Partha Jyoti Das - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Partha Jyoti Das

‘Climate Change and Climate Justice’, Edited by Rajkhowa, S. and Rajkhowa, S., Satyam Law International/Satyam Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2023

Climate change and its implication for hydrometeorological disasters... recently about the most f... more Climate change and its implication for hydrometeorological disasters... recently about the most formidable threat faced by humankind ever in its modern history. 387 Climate Change and Climate Justice 2010, with the 1ast nine years (2014-2022) ranking as the nine warmest vears on record. These years are 201 6(0.99°C), 2020(0.98°C), 2019(0.940y 2015(0.93°C), 2017(0.91°C), 2022(0.86°C), 2021(0.84°C), 2018(0.82°c) 2014(0.74 °C) and 2010(0.72 °C). The year 2005, which was the first year to set a new global tenmperature record in the 21st century, currently ties with 2013 as the T1th-warmest year on record. The year 2010, which had surpassed 2005 at the time, now ranks as the 10th-warmest year on record (NOAA, 2023). Global mean sea level has increased by 0.20 m(meter) between 1901 and 2018. The average rate of sea level rise was 1.3 mm per year between 1901 and 1971, increasing to 1.9 mm per year between 1971 and 2006, and further increasing to 3.7 mm per year between 2006 and 2018. The global upper ocean (0-700 m) has warmed since the 1970s and since human-caused C02 emissions are the main driver of current global acidification of the surface open ocean . Glaciers all over the earth are retreating since the 1990s. The annual

The Restless River. 2021. World Bank, Washington, DC, Edited by: Ganesh Pangare, Bushra Nishat, Xiawei Liao, Halla Maher Qaddumi

This book tells a fascinating story of one of the world's longest and diverse river systems. It c... more This book tells a fascinating story of one of the world's longest and diverse river systems. It combines beautiful illustrations and a narrative based on good science and the ability to tell a complex story which should be of interest to a wide public".

ENVIS Assam News letter_April-June-2009.pdf, 2009

Large Dams for Hydropower in Northeast India-A Dossier, Kalpvriksh and South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, 2005

and his team at RVC-Akajan and Sanat Chakraborty for helping to frame a perspective; Soumen Dey, ... more and his team at RVC-Akajan and Sanat Chakraborty for helping to frame a perspective; Soumen Dey, Firoz Ahmed, Partha Das and others at Aaranyak, Bikul Goswami, Jarjum Ete, W. Ramananda and Salam Rajesh, splendid individuals with 'fire in the belly' who have helped whenever asked! Goutam Narayan, Nandita Hazarika and family, whose generosity is now common knowledge since they appear in the acknowledgments of most people who have worked in the region in recent years. Many thanks for being there to chat and teach, and of course for all those heavenly meals. Several people whom I'd rather not name here, have extended invaluable support by providing classified information and 'inside' stories. To all of them, many thanks and best wishes. I've been humbled by your complete acceptance to be part of these conversations irrespective of whether our opinions agreed. SANDRP and Bombay Natural History Society, who I consider partners in this collective work, have extended the much needed logistical support by way of quick disbursals of funds to undertake work. My gratitude to them for this and also for making extensive efforts at integrating these NE issues into their other projects and for taking these issues to new audience. Back home, I still need to apologise adequately to Ashish for having ditched him on a project to begin work on NE dams. And to Pankaj for letting me take over his computer, coffee breaks and whatever else I needed, our time together being the most contested of these all. It seems inadequate to thank Neeraj just yet, there's still much that we have to do. My gratitude to all at KV, always, for a list of things that's just too long.

Proceedings of the workshop of the Assam Water Conference on 'Management of water related disasters Urban & Rural', 6-7 February, 2015, 2015

Dutta HN and Som S (Edited), River Brahmaputra in the Culture and Vision of Assam, Directorate of Archaeology, Assam, Guwahati, 2010, 2010

Hydrological Impact of earthquakes on the Brahmaputra river regime, Assam: A study in exploring some evidences, 2002

The Brahmaputra basin in North East India constitutes an extremely unstable seismic region of the... more The Brahmaputra basin in North East India constitutes an extremely
unstable seismic region of the world. The impact of the major earthquakes on the regime of the river with its host of tributaries and the large number of water bodies (wetlands) strewn over the flood plains is no doubt very significant. However, no serious efforts have so far been made to collate and sieve through the pile of scientific data and observations available so far relating to the effects of major earthquakes vis-à-vis the regime of rivers and morphology and behaviour of channels. Tectonics and denudation of the Himalayas and alluviation of the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam are
concomitant phenomena (Goswami, 1985). There appears to be phases of rapid aggradation of the Brahmaputra channel associated with earthquakes followed by relatively slower removal of accumulated debris over longer time periods. Major earthquake episodes of Assam appear to be separated by a period of seismic quiescence. In the present paper an attempt is made to present a comprehensive and coherent report on the hydrologic and geomorphic impact of the last two major earthquakes of this region viz. 1897 and 1950, based on examination and analysis of data and
information available in published research, official reports and other documents. These earthquakes caused extensive landslips and rock-falls on hillslopes, subsidence and fissuring of ground in the valley, and changes in the course and configuration of the rivers. The effects of the earthquakes are discussed here under six different categories viz. (i) landslides on the hillslopes including blockage of river courses (ii) flash floods
due to sudden bursting of landslide-induced temporary dams (iii) raising of river beds due to heavy siltation, fissuring and sand venting (iv) subsidence/elevation of existing river and lake bottoms and margins and creation of new water bodies and waterfalls due to faulting. Several examples are cited to illustrate each of the categories mentioned.

