Faculty Publications
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Item Forest Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Review for Future Research Framework(MDPI, 2022) Roshani; Sajjad, H.; Kumar, P.; Masroor, M.; Rahaman, M.H.; Rehman, S.; Ahmed, R.; Sahana, M.Climate change has caused vulnerability not only to the forest ecosystem but also to forest-dependent communities. Therefore, its management is essential to increase forest ecosystem services and reduce vulnerability to climate change using an integrated approach. Although many scientific studies examined climate change impact on forest ecosystems, forest vulnerability assessment, including forest sensitivity, adaptability, sustainability and effective management was found to be scant in the existing literature. Through a systematic review from 1990 to 2019, this paper examined forest vulnerability to climate change and its management practices. In this paper, descriptive, mechanism and thematic analyses were carried out to analyze the state of existing research, in order to understand the concept of vulnerability arising from climate change and forest management issues. The present study proposed a framework for integrated forest assessment and management for addressing such issues in future research. The conversion of forest land into other land uses, forest fragmentation, forest disturbance and the effects of climate change on the forest ecosystem are the existing problems. Forest vulnerability, effective adaptation to forest ecosystems and long-term sustainability are priority areas for future research. This study also calls for undertaking researchers at a local scale to involve communities for the effective management of forest ecosystems. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Item GIS based coastal vulnerability assessment and adaptation barriers to coastal regulations in Dakshina Kannada district, India(Elsevier B.V., 2022) Rehman, S.; Jahangir, S.; Azhoni, A.Coastal areas represent fragile and complex ecosystems. Changes in climate, increasing urbanization and industrialization are creating immense pressure on the coastal environment. Coastal erosion, sea level rise, changing morphology of the coastal areas and extreme weather events are some of the threats that coastal regions are experiencing globally. While various studies have assessed the vulnerability of coastal regions quantitatively and spatially, there is a need to supplement these findings with qualitative insights based on human experiences. Thus, the present study carried out a coastal vulnerability assessment along the coastline of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India using Shannon's Entropy by including eight parameters i.e., slope, elevation, geomorphology, bathymetry, sea level rise, mean tidal range, mean significant wave height and shoreline change. The study also explored the experiences and perceptions of stakeholders regarding adaptation barriers to climate change vulnerabilities for understanding the ground complexities. Coastal vulnerability index (CVI) revealed that nearly 39.7 km of the coastline is vulnerable including areas along Sasihtlu beach, Munda, New Mangalore Port Batapady beach, Uchilla, Kotekar, Ullal beach, Netravati River Area and Mukka beach. Rainfall induced coastal erosion, lack of coordination among the various stakeholders, policy makers and practitioners regarding a common framework for climate change adaptation strategies were identified adaptation barriers. The findings of CVI and adaptation barriers may be used by practitioners and policy makers for framing the adaptation measures for mitigating the implications of the coastal region. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.Item Analyzing landslide susceptibility, health vulnerability and risk using multi-criteria decision-making analysis in Arunachal Pradesh, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Rehman, S.; Azhoni, A.Landslides being a widespread disaster are associated with susceptibility, vulnerability and risk. The physical factors inducing landslides are relatively well-known. However, how landslide susceptibility will be exacerbated by climate change, impede the attainment of the sustainable development goals and increase health vulnerability is relatively less explored. We present an integrated assessment of landslide susceptibility, health vulnerability and overall risk to understand these interconnected dimensions using Arunachal Pradesh, India, as a case study, which is susceptible to landslides due to its topography and climate conditions. Landslide susceptibility was examined using twenty landslide conditioning parameters through the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). The susceptibility map was validated using the area under the ROC curve (AUC). National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) data were used to analyze the health vulnerability, while the overall risk was computed through the integration of susceptibility and vulnerability. Landslide susceptibility analysis indicated that nearly 22% area of the state is characterized by moderate susceptibility followed by high (17%) and very high susceptibility (13%). High elevation, slope, rainfall, SPI, drainage density and complex geology were identified as the causative factors of landslides. In the case of health vulnerability, East Kameng and Lohit districts were found to be very highly vulnerable, while Papum Pare, Changlang and Tirap districts experience high health vulnerability due to high degree of exposure and sensitivity. Overall risk analysis revealed over 16.8% area of the state is under moderate risk followed by high (9.8%) and very high (4.2%) risk. Linking this analysis with the climate change projections and SDG goals attainment revealed that Papum Pare, Upper Subansiri, Tirap and West Kameng require priority for lessening susceptibility, vulnerability and risk for achieving sustainable development. A strong correlation (99%) between HVI and risk further demonstrates the need for lessening health vulnerability and risk in the study area. Furthermore, our study contributes additional insights into landslide susceptibility by considering heal vulnerability and risk which may help in planning sustainable development strategies