Agroecology science days at UNIL

Agroecology science days at UNIL

by | Oct 7, 2024 | Previous Events

Our team has presented 2 papers at the Agroecology Science Days hosted by the University of Lausanne.

WORKSHOP 4: NOURISHING THE AGRO-ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION BY EXPLORING LOCAL DYNAMICS AND NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS

  • Beyond preconceived positionalities in transdisciplinary research: ‘Inhabitant interviewers’ incubating agroecological transitions in the Indian Sundarbans Delta presented by EmilieCremin, UNIL, Abstract

See the presentation:

WORKSHOP 5: FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS FOR AN INCLUSIVE AGRO-ECOLOGY – THE RIGHT TO FOOD, SOCIAL SECURITY FOR FOOD, ACCESS TO LAND

  •  Governance of land under Shrimp farming in the coastal area of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta, presented by Emilie Cremin  Abstract

 

 

ENGAGE Regional Workshop in Kolkata

ENGAGE Regional Workshop in Kolkata

by | Sep 1, 2024 | Previous Events

In September 2024, the ENGAGE4Sundarbans regional workshop aimed to join together our team members from India from IIT Kharagpur and the SJM village community, Bangladesh teams from SAJIDA Foundation and ULAB, and Switzerland UNIL, and exchange around our project with regional and international experts in the field of river sustainable development observed through arts and creativity. Understanding the river through the perceptions and the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the Sundarbans and supporting the communities in their agricultural entrepreneurship of fisheries and cropping to revert or resist to the multi-hazard risk has arisen as the main target of our project.

Download the brochure: ENGAGE4Sundarbans-workshopbrochure-September-2024

Relocation as a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy in South Asia – K2A workshop

Relocation as a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy in South Asia – K2A workshop

by | Aug 8, 2024 | Previous Events

Our Senior Research Associate Mr. Md Faisal Imran participated in a Two and a Half Day Regional Workshop and Field Excursion on “Relocation as a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy in South Asia,” was organized by the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, FSLGA, and Knowledge to Action (K2A). K2A is an initiative that provides a platform for academics, practitioners, and government officials to share knowledge and apply it for the greater good.
In this workshop, he critically analyzed the relocation process in Bangladesh as a disaster risk reduction strategy, with his presentation titled “Living Along the Coast of Bangladesh: A Floating Country with a Sinking Culture.” A total of 22 presentations were delivered by academicians, practitioners and govt employees where participants extensively discussed the merits and demerits of relocation.

Living along the coast of Bangladesh: A Floating Country with a Sinking Culture

Md Faisal Imran1, Samiya A Selim1 and Emilie Crémin2

1Center for Sustainable Development, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh
2Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract

Bangladesh is considered one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change due to its low-lying topography and a geographical location susceptible to cyclones, floods, and tidal surges. Consequently, coastal and riverbank erosion has resulted in the displacement of many villages. These displacements contribute to population densification, social and economic vulnerability, and rapid urbanisation. After losing their farmlands and homes, people are forced to find new land, often settling along the embankments or on state-owned land along coasts and rivers. Given this general context, ENGAGE4SUNDARBANS project aims to understand plural accounts and interpretations of the Sundarbans’ ‘riskscape’, produced by state and non- governmental actors and diverse members of the local communities. It seeks to support situated adaptive practices that enhance social resilience through transdisciplinary engagement across the political boundaries of the Sundarbans.

In my presentation, I will first portray the tools and the methodology used by our transdisciplinary team to understand the ‘riskscape’ which includes archival research ethnography and GIS that show the process of ‘polderisation’ of the delta, embankment construction, coastal erosion, and embankment breaches, leading to loss of land and displacement of communities. I will briefly outline the resulting displacement patterns (Khas land occupation or rehabilitation in camps), reasons for displacement, and the number of displaced people in Bangladesh. Firstly, an overview of the living conditions of the people who found space on Khas land will be presented, along with the