Ecologist Asia, Vol. 11 No.1 January-March 2003, 2003

The paper presents basic information about the geomorphic, hydrological, sedimentological, clima... more The paper presents basic information about the geomorphic, hydrological, sedimentological, climatic, hazardscape of the Brahmaputra River with especial focus ono the Indian part of the river and its basin. With this backdrop the paper highlights the large hydropower development projects promoted by the Government of India on the Brahmaputra and its tributaries and provides a commentary on the pros and cons of such mega development plans.

A compendium on Local practices for mitigating risk of water induced disaster and climate change in the Brahmaputra river basin, Assam, India’ Aaranyak Technical Report, June 2017, Draft version, 2017

The article explores the functioning and institutional govrenance of the Dong, the traditional ir... more The article explores the functioning and institutional govrenance of the Dong, the traditional irrigation and water harvesting system prevalent in Western Assam in India. It also examines the customary management of the dongs in the light of gender and social inclusion.

Souvenir of the ‘XI International Geographical Union (IGU) Commissioned Seminar cum 29th Biennial Conference of North East India Geographical Society (NEIGS), 2018

This article discusses the indicators of climate change being observed in northeast India mainly ... more This article discusses the indicators of climate change being observed in northeast India mainly in rainfall and the temperature regime. It also elaborates on diverse water related disasters (such as flooding, flash flooding, river erosion, droughts etc.) and analyses how the nature of water induced hazards have changed over time due to the influence of changing climate. An important feature of the article is the discussion on downstream impact of hydrometeorological disaster having transboundary origin viz. triggered in China and Bhutan.

Thought Process: Points to Ponde, 2019

This article highlights the disconnect between practices and strategies adopted by communities on... more This article highlights the disconnect between practices and strategies adopted by communities on their own to cope with the risk of natural disasters and climate change effect and the policies that are in place which are supposed to help them in reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity. As a result, vulnerable communities are not getting enough support to strengthen their traditional and autonomous adaptation practices. Therefore, there is an immediate need for policy reforms based on actual needs of the people for effective disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable rural development.

Harnessing Wetlands for Sustainable Livelihoods, 2019

based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalization and climate change have an increasing influence on the s... more based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Globalization and climate change have an increasing influence on the stability of fragile mountain ecosystems and the livelihoods of mountain people. ICIMOD aims to assist mountain people to understand these changes, adapt to them, and make the most of new opportunities, while addressing upstream-downstream issues. We support regional transboundary programmes through partnership with regional partner institutions, facilitate the exchange of experience, and serve as a regional knowledge hub. We strengthen networking among regional and global centres of excellence. Overall, we are working to develop an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem to improve the living standards of mountain populations and to sustain vital ecosystem services for the billions of people living downstream -now, and for the future.

ii The KNOMAD Working Paper Series disseminates work in progress under the Global Knowledge Partn... more ii The KNOMAD Working Paper Series disseminates work in progress under the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD). A global hub of knowledge and policy expertise on migration and development, KNOMAD aims to create and synthesize multidisciplinary knowledge and evidence; generate a menu of policy options for migration policy makers; and provide technical assistance and capacity building for pilot projects, evaluation of policies, and data collection.

The paper highlights the fact that despite being one of the most flood affected states in India, ... more The paper highlights the fact that despite being one of the most flood affected states in India, Assam does not have a policy for flood management yet. The currently adopted practices for mitigating flood and river bank erosion in Assam are derived from conventions and past experience which have largely failed to provide succour to the people from these twin disasters to the desired extent. Having an integrated policy for managing the twin disasters of flood and erosion will be extremely useful in developing cutting edge knowledge-base and state of the art technology backed by financial support from the Central Government and people's participation. Various recommendations available in reports of different commissions, advisory bodies and scientific literature can be collated to define the philosophy, principles, and guidelines of such a policy specifically for the state which is overdue for a long time now.

Recent advances on power, politics, and pathways in climate change adaptation aim to re-frame dec... more Recent advances on power, politics, and pathways in climate change adaptation aim to re-frame decision-making processes from development-as-usual to openings for transformational adaptation. This paper offers empirical insights regarding decision-making politics in the context of collective learning through participatory scenario building and flexible flood management and planning in the Eastern Brahmaputra Basin of Assam, India. By foregrounding intergroup and intragroup power dynamics in such collective learning spaces and how they intersect with existing micropolitics of adaptation on the ground, we examine opportunities for and limitations to challenging entrenched authority and subjectivities. Our results suggest that emancipatory agency can indeed emerge but is likely to be fluid and multifaceted. Community actors who are best positioned to resist higher-level domination may well be imbricated in oppression at home. While participatory co-learning as embraced here might open some spaces for transformation, others close down or remain shut.

Citation: Das, P.J. (2013). Climate change and water induced hazards in northeast India (2013). S... more Citation: Das, P.J. (2013). Climate change and water induced hazards in northeast India (2013). Souvenir published on the occasion of 49th conference of the Assam Science Society at J.N. College, Boko, Assam on 19th, 20th and 21st April/2013. Edited by Ganeswar Saharia and published by Reception Committee, page143-151.

Das, P.J. (2013). Jiadhal River Catchment, Assam, India: Building community capacity for flash fl... more Das, P.J. (2013). Jiadhal River Catchment, Assam, India: Building community capacity for flash flood risk management In: Shrestha, AB; Bajracharya, SR (eds) (2013) Case studies on flash flood risk management in the Himalayas: In support of specific flash flood policies. Kathmandu: ICIMOD, pages 24-30.