Designing resilience against perennial flooding: the case of Majuli

The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Architecture

DESIGNING RESILIENCY FOR PERENNIAL FLOODING: THE CASE OF MAJULI Capstone Design Project by Darshika Agrawal under the guidance of DK Osseo-Assare Assistant Professor of Architecture and Engineering Design April 2021

DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

PROJECT BRIEF

DESIGNING RESILIENCY FOR PERENNIAL FLOODING: THE CASE OF MAJULI

The capstone project attempts to address marginalized ethnic minority communities exposed to the problem of frequent and severe flooding caused by a congruence of factors followed by land erosion and provide architectural and landscape solutions that would not only help these communities mitigate, adapt and recover from the adverse effects of the floods making them flood-resilient, but also lead to their social and economic upliftment in the society.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. CLIMATE DE-STABILIZATION

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2. INTRODUCTION: THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER VALLEY

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7.5 FLOOR PLANS OF THE AMPHIBIOUS MODULAR UNIT

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7.6 LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE UNIT

36

10

7.7 TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE UNIT

38

3. THESIS STATEMENT FOR THE CAPSTONE PROJECT

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7.8 EXPANSION OF MODULAR UNIT FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS OR FUTURE EXPANSION

40

4. THE CONCEPT OF RESILIENCE

13

5. INTRODUCTION TO THE SITE: MAJULI

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6. SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MAJULI

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7. DESIGN PROPOSAL

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2.1 HOW DID FLOODING BECOME A BANE FROM BEING A BOON IN THE ASSAM REGION OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY?

7.1 SITE SECTION SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF STRATEGIES WITH RESPECT TO ELEVATION OF LAND

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7.2 ZONE 1: MANGROVE FORESTS

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7.3 ZONE 2: WARU WARU TERRACE FARMING AND NATIVE FOREST

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7.4 ZONE 3: HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

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+2oC

+10oC

Change in temperature from pre-industrial stable climate

CLIMATE DE-STABILIZATION and FLOODING The beginning of climate change can be attributed to the period of Industrial Revolution that introduced fossil-fuel based equipments and machineries. Burning of fossil fuels led to release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air. This led to an eventual build-up of these gases in the atmosphere forming a ‘blanket’ around the planet that has since been trapping the heat from the sun and therefore, leading to rise in global temperatures, thus ultimately affecting the global climate. Thus, human activities have been declared an ‘extremely likely’ cause of the climate change by the IPCC (Met Office).

The increase in temperature due to heating up of the planet Earth has led to extreme weather events. Rising temperatures are causing the glaciers to melt rapidly. This combined with expansion of water in the oceans which takes up more space has led to the rise of water levels in oceans and seas. This rising water causes coastal flooding in cities located near seacoasts.

They also create conditions of back flow in the river basins that gradually lead to the formation of inland seas. Not only this, but climate change has also resulted in weather events like droughts, floods and storms become more extreme, intense and recurrent, thus leading to greater negative impact on living beings (Met Office).

CLIMATE DE-STABILIZATION The zones shaded in dark represent areas across the globe that were majorly affected with large flood events between 2001 to 2016 and are also predicted to be prone to extreme flood events in the future

Data Source: https://www.caliper.com/featured-maps/maptitude-flood-events-map.html https://www.geoawesomeness.com/top-11-maps-ultimately-explain-climate-change-impact/climatedestabilisation/

Numerous IPCC reports have tried to explain the benefits of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5oC and how the humankind needs to take extreme actions to achieve those benefits. It is estimated that if the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation continued at the same pace as in the present times, it could warm the planet by more than 4oC by 2100, which would ultimately change the face of life on earth compared to how we experience life today (Met Office).

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INTRODUCTION: THE BRAHMAPUTRA RIVER VALLEY

CHINA

NEPAL

The Brahmaputra river originates in the Chema Yundung glacier in the Kailash range of southwest Tibet. The location of this river makes it unique as it traverses through extremely different physiographic zones: starting from the cold dry plateau in Tibet, followed by the steep rain-drenched Himalayan slopes and the land-locked alluvial valley in Assam in India and finally running through the fluvio-deltaic plain of Bangladesh in the tropics.

