Purpose A thorough understanding of mechanisms controlling sedimentation and erosion is vital for a proper assessment of the effectiveness of delta restoration. Only few field-based studies have been undertaken in freshwater tidal wetlands. Furthermore, studies that measured sediment deposition in newly created wetlands are also sparse. This paper aims to identify the factors controlling the sediment trapping of two newly created freshwater tidal wetlands. Materials and methods Two recently re-opened polder areas in the Biesbosch, The Netherlands are used as study area. Field measurements of water levels, flow velocities, and turbidity at both the in-and outlet of the areas were carried out to determine the sediment budgets and trapping efficiencies under varying conditions of river discharge, tide, and wind in the period 2014-2016. Results and discussion Short-term sediment fluxes of the two study areas varied due to river discharge, tide, and wind. A positive sediment budget and trapping efficiency was found for the first study area, which has a continuing supply of river water and sediment. Sediment was lost from the second study area which lies further from the river and had a lower sediment supply. The daily sediment budget is positively related to upstream river discharge, and in general, export takes place during ebb and import during flood. However, strong wind events overrule this pattern, and trapping efficiencies decrease for increasing wind strengths at mid-range river discharges and for the highest river discharges due to increased shear stress. Conclusions Delta restoration, based on sedimentation to compensate for sea-level rise and soil subsidence, could only be effective when there is a sufficient supply of water and sediment. Management to enhance the trapping efficiency of the incoming sediment should focus on directing sufficient river flow into the wetland, ensuring the supply of water and sediment within the system during a tidal cycle, creating sufficiently large residence time of water within the polder areas for sediment settling, and decreasing wave shear stress by the establishment of vegetation or topographic irregularities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors controlling sediment trapping in two freshwater tidal wetlands in the Biesbosch area, The Netherlands

2017

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“…Elsewhere, double exposure is more sinister. Exacerbated sea flooding in certain places in Bangladesh was blamed on climate change whereas it was actually due more to using structural sea defences (Auerbach et al 2015). Villagers in Vanuatu were termed ''climate change refugees'' even though the increased sea flooding was due more to tectonic subsidence than to sealevel rise (Ballu et al 2011).…”

Section: Deepening Our Approach To Vulnerability and Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change’s Role in Disaster Risk Reduction’s Future: Beyond Vulnerability and Resilience

Kelman

Gaillard

Mercer³

2015

Int J Disaster Risk Sci

196

135

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A seminal policy year for development and sustainability occurs in 2015 due to three parallel processes that seek long-term agreements for climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, and disaster risk reduction. Little reason exists to separate them, since all three examine and aim to deal with many similar processes, including vulnerability and resilience. This article uses vulnerability and resilience to explore the intersections and overlaps amongst climate change, disaster risk reduction, and sustainability. Critiquing concepts such as ''return to normal'' and ''double exposure'' demonstrate how separating climate change from wider contexts is counterproductive. Climate change is one contributor to disaster risk and one creeping environmental change amongst many, and not necessarily the most prominent or fundamental contributor. Yet climate change has become politically important, yielding an opportunity to highlight and tackle the deep-rooted vulnerability processes that cause ''multiple exposure'' to multiple threats. To enhance resilience processes that deal with the challenges, a prudent place for climate change would be as a subset within disaster risk reduction. Climate change adaptation therefore becomes one of many processes within disaster risk reduction. In turn, disaster risk reduction should sit within development and sustainability to avoid isolation from topics wider than disaster risk. Integration of the topics in this way moves beyond expressions of vulnerability and resilience towards a vision of disaster risk reduction's future that ends tribalism and separation in order to work together to achieve common goals for humanity.

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“…While some farmers benefitted from silt deposition, others suffered from layers of sand deposited by tidal waters (cf. satellite images of Kamarkhola union presented in Auerbach et al (2015)). The ban had opened diverse livelihood opportunities for smallholding farmers, who could now engage in integrated paddy-prawn-fish farming on land and prawn-fish polyculture in homestead ponds.…”

Section: Adaptation Opportunities Barriers and Limitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential livelihood adaptation to social-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh

2017

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Social-ecological changes, brought about by the rapid growth of the aquaculture industry and the increased occurrence of climatic stressors, have significantly affected the livelihoods of coastal communities in Asian mega-deltas. This paper explores the livelihood adaptation responses of households of different wealth classes, the heterogeneous adaptation opportunities, barriers and limits (OBLs) faced by these households and the dynamic ways in which these factors interact to enhance or impede adaptive capacities. A mixed methods approach was used to collect empirical evidence from two villages in coastal Bangladesh. Findings reveal that households' adaptive capacities largely depend on their wealth status, which not only determine their availability of productive resources, but also empower them to navigate social-ecological change in desirable ways. Households operate within a shared response space, which is shaped by the broader socio-economic and political landscape, as well as their previous decisions that can lock them in to particular pathways. While an adaptive response may be effective for one social group, it may cause negative externalities that can undermine the adaptation options and outcomes of another group. Adaptation OBLs interact in complex ways; the extent to which these OBLs affect different households depend on the specific livelihood activities being considered and the differential values and interests they hold. To ensure more equitable and environmentally sustainable livelihoods in future, policies and programs should aim to expand households' adaptation space by accounting for the heterogeneous needs and complex interdependencies between response processes of different groups.

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Flood risk of natural and embanked landscapes on the Ganges–Brahmaputra tidal delta plain

Cited by 262 publications

References 20 publications

Factors controlling sediment trapping in two freshwater tidal wetlands in the Biesbosch area, The Netherlands

Factors controlling sediment trapping in two freshwater tidal wetlands in the Biesbosch area, The Netherlands

Climate Change’s Role in Disaster Risk Reduction’s Future: Beyond Vulnerability and Resilience

Differential livelihood adaptation to social-ecological change in coastal Bangladesh

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