Completed Engineering Food & Agriculture
GCRF Living Deltas Hub
In plain English
AI plain-English summaryHalf a billion people live on river deltas that make up just 1% of the world’s land—and those deltas are sinking, flooding, and being starved of sediment. This project tackles a specific, looming crisis: the collapse of three major South and Southeast Asian deltas—the Red River, Mekong, and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna—as functioning social-ecological systems. Upstream dams trap sediment, sea levels rise, and 70% of the Mekong delta is already highly vulnerable to flooding, putting 7 million people at risk. In Bangladesh, sea level rise could displace 3 to 13 million people by 2100. The 98 centimetres of sea level rise projected under IPCC AR5 would render 16% of Bangladesh’s arable land and 25% of Vietnam’s unusable. If successful, the Hub will produce transdisciplinary frameworks—co-developed with delta-dwellers and policymakers—that integrate earth science, social science, and traditional knowledge. These frameworks could reshape how countries monitor UN Sustainable Development Goals, plan land use, manage water, and build coastal resilience. The impact would be felt in everyday life: fewer flooded homes, more secure rice supplies (these deltas produce 88% of the world’s rice), and policies that keep 12 million people in 23 Asian cities from being inundated.
View original technical description
River deltas comprise only 1% of global landscapes, yet support over half a billion people. Deltas are tightly coupled social-ecological systems (SESs), but human exploitation, environmental degradation and threats from climate change increasingly threaten these delicate interfaces between land and water. The intractable development challenge addressed by this bid is how to avoid the collapse of South and SE Asian deltas as functioning, highly productive social-ecological systems in the face of human development and the projected consequences of climate change. The proposed Living Deltas Hub focuses on the delta SESs of three major rivers in South and Southeast Asia: the Red River and Mekong (Vietnam) and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM: Bangladesh, India). Deltas form part of wider river basins and so the Hub will also engage with other riparian country researchers, in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The stakes for the project are clear: 70% of the Mekong delta is highly vulnerable to flooding with 7 million people at risk. Sea level rise in Bangladesh could displace between 3 and 13 million by 2100. SE-Asian mega-deltas produce 88% of the world's rice, but the 98cm of sea level rise predicted under IPCC AR5 (2014) would render 16% of arable land in Bangladesh and 25% in Vietnam unusable by 2100. Upstream damming and sediment retention is also a major threat, with resulting delta subsidence putting 12 million people in 23 Asian cities at risk from water inundation. As human impacts increase, the need for locally-rooted sustainable development strategies underpinned by traditional knowledge becomes ever greater. The GCRF Living Deltas Hub will co-develop the transdisciplinary frameworks needed to understand delta SESs, and will work with delta-dwellers and policymakers to develop solutions that can help realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in delta contexts. The Hub is novel - no other existing or previous international delta initiative has specifically addressed the SDGs by co-creating new natural and cultural heritage understandings of deltas. It is timely, as it addresses the crucial challenges of SE Asian delta degradation early in the lifespan of the SDGs and so contributes to the development of SDG monitoring and planning - globally and regionally, as well as in country contexts. The Hub is innovative as it emphasizes transdisciplinary integration of the earth and life sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts, to address these common challenges The Hub will operate on a model of 'equitable partnership', involving delta-dwellers and the research community in developing knowledge and policy for better delta futures. The Hub comprises six innovative work packages co-developed with Global South partners and research institutes addressing specific in-country and delta-scale needs. Its new knowledge will serve to build capacity and shape policy at local, national, regional and global levels. The Hub will have lasting impact through improved livelihoods and more resilient communities, sustainable management and conservation, improved monitoring of SDG indicators and better policies for sustainable development. The Hub brings together a transdisciplinary team of experts and practitioners from Global 'North' and 'South'. Hub strengths are in: coupled human and natural systems analyses; demography and international development; natural hazard modelling and coastal resilience; environmental monitoring and modelling; policy and practice of resource management, hazard, risk and resilience; SDG-focused analyses of delta systems and their vulnerability to hazards; justice and governance; behavioral finance; delta nutrition and food security; and gender-sensitive research. Working together with stakeholders from delta countries, the research team have the knowledge, expertise and track record to build new understandings of delta change, new partnerships, and new solutions.
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Researchers
Adrian Bass (Co-Investigator)Amir AghaKouchak (Co-Investigator)Andrew Henderson (Co-Investigator)Andrew Large (Principal Investigator)Andrew Law (Co-Investigator)Anh Duc Trinh (Co-Investigator)Ashar Aftab (Co-Investigator)Binh Ho (Co-Investigator)Cat Button (Co-Investigator)Darren Duxbury (Co-Investigator)Do Thu Nga (Co-Investigator)Efi Foufoula-Georgiou (Co-Investigator)Fabrice Renaud (Co-Investigator)Francisco-J. Hernández Adrián (Co-Investigator)Gerard Corsane (Co-Investigator)Graham Mark Long (Co-Investigator)Graham Smith (Co-Investigator)Hayley Jane Fowler (Co-Investigator)Helen Mary Berry (Co-Investigator)Hue Le (Co-Investigator)Hugh Metcalf (Co-Investigator)Indrajit Pal (Co-Investigator)Jaime Amezaga (Co-Investigator)John Goddard (Co-Investigator)Julian Williams (Co-Investigator)Liz Todd (Co-Investigator)Louise Bracken (Co-Investigator)M. Shah Alam Khan (Co-Investigator)Maggie Roe (Co-Investigator)Manas Sanyal (Co-Investigator)Manoj Roy (Co-Investigator)Mashfiqus Salehin (Co-Investigator)Matt Baillie Smith (Co-Investigator)Muhammad Ashraf Ali (Co-Investigator)Nga Dao (Co-Investigator)Oliver Hensengerth (Co-Investigator)Pham Dang Tri Van (Co-Investigator)Philip Barker (Co-Investigator)Qiuhua Liang (Co-Investigator)SAYEM AHMED (Co-Investigator)Sara Nowreen (Co-Investigator)Smriti Sharma (Co-Investigator)Souvanic Roy (Co-Investigator)Susan Chilton (Co-Investigator)Suzanne McGowan (Co-Investigator)Sylvia Szabo (Co-Investigator)Tanh Nguyen (Co-Investigator)Thai Nguyen (Co-Investigator)Thanh Son Vo (Co-Investigator)Thi Thuy DUONG (Co-Investigator)Thorsten Balke (Co-Investigator)Tran Thi Phung Ha (Co-Investigator)Tuhin Ghosh (Co-Investigator)Tuong Thuy Vu (Co-Investigator)Umme Kulsum Navera (Co-Investigator)Van Kien Nguyen (Co-Investigator)Virginia Panizzo (Co-Investigator)Zita Sebesvari (Co-Investigator)
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Original classification
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