APN Awards RNUS/WEM US$45,000

APN Awards RNUS/WEM US$45,000

The Asia Pacific Network (APN) for Global Change Research recently awarded AIT's Regional Network Office for Urban Safety (RNUS) and the Water Engineering and Management (WEM) field a US$45,000 to carry on a year-long research.

Lead by Dr. Dushmanta Dutta, the grant will allow the team to conduct 'An Assessment of the Socio-Economic Impacts of Floods under Climate Change Conditions in Large Coastal Cities in South and South-east Asia.' Prof. Ashim Das Gupta and Dr. Mukund S. Babel of WEM will act as core members of the team.

The project encompasses two objectives: (1) the modeling of changes in flooding characteristics in coastal cities and (2) assessing the socio-economic impacts of floods including vulnerability in order to formulate policies for sustainable development. It will involve contributions from six countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Partner institutions and organizations in these countries may learn to apply flood simulation/risk analysis tools to assess the regional impacts of climatic changes. Simulations will be carried out for present conditions and scenarios of climate change in years 2005, 2050, 2075 and 2100 will be projected. The analyses would facilitate policy development for urban flood risk management in coastal cities in South and South-east Asia.