35 – Living with and recovering from coastal and riverine disasters: a critical approach of riskscape

October 2, 2025
8:30 am
H15
Riverine, deltaic and coastal areas of South Asia are frequently affected by hydrometeorological hazards such as cyclones, floods and storm surges: these recurring events damage agricultural production and public and private infrastructure. As a result, erosion of the coasts and banks has led to the displacement of many villages. For this panel, we are seeking contributions examining the adaptive strategies deployed by different categories of stakeholders to cope and adapt to hazards. The effectiveness of public management of hazards through structural (extension of embankments, construction of shelters, etc.) and non-structural (awareness raising, support for adaptive strategies, etc.), individual and collective strategies based on agricultural adaptations and agro-ecological technologies used in rice or shrimp farming, nature-based solutions initiatives, coastal or river restoration practices and other alternatives are all being called into question. Overall, we aim to create a site-based knowledge exchange that critically addresses the issue of adaptation by examining power relations between public and private sector actors to highlight the limitations of strategies adaptation. We thus wish to examine the source of the problem that considers the hydrosocial cycle and the social, economic and ecological situations to support sustainable reconstruction in spaces exposed to multiple risks.

Convenor

Emilie Cremin

Presentations

Governing the commons: an ethnographic exploration of local adaptation response to complex global problems.
Selim Samiya - Center for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Islam Nurul - Sajida Foundation, Sajida Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Indigenous Lessons on Delta Adaptation
Theocharis Angelos - Department of Media, Culture, Heritage, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Restoring Rights and Resilience: Ādivāsī Communities, Traditional Knowledge, and Environmental Conservation in the Indian Sundarbans
CREMIN EMILIE - Instititute of Geography and suistainability - IGD, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Souradip Pathak - IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Souradip Pathak - IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
Tapas Mondal - SJSM, NGO, Kolkata, India