BHUTAN Brahmaputra River

ASSAM

INDIA

BANGLADESH

PHYSIOGRAPHIC ZONING OF BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY: Basin elevation from low to high from -28 to 8473 Flood affected areas in Assam in 2020 Data Source: https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/73123 https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-china-on-brahmaputra https://weather.com/en-IN/india/monsoon/news/2020-07-30-isro-releases-satelliteimages-of-flood-hit-assam-and-bihar

The Brahmaputra plains cover a total area of 56000 km2. The river ranks fifth among the world’s largest rivers in terms of its annual mean discharge of 19,300 m3/s measured at Bahadurabad, Bangladesh, a large proportion of which is received from its tributaries, and first in terms of its sediment yield (0.85–1.12 t/yr./km2) (Vishwas S. Kale, 2014).

The river has been considered the lifeline for the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh since the first civilizations settled in the area due to the rich alluvial deposits of the river forming one of the most productive lands in the entire world. But these benefits also come with their share of disasters. Every year, during the monsoon rainfall, the riverbanks soar up and flood the surrounding valleys of the state of Assam.

Although flooding has been an integral part of the riparian communities of the state of Assam, India, human interventions, climate change, glacial melting and a combination of other factors have exposed the river basin, formed by Brahmaputra river and its tributaries, to increased intensity and frequency of floods leading to increased destruction of the existing habitats and the socioeconomic being of the communities. Not only has there been a huge loss of life including conserved flora and fauna, but frequent recurrence of floods have caused inundation and erosion of existing fertile alluvial landmass that has disrupted the lives of the people by displacing them from their homelands. This situation is expected to become worse in the nearing future if no action is placed into effect.

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HOW DID FLOODING BECOME A BANE FROM BEING A BOON IN THE ASSAM REGION OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA VALLEY? A timeline showing how flooding induced by post-colonization changes in land-use patterns, attempts to tame and control the river flow, earthquakes and climate change became a serious issue in the Brahmaputra valley.

Early 20th century till now

1868-1898

Migration of people from East Bengal, now Bangladesh to Assam due to multiple reasons like establishment of settlements in fertile river valley for cultivation of tea and jute plantations, cheap labor forced to build railway networks, seeking safe abode from the effects of cyclones, cultural disputes etc. The Rohingya population migration is the most recent migration that has been taking place since 2015.

Popularity of Assam's tea plantation, mineral industries and governement owned forests with high quality timber led to fourfold increase in the British government's income from land revenue.

1917-1927

1875-1950

Kala-azar (black fever) epidemic in Assam led to huge mortality rates and therefore, emptying of previously settled areas within the dense forests of Assam.

1612 - 1947 British India: Rule of British over the present territories of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

1947 Construc-

1888 Talks about

bringing the floodplains under cultivation started amongst the British officials.

1897 Earthquake

of magnitude 8.0 struck Assam that changed the river’s surface, bank lines, and the courses of its channels

1950s-1960s

International help was sought on how to control floods; support came in from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which gave suggestions included dredging the river and constructing storage reservoirs and embankments as possible protection against floods.

1929 Heavy

pre-monsoon rains induced prolonged, devastating and unprecedented floods, thus affecting major jute production

1902-1932

India Company annexed the rich valley of Brahmaputra

Establishment of 'raiyatwari settlement' where the ownership rights of cultivable land were handed over to the peasants.

British Government collected taxes directly from the peasants.

1820

of magnitude 8.6 and subsequent flooding struck Assam that again transformed the river regime.

Migrant peasants had converted large patches of alluvial land— from an estimated 38,000 acres in 1902 to 300,000 acres in 1932— along the river Brahmaputra into a productive export zone.

1826 British East

1800

1950 Earthquake

of settlements was introduced in Assam under which the Muslim immigrants from East Bengal, now Bangladesh, were required to settle in certain areas of the river valley.

Indian government asked the Assam government to find out the prospect of jute cultivation in the valley.

Burmese Invasion of Assam

tion of embankments began .

1920 Line system

1898 The British

1817-1827

1880

1900

1974 Another

experimental dredging was carried out.

1954-End of 20th century

Severe floodings in Assam led to surveys conducted that highlighted the issues of embankments, storage reservoirs, and dredging as a solution to floods.

Between 1954 and 1987 Assam built 4,448 kilometres of embankments and 599 kilometres of drainage, in addition to soil conservation measures.

1980s

The area of flood-prone land in Assam was estimated to be 3.15 million hectares.

Bengal led to arrangement of Assam and East Bengal into a single administrative unit boosting the mobility of the peasants.

1860

1964

Beginning of political intervention in re-examining flood-control

1953 Assam Embankment and Drainage Act

1905 Partition of

1840

Experimental dredging in the Brahmaputra valley took

1986 The newly built storage dams caused devastating floods in the central part of the valley.

1933 Floods again damaged the major jute production fields.

1920

1940

1960

1980

21st century Flooding of the Brahmaputra valley still continues.

