Sreeja Nair - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sreeja Nair

Research paper thumbnail of Scaling up of Policy Experiments and Pilots: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Lessons for the Water Sector

Water Resources Management, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Design and Scaling Up of Policy Experiments and Pilots: Lessons for the Water Sector

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Addressing environmental degradation and rural poverty through climate change adaptation: An evaluation of social learning in drought-affected districts of Southern India

Titles in this Working Paper series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and fo... more Titles in this Working Paper series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community.

Research paper thumbnail of ORCHID: Climate Risk Screening in DFID India

Detailed Research Report. …, 2007

Section 1 outlines the methodology and approach to the work. A climate risk management approach i... more Section 1 outlines the methodology and approach to the work. A climate risk management approach is taken, using the ORCHID methodology (Opportunities and Risks for Climate Change and Disasters) for screening and assessment of adaptation options. This used a ...

Research paper thumbnail of Flood risk and context of land-uses: Chennai city case

Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, Dec 31, 2010

India witnessed increased flooding incidences during recent past especially in urban areas report... more India witnessed increased flooding incidences during recent past especially in urban areas reportedly since Mumbai (2005) as a mega disaster. Other South Asian cities like Dhaka, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, besides many other cities in India, are also reportedly been affected by frequent floods. Flood risk in urban areas are attributed to hazards accelerated by growth in terms of population, housing, paved-up areas, waste disposal, vehicles, water use, etc. all contributing to high intensity-high load of runoff. Reduced carrying capacity of drainage channels is also a key concern. Haphazard growth of lowincome habitations and un-organised trade added to challenge. Spatial dimensions of all these flood factors are often characterised by land-use and changes. Chennai, a coastal mega-city is fourth largest metropolis in India, has a history of over 350 years of growth. Meteorologically there is no major upward or downward trend of rainfall during 200 years, and a decrease in last 20 years with a contrast record of increasing floods have been experienced. Analysis of land-use changes over the temporal and spatial scale has been undertaken for Chennai city in order to understand the patterns on greencover, built-up area and consequences on hydrological settings. Land-use issues like decreased natural areas, loss of water bodies, encroachment of river/streams and other drainage channels, uncontrolled multiplication of built-up areas, have been identified as contributory factor to flood risk in Chennai. The paper discusses flood risk reduction and management strategies in urban context with example of the Chennai city and draws attention of land-use planners and disaster management experts to integrate their efforts for better and sustainable results.

Research paper thumbnail of Integrating Risk Reduction to the Environment and Development

Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrati... more Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment- development framework

Research paper thumbnail of Flood Risk Management : Application of Foresight Methodology for Scenario and Policy Development

Between end 2011 and early 2012, Bangkok was hit by massive flooding due to intense rainfall whic... more Between end 2011 and early 2012, Bangkok was hit by massive flooding due to intense rainfall which together with high tides overwhelmed the poor drainage infrastructure of the low-lying city. The floods impacted not just local residents and businesses, but also disrupted the local operations of foreign companies and affected the confidence of foreign investors in Thailand as an important production location in the global supply chains. Unfortunately, such floods are likely to recur with greater intensity and frequency in future with climate change and rapid urbanisation. This article presents an application of ‘futures thinking’ and foresight methodology to identify key drivers, futures scenarios, and policy options for the management of flood risk in Bangkok.

Research paper thumbnail of Case Study: Communicating Modeled Information for Adaptation Decision Making

the HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact of the retreat of Himalay... more the HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact of the retreat of Himalayan glaciers and expected changes in the Indian summer monsoon on the distribution of water resources in Northern India. the project’s aim was “to recommend appropriate and efficient response strategies to enable adaptation to hydrological extreme events.” the project used information from scenarios generated by regional climate and hydrological models and integrated this with stakeholder perspectives to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies. By examining the HighNoon project, this case study explores how adaptationrelevant information can best be packaged and disseminated to different users and audiences at the state, district, and block levels. It also explores what kinds of information are of most interest to different stakeholders and how different information could contribute (or not) to adaptation decision making. Issue BrIef

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation and polymerase chain reaction-based detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from poultry in the Philippines

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2001

The polymerase chain reaction PCR and the conventional culture method of detecting thermophilic C... more The polymerase chain reaction PCR and the conventional culture method of detecting thermophilic Campylobacter species in duck and chicken samples from two locations in the province of Laguna, Philippines, were compared. Three Campylobacter jejuni and five C. coli strains were isolated from a total of 135 duck and chicken samples from both methods. The PCR technique, however, was found to be more sensitive, accurate and rapid than the conventional culture Ž. method. The specificity of two sets of published primers, C442-C490 specific for C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari and Ž. CL2-CR3 specific for C. jejuni were confirmed with reference and field strains. To improve detection, a lysate was prepared by boiling cells in Triton X-100, and then used as template for PCR to detect Campylobacter from spiked and naturally contaminated chicken rinse. For spiked chicken samples, a 17-h Meuller-Hinton Broth enrichment for the chicken rinse resulted in an improved sensitivity at 31.7 CFUrg using C442-C490. This enrichment-PCR tandem also detected thermophilic Campylobacter from 1 out of 21 native chicken samples from a wet market. To our knowledge, this is the first report of thermophilic Campylobacter isolation from poultry in the Philippines. The approaches described here could serve as a basis for future surveillance andror epidemiological studies on this emerging foodborne pathogen.