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Regional Workshop on Relocation as a Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy in South Asia 2024

constraints they faced while being entitled to land according to the ‘Khas Land Settlement Policy, 1997’. Secondly, the rehabilitation and resettlement programs implemented by the Bangladesh government in camps, to highlight the challenges faced by the inhabitants of the Guchogram/Climate Victims Rehabilitation Program/Ashrayan Project in different districts. In conclusion, I will critically analyse the terms used by the governments, media, and academia to describe the situation observed in the region of the Sundarbans: ‘Entitlement’, ‘Encroacher/s’, ‘Tenancy’, ‘Squatters’, ‘Common Property Resources (CPR)’, ‘Acquisition and Requisition’, ‘Immovable Property Rights’ under policies in Bangladesh. Finally, recommendations will be given on how these processes could be improved.

Keywords: Relocation, Resettlement, Riskscape, Relocation Policy

On the final day, Faisal visited Galle, Sri Lanka, to speak with families affected by the 2004 Tsunami and observe their relocation settlements. Through this workshop, he acquired valuable knowledge into how relocation can be a significant part of disaster risk reduction. It was an enriching experience that greatly enhanced his networking opportunities, facilitated discussions among peers, and inspired future research initiatives.
Gratitude to #the University of Sri Lanka, #FSLGA, and #K2A for organizing this impactful event.
#CSD #ULAB, # NisharaFernando #Lena Robra #Samiya Selim PhD # Pierre-Yves Pitteloud
International Congress of Ethnobiology

International Congress of Ethnobiology

by | May 8, 2024 | Previous Events

Poster for the Congress of Ethnobiology – May 2024

In May 2024, we are participating in the 18th International Society of Ethnobiology Congress (ISE Congress 2024) in Marrakech, Marroco, with the poster presented below.

The Congress is a great opportunity to meet with World experts in ethno-ecology, ethno-biology, and political and environmental sciences. The variety and variability of life known as biodiversity and the symbiosis of human activity and environment expressed in cultural landscapes nourish debates within international conventions ratified by hundreds of nations.

Our team has presented a poster on Inland fisheries agro-ecological knowledge in the coastal areas of the Sundarbans (India and Bangladesh), Emilie Cremin, University of Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland.

Emilie CREMIN* 1 , Souradip Pathak2 , Faisal Imran Md3 , Jenia Mukherjee2 , Samiya Selim4 , Poulami Ghosh2 , René Véron1
1 University of Lausanne (UNIL)
2 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur
3 University of Liberal Arts of Bangladesh (ULAB)
4 Sajida Foundation

Small-scale fishing practices including forest and inland fishing are found to be one of the dominant livelihood practices in Sundarbans. This small-scale fishing practice in the Sundarbans is exposed to various socio-ecological and political challenges before rapidly increasing climate change-induced risks and hazards. In the recent past, the Indian Sundarbans marked a gradual tendency among the small-scale fishing community to adopt inland fishing for generating livelihood as forest fishing entails manifold risks ranging from various stressors. However, the prevalent traditional practice of inland fishing in Sundarbans still lags in terms of scalability as it comes across various constraints. Moreover, reflections from the Indian Sundarbans reveal that in each of the laps, the current inland fishing practice is found to be vulnerable as it miserably fails to tap the local natural-ecological, socio-economic, and cultural knowledge base and other several technical know-how, and supportive interventions. The current study captures how the method of knowledge co-production could gain relevance in addressing the existing set of vulnerabilities toward coming up with a practice-based inland fishing design. Focusing on the case study of Kumirmari, one of the remotest islands from the Indian Sundarbans, the study explores how the (free) flow and exchange of knowledge toward the co-development of an inland fishing design could be potent enough to capture the best practices in inland fishing. Thus, this study presents how the method of knowledge coproduction through the transdisciplinary engagement of different stakeholders is imperative in translating g place-based, bottom-up agro-ecological knowledge base into an action-oriented inland fishing

design by tapping the nodes of challenges and opportunities.

Keywords: Coast, resilience, fisheries, coproduction

THEME4-#107-CREMIN-ISE-2024-Poster-ENGAGE4Sundarbans