Water Resources in South Asia: River and Glacial dynamics, climate change and societal-water interactions

South Asia faces continued threats to its water resources from urbanization, natural resource extraction, and changes in climate and agro-ecological scenarios. The region has a diverse, complex historical geography of fluvial landscape change and hydrological interventions from colonial times. It also suffers natural disasters each year through alterations in hydro-climatic regimes, while grappling with equitable water access and distribution. Coupled human-water systems and cross-scalar interaction perspectives reveal interconnectedness across snowscape, riverscape, terrestrial and aquatic dynamics. The Himalayas experience glacial retreat and lake outburst events that devastate settlements. Floods, whether riverine or storm surge induced, regularly afflict lowland communities. Concomitantly, depleting groundwater levels and incipient drought inhibit agriculture and cause water scarcity, fostering changes in hydro-social cycles. The impacts are felt across communities and borders, with upstream and downstream locales being affected differently, while disparities exist in the vulnerability of residents dealing with disasters. This Research Topic shall collate studies on hydro-climatic risks and river eco-hydromorphological alterations, examine pertinent case studies and contribute towards more fruitful society-water interactions.

The Research Topic welcomes articles on recent advances in water resource studies, water sharing and disputes, water and societal interactions and waterscape changes; measures of hydromorphological and riparian health, groundwater and wetland management; evaluation of hydro-climatic disasters and their mitigation. Applications of emerging inter and transdisciplinary frameworks, including hydro(sediment)-social or ethnovisual water approaches, are welcome that capture the chequered realities of South Asian more-than-riverscapes, highlighting the historical and cultural value of water, disparities in water access and vulnerability from hydro-climatic disasters. Connectivity analysis in river corridors linking mountain and lowland landscapes, studies of glacial-river effects on local hydro-environment scenario and assessments of estuarine zones are welcome. Growing urbanisation, mining in riparian zones, dam construction, wetland modification and large-scale aquaculture, are direct societal impacts on the terrestrial hydrology, that need site-specific studies, as do changes in hydro-social cycles and water access. Transboundary studies on such issues are particularly welcome. The urban water scene also needs investigation, using the 'source to sea' approach, to transform challenges into opportunities. Methodological developments using large datasets and advanced computational methods, or qualitative and mixed-method approaches are also acceptable. The Research Topic shall incorporate key lessons from global partnership projects that capture water-society relations within the translocal contexts of South Asia. A full list of topical domains is listed in the scope.

This Research Topic welcomes original research papers, pertinent case studies on South Asia and suitable review articles. Contributions should encompass one or more aspects relating to the following:
• Surface and groundwater regimes, river hydromorphology and hydrosocial cycles
• Blue-green spaces, waterscape transformations and water-society dynamics in urban, peri-urban and rural areas
• Transboundary rivers, hydro-diplomacy, water sharing and governance in South Asia
• Glacial melting, mountain rivers, outburst floods and community risks
• Riverine floods and coastal storm surges, Site susceptibility, community vulnerability and resilience analysis
• Climate change effects on dryland rivers, wetlands and estuarine environments
• Early-warning systems and nature-based solutions for river and landscape restoration
• Dams and Development-Displacement debates, Mining and riparian health
Articles based on transdisciplinary, transmodal, and translocal approaches and learnings from project-based, action-oriented research and studies having larger-basin scale understandings and approaches are also welcome.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Water and Human Systems; Transboundary Rivers, water sharing and governance; River Connectivity, Health and Riparian Environments; Climate Change and Glacial, fluvial, coastal hazards; Hydrosocial Cycles in Rivers and Wetlands; Rural, periurban and urban waterscapes; Hydro-climatic disasters and mitigation; Community resilience and early warnings

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.