Research paper thumbnail of Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment and development framework

Page 1. e-Journal Earth Science India Vol.2 (II), April, 2009, pp. 117 - 132 http://www. earthsci... more Page 1. e-Journal Earth Science India Vol.2 (II), April, 2009, pp. 117 - 132 http://www. earthscienceindia.info/ 117 Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment - development framework ...

Research paper thumbnail of Adaptive Policies Meeting the Policymakers Challenge in Today's Complex, Dynamic and Uncertain World

Today's policymaker has a tough job to do. Crafting public policies to help guide the daily actio... more Today's policymaker has a tough job to do. Crafting public policies to help guide the daily actions of individuals, communities and businesses to ensure our economic, social and environmental wellbeing, is challenging under the best of circumstances. But the reality is that our world is now more complex than ever-highly interconnected, owing to advances in communication and transportation, and highly dynamic, owing to the scale of impact of our collective actions. Policies that cannot continue to perform effectively under dynamic and uncertain conditions run the risk of not achieving their intended purpose, and becoming a hindrance to the ability of individuals, communities and businesses to cope with and adapt to changing socioeconomic and ecologic conditions. Using insights gained from complex adaptive systems thinking, as currently being applied in range of economic sectors, and through the analysis of policies identified through hundreds of on-the-ground interviews in Canada and India, we compile in this paper a pragmatic set of approaches and tools for adaptive policies and policymaking. Adaptive policies employ a suite of specific mechanisms which help them perform effectively in the face of anticipated and unanticipated conditions. As we understand at the midway point of our four-year research project, among these mechanisms are: automatic adjustment; integrated assessment to inform policy parameters; multi-perspective deliberation; formal review and continuous learning; encouraging selforganization and networking; subsidiarity; and promoting variation.

Research paper thumbnail of Scaling up of Policy Experiments and Pilots: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Lessons for the Water Sector

Water Resources Management, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Design and Scaling Up of Policy Experiments and Pilots: Lessons for the Water Sector

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Addressing environmental degradation and rural poverty through climate change adaptation: An evaluation of social learning in drought-affected districts of Southern India

Titles in this Working Paper series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and fo... more Titles in this Working Paper series aim to disseminate interim climate change, agriculture and food security research and practices and stimulate feedback from the scientific community.

Research paper thumbnail of ORCHID: Climate Risk Screening in DFID India

Detailed Research Report. …, 2007

Section 1 outlines the methodology and approach to the work. A climate risk management approach i... more Section 1 outlines the methodology and approach to the work. A climate risk management approach is taken, using the ORCHID methodology (Opportunities and Risks for Climate Change and Disasters) for screening and assessment of adaptation options. This used a ...

Research paper thumbnail of Flood risk and context of land-uses: Chennai city case

Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, Dec 31, 2010

India witnessed increased flooding incidences during recent past especially in urban areas report... more India witnessed increased flooding incidences during recent past especially in urban areas reportedly since Mumbai (2005) as a mega disaster. Other South Asian cities like Dhaka, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, besides many other cities in India, are also reportedly been affected by frequent floods. Flood risk in urban areas are attributed to hazards accelerated by growth in terms of population, housing, paved-up areas, waste disposal, vehicles, water use, etc. all contributing to high intensity-high load of runoff. Reduced carrying capacity of drainage channels is also a key concern. Haphazard growth of lowincome habitations and un-organised trade added to challenge. Spatial dimensions of all these flood factors are often characterised by land-use and changes. Chennai, a coastal mega-city is fourth largest metropolis in India, has a history of over 350 years of growth. Meteorologically there is no major upward or downward trend of rainfall during 200 years, and a decrease in last 20 years with a contrast record of increasing floods have been experienced. Analysis of land-use changes over the temporal and spatial scale has been undertaken for Chennai city in order to understand the patterns on greencover, built-up area and consequences on hydrological settings. Land-use issues like decreased natural areas, loss of water bodies, encroachment of river/streams and other drainage channels, uncontrolled multiplication of built-up areas, have been identified as contributory factor to flood risk in Chennai. The paper discusses flood risk reduction and management strategies in urban context with example of the Chennai city and draws attention of land-use planners and disaster management experts to integrate their efforts for better and sustainable results.