The Indian state assumed a new role in facilitating capital to reconnect with rivers and their floodplains. Scientific research on the river and its ecology progressed significantly during this period.

2000

2020

Source: SAIKIA, ARUPJYOTI. "Jute in the Brahmaputra Valley: The Making of Flood Control in Twentieth-Century Assam." Modern Asian Studies, vol. 49, no. 5, 1405-1441, 2015.ProQuest. http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/scholarly-journals/jutebrahmaputra-valley-making-flood-control/docview/1700933495/se-2?accountid=13158, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/10.1017/S0026749X14000201.

SOURCE: https://www.psdtolive.com/history-of-tea-in-india/

Thus, the River Basin/the Valley requires implementation of the approach of resilience and regeneration of the natural ecosystem that inculcates the traditional tribal culture of 'living with nature' amongst the inhabitants of the river valley.

The British colonial activites in the river valley neglected its natural existence and functioning and implemented actions that disrupted the overall systems working together to maintain the rich characteristics of the valley. To make this worse, subsequent governments built a large number of embankments on the river with the intention to control it both as a means to generate resources as well as a measure to control floods. Such practices led to further deterioration of the land through increased intensity of floods as well as land erosion displacing people from their inhabited lands and degrading their socioeconomic status in society.

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THE CONCEPT OF RESILIENCE THESIS STATEMENT OF THE CAPSTONE PROJECT

The word 'resilience' comes from the Latin word 'resiliere', which means to jump back or rebound.

The capstone project ‘Designing Resiliency for Perennial Flooding: the case of Majuli’ aims to restore and recorrect the damage done within the valley of Brahmaputra to its maximum extent, thereby creating an equitable, sustainable and resilient riverfront that would not only enable the communities to function before, during and after floods, but also make them independent and self-sufficient and uplift their social and economic status in society. This capstone project attempts to address this issue of flooding and land erosion prevalant in the Valley/Basin by taking the case of Majuli, situated in the Brahmaputra river valley, by means of land use zoning involving landscape architecture solutions to land erosion and wildlife rehabilitation and architectural solutions inspired from vernacular architecture to make the valley not only flood-resilient, but also strengthen its social, economic and environmental being in the society.

This capstone project attempts to design flood resilience by measuring the capacity of the community of Majuli prone to flood hazard to: 1. Resist: the damage as much as it can when the floods strike the community.

2. Adapt: to the damaging effects during the course of as well as after the floods.

3. Recover: from the damages caused by floods and resume its function post-flooding.

The two aspects of flood-resilience focused within the design aspects of this project are the ‘socio-economic resilience’ and the ‘ecological resilience’.

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Part of the island worst affected by floods up until 2015 A

A

Soil erosion in Majuli Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-indianews/assam-news/rs-50-crore-allocated-for-the-integrated-development-of-majuli-inthis-years-budget/

Brahmaputra River Surrounding Land Area Morphology of Majuli in 2015 Morphology of Majuli in 2000 Morphology of Majuli in 1975 AN OVERLAP SHOWING CHANGING MORPHOLOGY OF MAJULI FROM 1975 TO 2015 HIGHLIGHTING THE PROBLEM OF FLOODING, SOIL EROSION ANDLAND LOSS

INTRODUCTION TO THE SITE: MAJULI

Map showing the area of the Brahmaputra River Basin completely inundated and submerged into the Bay of Bengal in case if all the ice in the world melts. Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/09/risingseas-ice-melt-new-shoreline-maps/#/05-ice-melt-asia.jpg

Majuli enjoys the status of being the 'first island district of the country' located in the Brahmaputra River Valley of Assam in India. It is a group of small islets formed in the mid-stream of the Brahmaputra River and its tributaries due to 'continuous sand depositions as a result of changing course of rivers'. "It extends for a length of about 80 km, with a total area of about 875 sq km and at an elevation of 85-90 m above the mean sea level." An island boosting multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious ethnicities, it is also home to a rich variety of flora and fauna thriving in the wetlands located on the northern and southern parts of this island.

Located within the active floodplains of Brahmaputra river and receiving a high average rainfall of 1000-13000 mm coinciding with the period of snow-melt in the Himalayas, this island experiences extreme flooding further resulting in bank erosion of existing fertile alluvial landmass (leading to huge loss of life, property and natural ecosystem). If no immediate steps are taken, this place is going to completely inundate in the next 20 years.

