Bangladesh is a large delta, where most people live in the overpopulated floodplains. Flooding is a normal phenomenon, which causes much suffering. How to reduce this suffering through better managing floods is a big societal challenge. To date, societal initiatives to address this challenge mainly consist of the construction of embankments along the river bank, to control hydrological processes and ‘discipline’ the river. Yet, such embankments generate their own hydrological and societal responses in sometimes unexpected ways. The study of these interactions and feedback mechanisms between hydrological and social processes is a new academic field, one that is particularly relevant in a dynamic delta such as Bangladesh. This research sets out to explore the phenomena, opportunities and risks generated by the interactions between physical and societal processes along the Jamuna River in Bangladesh. It conceptualize these interactions as temporally dynamic and spatially diverse combinations of fighting and living with water. The research proposes the concept of "Socio-hydrological spaces (SHSs)" to enrich the study of socio-hydrology. A SHS is a geographical area in a landscape. Its particular combination of hydrological and social features gives rise to the emergence of distinct interactions and dynamics (patterns) between society and water. The SHSs concept suggests that the interactions between society and water are place-bound and specific because of differences in social processes, technological choices and opportunities, and hydrological dynamics. Through the concept of SHS, this research does not only contribute to advance the knowledge about socio-hydrological dynamics in Bangladesh, but also provides more general insights for flood risk management.

Bangladesh is a large delta, where most people live in the overpopulated floodplains. Flooding is a normal phenomenon, which causes much suffering. How to reduce this suffering through better managing floods is a big societal challenge. To date, societal initiatives to address this challenge mainly consist of the construction of embankments along the river bank, to control hydrological processes and 'discipline' the river. Yet, such embankments generate their own hydrological and societal responses in sometimes unexpected ways. The study of these interactions and feedback mechanisms between hydrological and social processes is a new academic field, one that is particularly relevant in a dynamic delta such as Bangladesh. This research sets out to explore the phenomena, opportunities and risks generated by the interactions between physical and societal processes along the Jamuna River in Bangladesh. It conceptualize these interactions as temporally dynamic and spatially diverse combinations of fighting and living with water. The research proposes the concept of "Socio-hydrological spaces (SHSs)" to enrich the study of socio-hydrology. A SHS is a geographical area in a landscape. Its particular combination of hydrological and social features gives rise to the emergence of distinct interactions and dynamics (patterns) between society and water. The SHSs concept suggests that the interactions between society and water are place-bound and specific because of differences in social processes, technological choices and opportunities, and hydrological dynamics. Through the concept of SHS, this research does not only contribute to advance the knowledge about socio-hydrological dynamics in Bangladesh, but also provides more general insights for flood risk management.

Flood Resilience of Private Properties examines the division and balance of responsibilities between the public and the private when discussing flood resilience of private properties. Flooding is an expensive climate-related disaster and a threat to urban life. Continuing development in flood-prone zones compound the risks. Protecting all properties to the same standards is ever more challenging. Research has focused on improved planning and adapting publicly-owned infrastructure such as streets, evacuation routes, and retention ponds. However, damages often happen on private land. To realize a flood-resilient city, owners of privately-owned residential houses also need to act. Measures such as mobile barriers and backwater valves or avoiding vulnerable uses in basements can make homes more flood-resilient. But private owners may be unaware of flooding risks or may lack the means and knowledge to act. Incentives may be insufficient, while fragmented or unclear property rights and responsibilities entrench inertia. The challenge is motivating homeowners to take steps. Political and societal systems influence the action citizens are prepared to take and what they expect their governments to do. The responsibility for implementing such measures is shared between the public and the private domain in different degrees in different countries. This book will be of great interest to scholars of water law, property rights, flood risk management and climate adaptation. This book was originally published as a special issue of Water International.

