Based on a case study of selected Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems, this article examines the links among climate change, water scarcity, and migration and suggests a more nuanced examination of the nexus.

I was introduced to the floods of the Koshi River while pursuing my Master’s in Political Science at the University of Delhi. In 2017, when electronic media reported on flood disasters, I contacted Koshi Navnirman Manch, a people’s movement working with individuals living within and outside the embankments along the river in Bihar.i Through the Manch, I provided support to the flood victims. I have faint memories of people saying unpleasant things about the lives of people living within the embankments. After getting in touch with Koshi Navnirman Manch, I decided to write a term paper on the Koshi River floods as a part of my Master’s program. In the process, I was introduced to writing on the Koshi floods by  Dinesh Mishra,  Rajiv Sinha, and other scholars. Subsequently, I decided to pursue a PhD on the Koshi River floods.

From the Assi Ghat in the holy city Banaras (also known as Kashi), rows of elaborate tents, raised on the far side of the floodplain of the Ganga River, are visible. They are part of a neighborhood known as ‘Tent City,’ a ‘city’ catering to tourists and helping them experience all dimensions of the heritage city Banaras, from its floodplains to the sacred Ganga River that flows flanking the city.

Healthy floodplains are crucial for maintaining the ecological balance of a river. In particular, they allow a river to expand during floods, accommodating the additional volume of water without harming nearby land and settlements. Local communities practice agriculture on floodplains to earn their livelihoods. Historically, floodplains functioned as open spaces under community ownership, available to everyone. Contemporarily, floodplains of cities are used as a space for private businesses.  Regardless of ownership, such endeavors pollute the environment and impact the river ecosystem.

A river has democracy, too. If people respect this democracy, the river will respect people. Otherwise, it will only bring trouble.

What if a river were a character in a play? What would the river say if it could speak? How would it roar in anger? How would a river express happiness when it was free to move and flow? How would it show agony when its flow was constrained?

Improving participation and representation of people at risk are key to make transboundary interactions on flood early warning systems more effective. Because floods have strong upstream-downstream linkages, an early warning system can significantly reduce losses in the downstream areas by providing early information and allowing for pre-emptive actions.

It began one winter morning by the banks of the Brahmaputra in Tezpur, Assam. Enveloped by thick fog, one can’t see where the river ends and the sky begins. The was a muffled silence interrupted by bird calls and the sound of the river. Suddenly, we heard a voice in the distance singing. A break in the fog and out came a small boat with a man in a red sweater rowing and singing. There he was, an elderly fisherman from the fishing village singing a song about the river passed down from mother to son. A song that lives only in his memory and nowhere else now.  We met him as he pulled up his boat to the river bank and thus began the journey of Morisika; The Story of the Boatman.

With climate change impacts cascading through the water cycle, the challenges are of recrafting of the approaches to water development and management including water education that is well informed of climate change risks.

To attempt to fully comprehend the injustices unfolding from global warming, one needs to deeply consider the far-reaching impacts across geographical and temporal scales of climate change.

On 16 November 2000, the World Commission on Dams (WCD) launched its final report in London, in the presence of Nelson Mandela. This event marked the conclusion of an unlikely process.

The agency of the state with its power of authority, including that to regulate the market, must better coordinate external support and enhance community efforts, and improve the scale and integrity of adaptive efforts as the climate change crisis rages

The Martuwarra (Fitzroy River) in Western Australia has sustained Indigenous peoples and their societies for millennia.

In South Asia, climate change will make water-allocation decisions more complex, and potentially more contentious, across three areas: urban growth, low-carbon electricity, and agriculture.

Why have plans for hydropower development in the Himalayan region waxed and waned over the years? In what ways are the contested landscapes of Himalayan hydropower…

Adaptation is not only about adjusting to new sequences of ongoing and potential changes in SAM-N spawned by climate change but also social practices.