Inaugural DECCMA PhD Seminar Seminar

DECCMA (DEltas, vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation) is a Southampton University lead 5 year project, involving some 120 international researchers, which will examine how people are adapting to the physical effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, alongside socio-economic pressures, including land degradation and population pressure, in global delta regions. DECCMA has partners focusing on three case deltas in Bangladesh, India and Ghana to understand how they may evolve under climate change in the short term (0-10 years) and the longer term (the next 50 to 100 years) to provide Governments and decision makers with the knowledge and tools to ensure future policy can maximise planning services and programmes to the benefit of the region's population, especially the poor. There will be a particular focus on the potential benefits of planned migration versus other adaptation choices such as dyke construction.

A crucial element of the project has been the establishment of post graduate research groups across the project partners with a substantial and vibrant group based here at the University of Southampton. The School of Geography and the Environment, with the support of other faculties hosts 6 of these students and will be holding a Seminar Series which profile their work in examining how people are adapting to the physical effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, alongside socio-economic pressures, including land degradation and population pressure, in delta regions. The aim of this series is to showcase DECCMA and the cross-faculty conceptual research groups on deltas, and to give an opportunity for the PhD associates to present their work.

As such we would like to formally invite you to participate in this meeting to both inform you regarding the progress of this significant project and to encourage what has been a strongly lead student process. Details are as follows:

DECCMA Postgraduate Seminar Series

Agenda

14:00 – 14:15 Welcome and brief introduction to DECCMA (Robert Nicholls, PI)

14:20 – 14:30 Morphological evolution and the sustainability of deltas in the 21st century (Sarah Spinney)

14:30 – 14:40 Socio-ecological tipping points in world deltas (Gregory Cooper)

14:40 – 14:50 First round of questions (S. Darby, Chair)

15:00 – 15:10 Social enterprise and innovation in the GBM Delta (Qazi Waheed-Uz-Zaman)

15:10 – 15:20 Livelihood dynamics and food security under a changing climate (Tristan Berchoux)

15:20 – 15:30 Modelling tropical cyclone resilience in the Mahanadi Delta (Margherita Fanchiotti)

15:30 – 15:40 Gender and adaptation in the Mahanadi Delta (Giorgia Prati)

15:40 - 16:00 Second round of questions (Emma Tompkins, Chair)

16:00 - 16:15 Concluding Remarks (Chair: John Dearing)

16:20 - 18:00 Tea and coffee break with posters

Frances Dunn,

Balaji Angamuthu

Sarwar Hossain Sohel