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Causes and consequences of tipping points in river delta social–ecological systems

Emilie Cremin Orcid Logo, Cai Ladd Orcid Logo, Thorsten Balke Orcid Logo, Sumana Banerjee Orcid Logo, Ly H. Bui, Tuhin Ghosh Orcid Logo, Andy Large Orcid Logo, Hue Thi Van Le, Kien V. Nguyen, Lan X. Nguyen Orcid Logo, Tanh T. N. Nguyen Orcid Logo, Vinh Nguyen, Indrajit Pal Orcid Logo, Sylvia Szabo, Ha Tran, Zita Sebesvari Orcid Logo, Shah Alam Khan, Fabrice G. Renaud Orcid Logo

Ambio

Swansea University Author: Cai Ladd Orcid Logo

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Abstract

The sustainability of social-ecological systems within river deltas globally is in question as rapid development and environmental change trigger "negative” or “positive” tipping points depending on actors’ perspectives, e.g., regime shift from abundant sediment deposition to sediment shortage,...

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Published in: Ambio
ISSN: 0044-7447 1654-7209
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65811
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Abstract: The sustainability of social-ecological systems within river deltas globally is in question as rapid development and environmental change trigger "negative” or “positive” tipping points depending on actors’ perspectives, e.g., regime shift from abundant sediment deposition to sediment shortage, agricultural sustainability to agricultural collapse or shift from rural to urban land. Using a systematic review of the literature, we show how cascading effects across anthropogenic, ecological, and geophysical processes have triggered numerous tipping points in the governance, hydrological and land use management of the world’s river deltas. Crossing tipping points had both positive and negative effects that generally enhanced economic development to the detriment of the environment. Assessment of deltas that featured prominently in the review revealed how outcomes of tipping points can inform the long-term trajectory of deltas towards sustainability or collapse. Management of key drivers at the delta scale can trigger positive tipping points to place social-ecological systems on a pathway towards sustainable development.
Keywords: Tipping points; cascading effects; river deltas; Social-ecological systems; Sustainable Development; systematic literature review
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: We acknowledge the funding received from the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Hub under Grant Reference NE/S008926/1. This research is also funded by Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under Grant Number TX2024-16-01 (time contribution of staff at Climate Change Institute, An Giang University).