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A

A

Mishing tribe of Majuli island. Source: http://kyabaat.blogspot.com/2017/03/dancing-in-assam.html DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MAJULI

Majuli island is famous all over the world for its rich ecosystem habitat. The island is home to many exotic species of flora and fauna and attracts a plethora of migratory birds every year.

Source: https://pixels.com/featured/lesser-whistling-teal-manas-paran.html

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Major shareholders were identified and their connections were established with different economic sectors active in Majuli. To establish connection with nature and its resources, the economic activities were further divided into plant-based and animal-based sectors followed by an investigation into the type of zoning required for them.

Major economic sectors were identified in Majuli and categorized into community and individual activities to better understand the spatial configurations, needs and requirements of the people.

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NATIVE TREE CHART OF MAJULI ISLAND

A scale was prepared to understand the human use of space with respect to different activities performed by the people of Majuli. With major activities performed while sitting on floor, people of Majuli live a simple life with minimal use of modern furniture. Their lives are also hugely connected with land and water.

The people of Majuli believe themselves to be deeply connected with nature. Not only do they surround themselves with a wide variety of flora for sustainable living, but the plants and trees they grow are great sources of supply of food, fruits and medicines for them. This project attempts to identify and learn about some of the native trees of Majuli and proposes them as a solution to prevent the problem of land loss due to soil erosion.

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DESIGN PROPOSAL

SECTION SHOWING INITIAL ZONING OF ARCHITECTURAL AND LANDSCAPE PROGRAMS DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

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SITE SECTION SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF STRATEGIES WITH RESPECT TO ELEVATION OF LAND

Zone 3: Human settlements

Zone 2 : Waru Waru terrace farming + Bamboo and native trees forests

Zone 1 : Mangrove forests

80m

Landscape strategies like growing mangrove forests at the river edge to planting forests of native trees to ensure prevention of land loss due to soil erosion as well as flooding of human settlements have been proposed. Architectural solutions include introduction of a simple modular amphibious structure designed as an upgrade to the existing vernacular architecture to combat issues of land loss and flooding.

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ZONE 1: MANGROVE FORESTS

By increasing surge level near the river shore during the floods, mangrove trees prevent the rise of level of water at the rear thus preventing flooding of inland areas. Not only this, mangroves are also known to hold into the soil preventing erosion. Mangroves also attract a wide variety wild fauna like tigers, elephants and migratory birds. This could potentially add to the tourism sector of Majuli through jungle safaris and boat riding activities.

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ZONE 2: (a) BAMBOO FORESTS (b) NATIVE TREES FORESTS (c) WARU-WARU TERRACE FARMING

Indigenous techniques like Waru Waru crop cultivation coupled with plantation of native and bamboo trees are proposed as a sustainable means to replenish and rejuvenate the over-cultivated non-fertile lands of Majuli. Practicing these techniques would also ensure prevention of soil erosion and severe damages caused due to flooding through water retention..

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ZONE 3: HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

An amphibious architecture is proposed as an upgrade to the existing vernacular architecture of Majuli as a resilient solution to combat the dual problem of flooding and land loss.

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FLOOR PLANS OF THE AMPHIBIOUS MODULAR UNIT 1. Working Area 2. Dining/Seating Area 3. Sleeping Area 4. Washing/Bathing Area 5. Cantilevered Poerch 6. Rooftop with solar panels installed 7. Handloom 8. Fishing pond shared with neighbor

8.

5.

3.

3.

1.

6.

5.

7.

2.

4.

5.

DESIGN PRECEDENTS: 1. BELAPUR INCREMENTAL HOUSING (Charles Correa) 2. BLOOMING BAMBOO (H&P) 3. INDIGENOUS TECHNIQUES OF LIVING - MANGROVES, WARU WARU TECHNIQUE OF FARMING DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

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LONGITUDINAL SECTION

LONGITUDINAL SECTION (during floods) DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

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TRANSVERSE SECTION

TRANSVERSE SECTION (during floods) DARSHIKA AGRAWAL . CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT . SPRING 2021

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EXPANSION OF MODULAR UNIT FOR PUBLIC BUILDINGS OR FUTURE EXPANSION

Line defining alignment of columns Lines showing extension of beams for expansion

(b)

(a)

(c) (a) Plan view of an expanded unit being used as a school. (b) Plan view of an expanded unit being used as a hospital. (c) Plan view of an expanded unit being used as a religious/community center.

The simple beam-column structure allows the user of the space to expand the unit when required. Removal or installation of walls and doors define whether a space would be put to private or a semi-public/public use.

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