A plural climate studies framework for the Himalayas

Chakraborty, Ritodhi; Gergan, Mabel Denzin; Sherpa, Pasang Yangjee; Rampini, Costanza

doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2021.02.005

Cited by 22 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…The dominant logics discussed in the previous section, such as ‘green energy’ and ‘sustainability,’ underpin that positioning and work to obscure alternative mitigation solutions (Lord et al., 2020; Williams, 2018). Others call for moving past the “Himalayas as ‘exceptionally precarious’” trope, which prioritises ‘dominant scientific/market‐driven frameworks’ and excludes ‘plural place‐based perspectives’ (Chakraborty et al., 2021).…”

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond state politics in Asia's transboundary rivers: Revisiting two decades of critical hydropolitics

et al. 2023

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For the past two decades, work across a range of fields, but particularly geography, has engaged ‘critical hydropolitics’ as a way to highlight not only the politics inherent in decisions about water, but also the foundational assumptions of more conventional hydropolitical analyses that tend to focus on conflicts and cooperation over water resources, with a heavy emphasis on ‘the state’ as the key actor and scale of analysis. In this article we review critical hydropolitical literature that focuses on transboundary rivers that descend from the eastern Tibetan Plateau, namely the Lancang‐Mekong, Yarlung Tsangpo‐Brahmaputra and Nu‐Salween river basins. We highlight five key and interrelated themes that have emerged in the literature to date ‐ the state, scale, infrastructure, knowledge and logics, and climate change ‐ and discuss how these provide useful tools for more fine‐grained analyses of power, control and contestation.

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Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond state politics in Asia's transboundary rivers: Revisiting two decades of critical hydropolitics

et al. 2023

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“…The UIB has undergone major socioeconomic transformations in recent decades with respect to land use change, cropping systems, digital and physical connectivity and access to markets, urbanization, demographic shifts, and human mobility along with glacio‐hydrological changes. Multiple transitions are affecting socio‐hydrological interactions that are context specific and require plural and place‐based perspectives (Chakraborty et al., 2021; Nüsser et al., 2012). Recognition of the relationships between socioeconomic development and climate change point to a need for a better understanding of the ways in which water resources are the target of national sustainable development plans.…”

Section: Socioeconomic Processes and Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge Priorities on Climate Change and Water in the Upper Indus Basin: A Horizon Scanning Exercise to Identify the Top 100 Research Questions in Social and Natural Sciences

et al. 2022

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River systems originating from the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) are dominated by runoff from snow and glacier melt and summer monsoonal rainfall. These water resources are highly stressed as huge populations of people living in this region depend on them, including for agriculture, domestic use, and energy production. Projections suggest that the UIB region will be affected by considerable (yet poorly quantified) changes to the seasonality and composition of runoff in the future, which are likely to have considerable impacts on these supplies. Given how directly and indirectly communities and ecosystems are dependent on these resources and the growing pressure on them due to ever‐increasing demands, the impacts of climate change pose considerable adaptation challenges. The strong linkages between hydroclimate, cryosphere, water resources, and human activities within the UIB suggest that a multi‐ and inter‐disciplinary research approach integrating the social and natural/environmental sciences is critical for successful adaptation to ongoing and future hydrological and climate change. Here we use a horizon scanning technique to identify the Top 100 questions related to the most pressing knowledge gaps and research priorities in social and natural sciences on climate change and water in the UIB. These questions are on the margins of current thinking and investigation and are clustered into 14 themes, covering three overarching topics of “governance, policy, and sustainable solutions”, “socioeconomic processes and livelihoods”, and “integrated Earth System processes”. Raising awareness of these cutting‐edge knowledge gaps and opportunities will hopefully encourage researchers, funding bodies, practitioners, and policy makers to address them.

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“…Despite these challenges, development efforts and especially sustainable development schemes, which aim to reconcile environmental and social justice concerns with economic growth, should take into consideration people’s climate-adaptation needs and their multiple climate society relationships especially since the effects of climate change usually serve to amplify existing structural problems and historical power inequities for the most marginalized people and places (Chakraborty et al., 2021, Eriksen and O’Brien, 2007). A common way to do so is to mainstream climate concerns into traditional development strategies, such as infrastructure projects, or schemes to reduce poverty, enhance livelihoods, and promote education (Brown, 2011; Castells-Quintana et al., 2018; Fahey et al., 2016).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate and energy justice along the Brahmaputra river in Northeast India

Rampini

2021

Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space

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Recurrent summer floods along the Brahmaputra river and its tributaries are a major challenge for the people and state governments of Northeast India. While riverine communities in the region rely upon a variety of adaptation strategies to live with these destructive floods, climate change is expected to further exacerbate this challenge, as melting Himalayan glaciers and changes in the South Asian monsoon lead to an increase in the frequency of severe floods. At the same time, a multitude of new dams are under construction in the Brahmaputra river basin, to meet India’s growing energy demands. Though these dams could provide flood protection for downstream communities, political and economic factors have led dam-builders to prioritize hydroelectricity generation over flood control. Furthermore, hydroelectricity generated along the Brahmaputra is “evacuated” to distant urban centers, while rural dwellers in Northeast India suffer from high levels of energy poverty. Using the Ranganadi Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh as a case study, this paper examines how, by changing the flood regime and undermining current adaptive strategies, large dams along the Brahmaputra are testing the capacity of downstream communities to live with summer floods. This work highlights the ways in which poor and vulnerable communities in Northeast India are forced to bear the costs of both climate change impacts and decarbonization efforts.

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A plural climate studies framework for the Himalayas

Cited by 22 publications

References 72 publications

Beyond state politics in Asia's transboundary rivers: Revisiting two decades of critical hydropolitics

Beyond state politics in Asia's transboundary rivers: Revisiting two decades of critical hydropolitics

Knowledge Priorities on Climate Change and Water in the Upper Indus Basin: A Horizon Scanning Exercise to Identify the Top 100 Research Questions in Social and Natural Sciences

Climate and energy justice along the Brahmaputra river in Northeast India

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