This book provides a unique opportunity to integrate the knowledge on regional-scale riverine reviews to local-scale case-studies, ranging from availability to pollution, national-level river management to transboundary governance. It is an unparalleled attempt to build the bridge between the science of rivers and its history and socio-politics, thus articulating the due credence of rivers from ancient civilizations to modern human societies. The chapters in this book are organized by the sub-sections of i) Hydrology, ii) Hydrosocial and iii) Hydro-heritage, thus providing a unique knowledge on the river studies for historians, scientists, planners, social scientists and policymakers, and are written by leading experts and researchers from across the globe.

Building resilience to the world’s increasingly damaging environmental hazards has become a priority. This book considers the scientific advances which have been made around the world to enhance this resilience. Although resilience is not new, it is through the idea of resilience that governments, organisations, and communities around the world are now seeking to address the rapidly increasing losses that environmental hazards cause so that fewer lives are lost, and damage is reduced. Alternative ideas and approaches have been helpful in reducing loss, but resilience offers a fresh and potentially effective means of reducing it further. Adopting a scientific approach and scientific evidence is important in applying the resilience idea in hazard mitigation. However, the science of resilience is at an immature stage of development with much discussion about the concept and how it should be understood and interpreted. Building useful theories remains a challenge although some of the building blocks of theory have been developed. More attention has been given to developing indicators and frameworks of resilience which are subsequently applied to measure resilience to hazards such as flooding, earthquake, and climate change. Environmental Hazards and Resilience: Theory and Evidence considers the scientific and theoretical challenges of making progress in applying resilience to environmental hazard mitigation and provides examples from around the world – including the USA, New Zealand, China, Bangladesh and elsewhere. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Environmental Hazards.

Bangladesh faces many challenges. So long it has been mainly the traditional ones of socio economic development and eradication of poverty. Environment as a major factor in this process has only recently entered the scene. But even before environmental considerations in the development process has become the normal practice, the spectre of climate change has reared its ugly head. While Bangladesh is not unique among developing countries in being at the receiving end regarding the causes and consequences of climate change, both in the literal and allegorical sense of the term, the fact remains that it has made the prospects for sustainable socio-economic development in the country much more complex and formidable than before. Both for her own sake and the sake of the global community at large, therefore, Bangladesh has to initiate actions at various levels to face the challenge from now on. The present study is a part of that process. In 1996, the Governments of USA and Bangladesh together decided to initiate a comprehensive study on climate change in Bangladesh. A unique consortium of public and non-governmental research organisations with support from the relevant administrative arms of the Government carried out the study over 1996 and 1997. The report has been accepted by the Government and several of its recommendations are in the process of implementation. While the direction of climate change is broadly certain, its details leave much scope for speculation and interpretation.

This open access volume is the first comprehensive assessment of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. It comprises important scientific research on the social, economic, and environmental pillars of sustainable mountain development and will serve as a basis for evidence-based decision-making to safeguard the environment and advance people’s well-being. The compiled content is based on the collective knowledge of over 300 leading researchers, experts and policymakers, brought together by the Hindu Kush Himalayan Monitoring and Assessment Programme (HIMAP) under the coordination of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This assessment was conducted between 2013 and 2017 as the first of a series of monitoring and assessment reports, under the guidance of the HIMAP Steering Committee: Eklabya Sharma (ICIMOD), Atiq Raman (Bangladesh), Yuba Raj Khatiwada (Nepal), Linxiu Zhang (China), Surendra Pratap Singh (India), Tandong Yao (China) and David Molden (ICIMOD and Chair of the HIMAP SC). This First HKH Assessment Report consists of 16 chapters, which comprehensively assess the current state of knowledge of the HKH region, increase the understanding of various drivers of change and their impacts, address critical data gaps and develop a set of evidence-based and actionable policy solutions and recommendations. These are linked to nine mountain priorities for the mountains and people of the HKH consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals. This book is a must-read for policy makers, academics and students interested in this important region and an essentially important resource for contributors to global assessments such as the IPCC reports.