in a changing climate. © 2022, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences & Polish Academy of Sciences.Item Livelihood vulnerability assessment and climate change perception analysis in Arunachal Pradesh, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Rehman, S.; Azhoni, A.; Chabbi, P.H.Climate change induced frequent disasters pose severe threats to agro-based rural livelihoods. Perceptions of risks play a critical role in planning and averting disasters. Lack of analytical documentation concerning how vulnerable communities perceive climate risks is a barrier to addressing and averting disasters and maladaptation. Applying a mixed approach, this study examines the perception of households concerning climate change and analyses the impacts of climate change on livelihood in Arunachal Pradesh, the largest northeastern state of India, with severe climate related challenges. Conceptual livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) framework of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is adopted to analyse the climate change induced vulnerability on livelihood. A total 450 households from 18 villages located in the districts of Arunachal Pradesh were surveyed during October, 2021 for retrieving the ground complexities in the region. Decrease in yields, frequent landslides and floods, livestock losses and unpredictable weather condition were perceived by the sampled households. The LVI analysis indicated that households are vulnerable in Arzoo, Perum, Pekong and Amliang villages requiring priority for lessening livelihood vulnerability and increasing coping capacity of the communities. Correlation analysis indicated that climate variability, natural disaster, health, food and social components attributed to livelihood vulnerability in the study area. Alternate livelihood, enhancing preparedness to disasters, inclusion of women in workforce, sustainable livelihood practices and government assistance are some of the suggestions made to enhance the adaptation of local communities in a sustainable way. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.Item Assessing forest health using remote sensing-based indicators and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process in Valmiki Tiger Reserve, India(Institute for Ionics, 2023) Roshani; Sajjad, H.; Rahaman, M.H.; Rehman, S.; Masroor, M.; Ahmed, R.Anthropogenic activities, climate variability and environmental stresses have greatly affected forest ecosystems globally. Thus, monitoring of forest health is essential for proper planning and effective management. The present study employed an integrated approach of remote sensing and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to assess the forest health in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India. Advanced vegetation index, normalized difference vegetation index, normalized difference moisture index, forest fragmentation, rainfall and soil types were derived from remote sensing data. Multiple buffer zones of villages, roads, railways and canals were also determined for analyzing the forest health status. These layers were prepared in the geographical information system. These layers were given weightage using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. These layers were integrated to prepare forest health map using weighted overlay method. The results revealed that the largest forest area was found under moderately healthy forest (37%) followed by healthy forest (31%) and unhealthy forest (13%). Of the total area of the Reserve, 19% area was under non-forest category. Human-induced disturbances such as encroachment, illegal sand mining, livestock grazing and forest conversion to agriculture have been attributed to the unhealthy forest in the Reserve. The receiver operating characteristic curve value and area under curve (0.792) show reliability of forest health map. The findings of this study may be helpful for forest managers, conservationists and local communities in devising sustainable strategies for effective management of the forest. The methodological framework adopted in this study may be utilized in other geographical regions interested in assessing forest health. © 2022, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University.Item Multihazard Assessment of the Sutlej-Beas River Basin Using Bivariate Statistical Frequency Ratio (FR) Model and Management Barriers of Land-River Interface(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Rehman, S.; Azhoni, A.Climate change coupled with increased anthropogenic activities intensifies the potency and frequency of extreme weather events. While multihazard assessments of these extreme weather events enhance the estimation of hazard susceptibility, it must be coupled with identifying institutional barriers of managing the land-river interface. Thus, this study has carried out a multihazard susceptibility assessment based on landslide and flood susceptibility in the Sutlej-Beas River basin and prepared flood and landslide susceptibility maps using eleven causative parameters through a bivariate statistical frequency ratio (FR) model. This statistical evaluation of hazard susceptibility from multiple factors is supplemented by identifying the key barriers of managing the land-river interface, producing a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges of mitigating extreme weather-related hazards in a river basin. Nearly 51% of the study area was identified as susceptible to landslide while 43% was under flood and 48% area was observed under multihazard susceptibility. Landslides, floods, and multihazard followed a similar pattern of spatial distribution where elevation, population, drainage density, stream power index (SPI), and rainfall were identified as the contributing parameters. Changing attitudes of people toward rivers, lack of coordination among different stakeholders, and deficit funds were identified as prominent barriers in the case of land-river management. Susceptibility maps generated in this study will help in identifying the areas under hazard susceptibility while the identified institutional barriers may guide towards contextual sustainable planning of the basin and attainment of sustainable development goals. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.