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In developing countries, poverty alleviation and development are key policy drivers, and ideally these strategies should align with climate change adaptation and resilience as well. This study explores those challenges through an inductive investigation into the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW), the ‘wise-use’ of wastewater, alignment with climate change adaptation, resilience and poverty alleviation. EKW is a 12,500 ha Ramsar site, close to Kolkata Metropolitan Area in eastern India and connected to Sunderban and the Bay of Bengal. While there are illegal demand-driven developments within EKW, the study explores how planning might provide for development while preserving the critical functions of a wetland. The study addresses three topics: (1) the socio-ecological model; (2) planning approaches to the wetland; and (3) how those might contribute to poverty alleviation. This study of EKW centers on the past and present ecological history of the city and includes analysis of future physical and institutional relations between the city and the wetland. The study benefits from participatory mapping exercises involving indigenous fishing and farming communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hooghly River (HR) estuary is the first deltaic off-shoot of the perennial and transboundary river, Ganga, India. HR receives industrial and domestic waste along with storm-water run-off from Kolkata city and the adjoining districts. Organic micropollutants (OMPs) have been collectively termed for plasticizers, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, which are extensively consumed and disposed in the waste streams. Hence emerging OMPs were investigated to obtain the first baseline data from the Hooghly riverine sediment (HRS) along urban and suburban transects using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentration range of OMPs in the HRS varied between 3 and 519 ng/g for carbamazepine, 5–407 ng/g for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 2–26 ng/g for musk ketone, 2–84 ng/g for triclosan, 2–199 ng/g for bisphenol A (BPA), 2–422 ng/g for plasticizers (phthalic acid esters (PAEs) and bis (2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA)) and 87–593 ng/g for parabens. Carbamazepine concentration in sediment was an useful marker for untreated wastewater in urban waterways. High concentrations of BPA and PAEs in the suburban industrial corridor together with significant correlation between these two type of OMPs (r2 = 0.5; p < 0.01) likely reflect a common source, possibly associated with the plastic and electronic scrap recycling industries. Among all the categories of OMPs, plasticizers seems to exhibit maximum screening level ecological risk through out the study area. Image 1 • Carbamazepine can act as a possible marker for untreated wastewater. • Industrial sludge and burning of dumped plastic waste are potential sources of plasticizers. • Direct domestic discharge outlets might be a possible source for preservatives. Surveillance of microorganic pollutants in the Hooghly riverine sediment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses multivariate statistical analyses to identify building and behavioral factors associated with indoor heat stress in dwellings located in Kolkata slums and a rural village in West Bengal, India – residential areas whose summertime heat experiences have been sporadically studied and inconsistently quantified. During the summer of 2019, indoor temperature, humidity and heat stress index were monitored every 10 min over a 24-h period in 123 slum dwellings in Kolkata and in 101 rural village houses located about 75 km south of Kolkata; and compared to outdoor measurements. Most dwellings exhibited indoor conditions that were above those considered safe for occupants at some point during the day. However, under similar outdoor conditions, indoor heat stress was greater and more prolonged in Kolkata slum dwellings than in rural village houses. The coolest dwellings were constructed of mud walls and thatch roofs in the village, and the hottest dwellings were constructed of cement walls and clay tile or corrugated tin roofs in Kolkata. In the Kolkata slums, the duration of dangerous heat stress during the day was inversely related to the number of rooms in a dwelling, and positively related to the number of occupants. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that crowding and construction materials in Kolkata slums contribute to dangerous indoor HSI levels even at relatively low outdoor maximum temperatures. Further studies using this relatively simple and easily applied protocol can effectively increase the limited data on indoor conditions in understudied urban slum and rural village conditions in India. • A simple and inexpensive technique to study indoor heat stress in India. • Quantification of indoor heat stress in understudied slum and village dwellings. • Village houses with mud walls and thatch roofs show the coolest indoor conditions. • Quantification of the crowding effect in Kolkata slum dwellings. • Most slum and rural dwellings experience dangerous indoor heat stress during the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]