UK, India scientists collaborate on coastal sustainability project

Scientists from Scotland and Gujarat have secured funding to investigate vulnerable coastal wetlands in India as part of a growing number of joint projects in the field of tackling climate change.

The team, which is led by the University of St. Andrews and involves the University of Aberdeen and Ahmedabad University in Gujarat, will focus on India's coastal wetlands and mangrove forests as important blue carbon systems which can deliver sustainable management solutions for coastal environments and their communities. The project is titled 'Sustainable Coastal Habitats, Blue Carbon and the Challenges of Net Zero' and will investigate nature-based solutions that point to sustainable futures for highly threatened coastal habitats in India and demonstrate their ability to contribute to the implementation of an emissions inventory for national greenhouse gases. The research will also deliver new opportunities for emerging climate change and green recovery plans in India.

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Global health

“Our project offers the opportunity to help meet the global health, wellbeing, social and other challenges caused by Covid-19. We will do this by focusing our project on the recent UN Secretary-General's initiative to identify climate-related actions to shape the global Covid-19 recovery, which highlights a clean, green transition to economies built on green jobs and sustainable growth to empower societies and people, allowing them to be more resilient by incorporating climate risks and opportunities into the financial system as well as all aspects of public policy making and infrastructure,” said Professor Bill Austin, from the School of Geography and Sustainable Development at St. Andrews, who is the lead researcher of the project.

Mangrove forests are unsustainably exploited in many of India's unprotected coastal wetlands, due to factors including pressures from land use change and deforestation. Mangrove forests provide livelihoods to India's rural poor, while also providing important ecosystem services, such as nursery grounds for coastal fisheries. The new research will seek to establish the basis to implement an emissions inventory for coastal wetlands across India.

Interdisciplinary research

Pankaj Chandra, Vice-Chancellor, Ahmedabad University, said: “The project aligns well with Ahmedabad University's focus on interdisciplinary research as it brings together experts from diverse disciplines.

“This would help build research links between Ahmedabad University, the University of St. Andrews and the University of Aberdeen and open up new opportunities for future research collaborations.”

The project is funded by the RSE's Scottish Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research Fund (SAPHIRE). It is a new grant scheme funded by the Scottish government with the aim of enhancing the existing international research partnerships between Scottish universities and partner countries, such as India.

“This is a fantastic project led by an international team of scientists tackling climate research into sustainability and coastal wetland habitats. We're pleased to see Scotland's research excellence at the forefront and the continued partnership building with India,” said Professor Marcel Jaspars, Vice-President International at the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Timely intervention

Professor Jo Smith, from the University of Aberdeen, notes: “Focus on these mangrove forests is particularly timely as there is considerable global interest in the protection and restoration of these highly vulnerable habitats.

“Our use of nature-based solutions aims to provide sustainable futures for mangrove forests in India by demonstrating their ability to contribute to reducing national greenhouse gas emissions, while also benefitting local people and the economy.”

The SAPHIRE fund is open to universities to expand existing research partnerships, develop a practical application for the research; widen the scope of the existing partnership; and enable research to include a focus on economic and/or social recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic where appropriate.

The project will involve new partnerships to be built with India's national remote sensing (space) agency and national/state government departments that hold regional habitat data.