Aims and scope

Marine and lacustrine delta regions account for approximately 1 % of the land area but are home to more than 500 million people and play a key role in agricultural and aquaculture production. Local cultivation of staples, such as that of rice in Western Bengal, not only contributes to improving households’ livelihood outcomes, but also reduces regional food insecurity risk. At the same time, deltaic systems are amongst the world’s most threatened socio-ecological environments—a situation which is projected to aggravate due to the impact of climate change. Delta regions constitute vulnerable socio-ecological systems and, thus, need to develop additional resilience, in particular in the context of climate change and increasing human exploration in the upstream basins and locally. While extensive research exists on delta regions investigating bio-geophysical properties of river deltas, there is limited evidence examining the interlinkages between ecosystem services and livelihoods in delta regions from a broader multidisciplinary perspective.

The aim of this special issue is, thus, to publish original research articles which address different sustainability challenges faced by delta regions, with a particular focus on tropical megadeltas. Empirical studies and methodological contributions are welcomed, but all papers should examine interlinkages between ecosystem services and livelihoods, and discuss practical policy implications of the findings.

Potential research topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • What are the policy implications of increasing vulnerabilities of ecosystem services in delta regions?

  • What are the interlinkages between ecosystem services and livelihoods in the context of climate change?

  • Which resilience mechanisms and adaptation strategies can be employed to mitigate the risks related to pressure on resources and climate change?

  • How social networks established between families living in urban and rural areas are modified by climate change?

  • What are the spatial and temporal changes in ecosystem services in delta regions and how do they affect human well-being?

While the primary focus of this session is on tropical delta regions, we invite contributions from colleagues working on all continents.

Important dates

15 January 2015: Submission of abstracts to Guest Editors (500 words excl. references).

30 January 2015: Communication about accepted abstracts.

30 March 2015: Submission of full manuscripts to Guest Editors.

July 2015: Submission of revised full manuscripts to Sustainability Science.

July 2016: Publication of the Special Issue.

Guest editors

Zoe Matthews, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, z.matthews@soton.ac.uk.

Robert J. Nicholls, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, r.nicholls@soton.ac.uk.

Sylvia Szabo, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, s.m.szabo@soton.ac.uk.