Research paper thumbnail of Integrating Risk Reduction to the Environment and Development

Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrati... more Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment- development framework

Research paper thumbnail of Flood Risk Management : Application of Foresight Methodology for Scenario and Policy Development

Between end 2011 and early 2012, Bangkok was hit by massive flooding due to intense rainfall whic... more Between end 2011 and early 2012, Bangkok was hit by massive flooding due to intense rainfall which together with high tides overwhelmed the poor drainage infrastructure of the low-lying city. The floods impacted not just local residents and businesses, but also disrupted the local operations of foreign companies and affected the confidence of foreign investors in Thailand as an important production location in the global supply chains. Unfortunately, such floods are likely to recur with greater intensity and frequency in future with climate change and rapid urbanisation. This article presents an application of ‘futures thinking’ and foresight methodology to identify key drivers, futures scenarios, and policy options for the management of flood risk in Bangkok.

Research paper thumbnail of Case Study: Communicating Modeled Information for Adaptation Decision Making

the HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact of the retreat of Himalay... more the HighNoon project, which began in 2009, set out to assess the impact of the retreat of Himalayan glaciers and expected changes in the Indian summer monsoon on the distribution of water resources in Northern India. the project’s aim was “to recommend appropriate and efficient response strategies to enable adaptation to hydrological extreme events.” the project used information from scenarios generated by regional climate and hydrological models and integrated this with stakeholder perspectives to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies. By examining the HighNoon project, this case study explores how adaptationrelevant information can best be packaged and disseminated to different users and audiences at the state, district, and block levels. It also explores what kinds of information are of most interest to different stakeholders and how different information could contribute (or not) to adaptation decision making. Issue BrIef

Research paper thumbnail of Isolation and polymerase chain reaction-based detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from poultry in the Philippines

International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2001

The polymerase chain reaction PCR and the conventional culture method of detecting thermophilic C... more The polymerase chain reaction PCR and the conventional culture method of detecting thermophilic Campylobacter species in duck and chicken samples from two locations in the province of Laguna, Philippines, were compared. Three Campylobacter jejuni and five C. coli strains were isolated from a total of 135 duck and chicken samples from both methods. The PCR technique, however, was found to be more sensitive, accurate and rapid than the conventional culture Ž. method. The specificity of two sets of published primers, C442-C490 specific for C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari and Ž. CL2-CR3 specific for C. jejuni were confirmed with reference and field strains. To improve detection, a lysate was prepared by boiling cells in Triton X-100, and then used as template for PCR to detect Campylobacter from spiked and naturally contaminated chicken rinse. For spiked chicken samples, a 17-h Meuller-Hinton Broth enrichment for the chicken rinse resulted in an improved sensitivity at 31.7 CFUrg using C442-C490. This enrichment-PCR tandem also detected thermophilic Campylobacter from 1 out of 21 native chicken samples from a wet market. To our knowledge, this is the first report of thermophilic Campylobacter isolation from poultry in the Philippines. The approaches described here could serve as a basis for future surveillance andror epidemiological studies on this emerging foodborne pathogen.

Research paper thumbnail of Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment and development framework

Page 1. e-Journal Earth Science India Vol.2 (II), April, 2009, pp. 117 - 132 http://www. earthsci... more Page 1. e-Journal Earth Science India Vol.2 (II), April, 2009, pp. 117 - 132 http://www. earthscienceindia.info/ 117 Hydro-meteorological disasters and climate change: conceptual issues and data needs for integrating adaptation into environment - development framework ...

Research paper thumbnail of Adaptive Policies Meeting the Policymakers Challenge in Today's Complex, Dynamic and Uncertain World

Today's policymaker has a tough job to do. Crafting public policies to help guide the daily actio... more Today's policymaker has a tough job to do. Crafting public policies to help guide the daily actions of individuals, communities and businesses to ensure our economic, social and environmental wellbeing, is challenging under the best of circumstances. But the reality is that our world is now more complex than ever-highly interconnected, owing to advances in communication and transportation, and highly dynamic, owing to the scale of impact of our collective actions. Policies that cannot continue to perform effectively under dynamic and uncertain conditions run the risk of not achieving their intended purpose, and becoming a hindrance to the ability of individuals, communities and businesses to cope with and adapt to changing socioeconomic and ecologic conditions. Using insights gained from complex adaptive systems thinking, as currently being applied in range of economic sectors, and through the analysis of policies identified through hundreds of on-the-ground interviews in Canada and India, we compile in this paper a pragmatic set of approaches and tools for adaptive policies and policymaking. Adaptive policies employ a suite of specific mechanisms which help them perform effectively in the face of anticipated and unanticipated conditions. As we understand at the midway point of our four-year research project, among these mechanisms are: automatic adjustment; integrated assessment to inform policy parameters; multi-perspective deliberation; formal review and continuous learning; encouraging selforganization and networking; subsidiarity; and promoting variation.