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The utility of weather and climate information for adaptation decision-making: current uses and future prospects in Africa and India
Full text linkDeveloping countries share many common challenges in addressing current and future climate risks. A key barrier to managing these risks is the limited availability of accessible, reliable and relevant weather and climate information.Despite continued investments in Earth System Modelling, and the growing provision of climate services across Africa and India, there often remains a mismatch between available information and what is needed to support on-the-ground decision-making. In this paper, we outline the range of currently available information and present examples from Africa and India to demonstrate the challenges in meeting information needs in different contexts. A review of literature supplemented by interviews with experts suggests that externally provided weather and climate information has an important role in building on local knowledge to shape understanding of climate risks and guide decision-making across scales. Moreover, case studies demonstrate that successful decision-making can be achieved with currently available information. However, these successful examples predominantly use daily, weekly and seasonal climate information for decision-making over short time horizons. Despite an increasing volume of global and regional climate model simulations, there are very few clear examples of long-term climate information being used to inform decisions at subnational scales. We argue that this is largely because the information produced and disseminated is often ill-suited to inform decision-making at the local scale, particularly for farmers, pastoralists and sub-national governments. Even decision-makers involved in long-term planning, such as national government officials, find it difficult to plan using decadal and multi-decadal climate projections because of issues around uncertainty, risk averseness and constraints in justifying funding allocations on prospective risks. Drawing on lessons learnt from recent successes and failures, a framework is proposed to help increase the utility and uptake of both current and future climate information across Africaand India
Filling in the (forest) blanks: the past, present and future of India’s savanna grasslands
Full text linkFor most people, savannas conjure up iconic images of vast open African landscapes, with giraffes, elephants, and large herds of wildebeest, zebras, and other herbivores. In reality, savannas are a pan-tropical vegetation formation,
from the pampas and cerrados of Latin America, to the plains of northern Australia
Ancient Risks, Current Challenges in the Himalayas
No full textIn the face of climate change, disaster risk management must drive development and not vice versa. Seismic tremors, surface slippage of fragile sedimentary soils generating landslides, monsoon weather and cyclonic
storms producing massive run-off are all relatively well understood, inherent to the Himalayan region, and by and large predictable. Yet governments, communities
and international agencies repeatedly appear to have been
“taken by surprise” when each of these occurs. What needs to be understood is that systems of mitigation and response are at the very foundation of economic
development, built into the understanding of disaster
Irrigation demands aggravate fishing threats to river dolphins in Nepal
No full textRiverine species are adapted to natural habitat changes caused by seasonal flood-pulses. However, abrupt river
channel changes following flooding events intersect with social systems of land and water management (e.g. agriculture,fisheries) and in turn generate significant consequences for conservation of endangered aquatic species.
We investigated trade offs between changing river habitat availability and exposure to fishing intensity for a small
population of Ganges River dolphins Platanista gangetica gangetica in the Karnali basin of Nepal. A major natural
flooding event in the Karnali basin in 2010 caused the river channel to shift from the Geruwa (flows through a
protected area where fishing is restricted) to the Karnali channel (high fishing activity, agriculture-dominated),
where dolphins moved in response. Based on our survey data (2009–2015) and long-term hydrological trends in the basin, we found that irrigation diversions since 2012 had aggravated fishing impacts on dolphins, suggesting that their new habitat had become an ‘ecological trap’. Regression models showed that at low river depths, fishing intensity negatively affected dolphin abundance, but at higher depths no effect of fishing was observed. Two records of dolphin by catch in gill nets confirmed this, as both events corresponded with periods of sudden increase in water abstraction for irrigation. Overall, dolphin distribution shifted downstream and the population
declined from 11 in 2012 to 6 in 2015. Effective protection of this river dolphin population from extinction will
require the Government of Nepal to prioritize ecologically adequate river flow regimes for implementing efficient
irrigation schemes and adaptive fisheries regulations in the Karnali basi
Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and its importance in South India: perspective from local community
Full text linkThe study throws light on the challenges and complexities in the protection and promotion of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in a semi-arid tropical forest area of South India. The community perception was used to examine the TEK patterns, drivers of change, and the components and interrelations of human well-being. Appropriate data was collected through semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire method and focus group discussions in eight villages. The study revealed that the TEK is playing a vital role in the livelihoods of local people in the study area. Regrettably, the present trend of drivers such as modernization, policy interventions, threat from invasive species, migration and occupation change, had a greater impact on TEK and pertinent traditional practices than ever before. An evaluation of the connections between TEK and components of human well-being showed that both the change in TEK and the drivers of change, affects six basic needs of human well-being of the local communities. The study has developed a conceptual framework, which will help to detect and minimize the drivers of change in TEK. The study outcome also helps policy makers and forest functionaries to manage the forest in sustainable manner by incorporating TEK
