‘Frontier’ research: politics and environment in South Asia

‘Frontier’ research: politics and environment in South Asia

“The next war will be fought over water,not politics, ”predicted United Nations Secretary - General Boutros Boutros - Ghali in 1991. But environmental changes and pressures also have impacts that– though just as important– may be slower and more difficult to spot.Dr Sunil Amrith studies environmental effects on migration in the Bay of Bengal– from the late - 19 th century to today.By shedding light on the local history of coastal peoples, his findings may offer clues on ways to develop littoral economic activities,based for instance on sea 's products or tourism.

 “One of the reasons the Bay of Bengal is very interesting is that it is one of the regions that is most vulnerable to climate change,” explains Dr Amrith. “It is low-lying, with geographical features that contribute to its vulnerability, and communities there have always lived close to water.” His research to date shows a complex relationship between migration and environmental change, so the question is: how have coastal communities experienced this in the past and how might they be affected by crises arising from future environmental and climate change?”

The scale of the question is huge: 500 million people live on this coastal rim, and one in four people in the world live in the countries bordering the Bay of Bengal. Dr Amrith’s ‘Coastal Frontiers’ project is investigating via classical historical research – archives of South Asian government records and personal papers – combined with a more anthropological approach – oral history interviews in communities along the coast.

Environmental history – with its overlaps with social, economic and political history – is a growing field. Dr Amrith hopes to share some of his findings across such disciplines, and with climate, environmental and political scientists. “We are looking at the frontiers of ecological change, between empires and nations, rivers and seas, and between terrestrial and maritime law,” explains Dr Amrith, “as well as the risks to the communities, such as fishermen and migrants, who cross these frontiers.”

“India, Bangladesh and China are all staking claims to water resources, so I was tempted to focus the research on conflict and crises,” he says. “But our experience so far is that the scope should be wider than this – some of the imperceptibly slow, ‘silent’ changes are probably the most interesting. I want to ask: how does history as a discipline react to the phenomenon of climate change?” he concludes. “Do we have something to offer? And my answer is: yes!”