Collaborative Research: Effects of Check Dams on Landscape and Society - A Catalyzing Visit to the Eco-Sensitive Shiwalik Foot Hills of India

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This CNIC award supports the U.S.-India Collaborative Research: Effects of Check Dams on Landscape and Society-a Catalyzing Visit to the Eco-Sensitive Shiwalik Foothills of India. PI Ranbir Kang, Western Illinois University and collaborator Elizabeth Chacko, George Washington University will initiate an international collaboration with Drs. Dhian Kaur and K.P. Singh from the Departments of Geography and Geology at Panjab University to study the geophysical and socio-economic impacts of check dams in the Punjab. The research team will gather data on the effects of check dams on channel morphology, surrounding land cover, ground water levels, and local populations. They will use official government and NGO data on agriculture, demographics, hydrology, vegetation, as well as, focus groups and local inhabitants to understand the effects of check dams on socio-economic progress and ecological change. The proposed research is novel in that it will analyze not only the human-environment impacts of check dams in a sub-tropical developing area, but also the feed-back mechanisms between humans and the environment in such a locale. Two US graduate students will participate in the field research in India. Findings from this study will be used to refine research questions and hypotheses for a fully developed research proposal to be submitted to NSF's Geography and Spatial Systems(GSS)Program.