Size matters: Scale mismatch between space use patterns of tigers and protected area size in a Tropical Dry Forest
No full textIndia harbours the largest wild tiger population in the world and Tropical Dry Forest areas constitute the largest habitat for them. Recent extinctions, however, from two high profile tiger reserves, highlight the vulnerability of tiger in this habitat. Our examination of historic range areas for tigers shows that populations are disappearing at a faster rate in Tropical Dry Forest (64% sites suffering local extinction in 100 years) than in any other suitable habitat in India. Focusing on data from the Tropical Dry Forest of Panna Tiger Reserve in central India, we examine the spatial ecology of the tiger population prior to its local extinction. We analyse home range sizes, overlaps and shifts, as well as the range expansion and contraction of radio-collared tigers between 1996 and 2005. In this reserve, the average annual home range sizes for both males (n = 2) and females (n = 4) were three to four times larger than those reported so far from other tropical habitats in India — male: mean 179.3 ± 11.8 km2 (95% Fixed kernel; n = 7); female: mean 46.6 ± 3.7 km2 ; (95% Fixed kernel; n = 16). Adult female home ranges were exclusive and overlapped little with neighbouring female ranges (3 ± 1.46%, n = 6). Male home ranges were not exclusive: resident floater males shared space with territorial males and mated with resident females. Home ranges of all breeding radio-collared tigers extended beyond the protected area boundary and were exposed to edge effects that exist at the periphery and outside. With such spatial use patterns, security and management measures provided within the boundary are unlikely to be very successful in protecting the population. Protected Areas in Tropical Dry Forest across India are relatively small (366.92 ± 422.12 km2 SD) and historical trends point towards a scale-mismatch that exists between the size of Protected Areas and the space use requirements of tigers. This scale mismatch adds to the vulnerability of existing small populations and perhaps explains why tiger populations in Tropical Dry Forest have disappeared at a faster rate than in any other tiger habitat of the
sub-continen
Estimating fast and slow reacting components in surface water and groundwater using a two-reactant model
Full text linkMaintaining residual chlorine levels in a water distribution network is a challenging task, especially in the context of developing countries where water is usually supplied intermittently. To model chlorine decay in water distribution networks, it is very important to understand chlorine kinetics in bulk water. Recent studies have suggested that chlorine decay rate depends on initial chlorine levels and the type of organic and inorganic matter present in water, indicating that a first-order decay model is unable to accurately predict chlorine decay in bulk water. In this study, we employed the two-reactant (2R) model to estimate the fast and slow reacting components in surface water and groundwater. We carried out a bench-scale test for surface water and groundwater at initial chlorine levels of 1, 2, and 5 mg L−1. We used decay data sets to estimate optimal parameter values for both surface water and groundwater. After calibration, the 2R model was validated with two decay data sets with varying initial chlorine concentrations (ICCs). This study arrived at three important findings. (a) We found that the ratio of slow to fast reacting components in groundwater was 30 times greater than that of the surface water. This observation supports the existing literature which indicates the presence of high levels of slow reacting fractions (manganese and aromatic hydrocarbons) in groundwater. (b) Both for surface water and groundwater, we obtained good model prediction, explaining 97 % of the variance in data for all cases. The mean square error obtained for the decay data sets was close to the instrument error, indicating the feasibility of the 2R model for chlorine prediction in both types of water. (c) In the case of deep groundwater, for high ICC levels (> 2 mg L−1), the first-order model can accurately predict chlorine decay in bulk water
Exploring Freshwater Science
Full text linkFreshwater ecosystems and associated habitats harbor incredible biodiversity. They offer various ecosystem services and sustain human livelihoods. However, due to increasing developmental pressure and rising water demand, these systems are under huge threat. As a result, many aquatic species are feared to become extinct in near future. Quantifying the patterns of aquatic species diversity and composition of river systems is urgently required. With this interest, we studied four river systems in the Western Ghats region, documenting the
pattern of fish diversity and identifying the factors that influence fish species richness. Maintaining undisturbed streams and river basins, especially headwater regions is crucial for sustaining freshwater biodiversity in the tropical river ecosystems
Managing our lakes and sewage
Full text linkOn the morning of March 7, the walkers and joggers at Bengaluru’s Ulsoor lake were shocked to see thousands of dead fish piled up its banks. The local corporator blamed the fisherfolk, the chairman of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) asked for time to investigate, and residents blamed all government agencies. Solutions proposed ranged from running motorboats and releasing ducks, to banning fishing and releasing enzymes for lake cleanup
Cauvery row: let us dive into facts and figures
Full text linkRecent developments over the Cauvery waters have gripped the public imagination like no other contemporary environmental issue. The following WhatsApp message showed up on a group a few days ago: ‘The problem with the Kaveri (sic) issue is lack of facts, more of emotion and opinion. Let’s look at the facts and figures.