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<p>Riverine islands (<i>chars</i>) are highly dynamic geomorphological entities that are formed through net erosion-accretion, creating environments of both opportunity and vulnerability. This study investigates a major tropical river island created by the Ganga River, India, to explore how geomorphological evolution interacts with settlement phases (initiation, growth, de-settlement and re-settlement), social structures and processes. Multi-temporal satellite image analysis (1990–2025) and field-based socio-economic surveys (2017–2025) show that Nirmal <i>Char</i> changed dramatically, largely due to continuous floods and erosion. This instability directly leads to fragile livelihoods, precarious land tenure, and repeated displacement of households. Fertile alluvial soils sustain agriculture, but repeated flooding and bank erosion erode both physical resources and social resilience. Most households live in temporary or semi-permanent settlements, reflecting the precariousness of life in a flood-prone landscape. Social structures—family systems, marriage patterns, education, and government’s role—are profoundly affected by these hazards, with recurrent floods exacerbating poverty, delaying marriage, encouraging migration, and reducing opportunities for social mobility. At the level of social processes, the study finds contrasting patterns: intrapersonal, intra-individual, group, and intergroup processes are often characterized by empathy, cooperation, and mutual assistance during times of crisis, while competition, land conflicts, and power struggles also affect the social process. Thus, flooding and erosion act not only as ecological drivers of geomorphological change but also as regulators of community organization, resilience, and conflict. By revealing how geomorphological instability regulates social life, it provides important insights for disaster risk reduction, flood control, and sustainable development in fragile river environments. Thus, the insights of the present study would be helpful not only for the study region, but also for similar tropical regions at global scale.</p>

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Characterizing settlement phases, social structure and processes in the context of recurring floods, riverbank erosion and evolution of a tropical riverine island of the Ganga River, India

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月16日

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  • Aznarul Islam,
  • Suraj Sk,
  • Suman Deb Barman,
  • Paromita Sarkar,
  • Sweety Nandy,
  • Saiyad Salem,
  • Sanat Kumar Guchhait

摘要

Riverine islands (chars) are highly dynamic geomorphological entities that are formed through net erosion-accretion, creating environments of both opportunity and vulnerability. This study investigates a major tropical river island created by the Ganga River, India, to explore how geomorphological evolution interacts with settlement phases (initiation, growth, de-settlement and re-settlement), social structures and processes. Multi-temporal satellite image analysis (1990–2025) and field-based socio-economic surveys (2017–2025) show that Nirmal Char changed dramatically, largely due to continuous floods and erosion. This instability directly leads to fragile livelihoods, precarious land tenure, and repeated displacement of households. Fertile alluvial soils sustain agriculture, but repeated flooding and bank erosion erode both physical resources and social resilience. Most households live in temporary or semi-permanent settlements, reflecting the precariousness of life in a flood-prone landscape. Social structures—family systems, marriage patterns, education, and government’s role—are profoundly affected by these hazards, with recurrent floods exacerbating poverty, delaying marriage, encouraging migration, and reducing opportunities for social mobility. At the level of social processes, the study finds contrasting patterns: intrapersonal, intra-individual, group, and intergroup processes are often characterized by empathy, cooperation, and mutual assistance during times of crisis, while competition, land conflicts, and power struggles also affect the social process. Thus, flooding and erosion act not only as ecological drivers of geomorphological change but also as regulators of community organization, resilience, and conflict. By revealing how geomorphological instability regulates social life, it provides important insights for disaster risk reduction, flood control, and sustainable development in fragile river environments. Thus, the insights of the present study would be helpful not only for the study region, but also for similar tropical regions at global scale.