There is an increasing recognition in environmental sustainability research of the significance of Indigenous land and water management practices that are locally developed and grounded in traditional resource use. This dissertation explores land and water management policies and practices in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh, with a particular focus on traditional Indigenous and invasive government and non-governmental policies and practices enacted within the Laitu Khyeng Indigenous community located in the CHT. Three main questions guide the study: (1) What were traditional Indigenous Laitu Khyeng land-management customs and practices, particularly in relation to environmental sustainability? (2) To what extent were Laitu Khyeng community members affected by introduced land-management policies, such as those promoted by government, NGOs, commercial companies, and multinational agencies? And, (3) What were Laitu Khyeng hopes and expectations regarding land management policies and practices, particularly in relation to environmental sustainability? Data collection methods included: traditional sharing circles, individual story sharing, photovoice, participant observation, and commonplace books. The research findings revealed that current management practices, imposed by both government and non-government agencies, have seriously undermined local, traditional land and water management practices. The effects of these management projects include: dramatic increase in the non-Indigenous population resulting from an outsider brick-field industrial project within the last 10 years; increased destitution, displacement, and deforestation of natural resources resultant from force, fraud, and manipulated occupation of forest and plain land over two decades; recent expansion of the Bangladesh Forest Department and private companies’ lumber plantation projects by outsiders; and increase in national and multinational corporations’ tobacco plantation projects within last 15 years. Addressing questions of resource management and sustainability, participating Elders, knowledge-holders, and community leaders articulated meanings of land and water management in terms traditional cultivation culture, administrative structures, and spiritual practices. In addition to these themes, youth participants emphasized land and water management as involving key responsibilities, including learning traditional cultivation knowledge from Elders, and organizing peaceful campaigns to protect their land, water, and identity rights. The research findings demonstrate that the Laitu Khyeng Indigenous traditional land and water management practices value biodiversity, human and nonhuman relationships, spirituality, conservation, historical practices protection, and also draw from non-Indigenous knowledge and practice in environmental resource management. To achieve environmental sustainability in the community, participants emphasized that all youth in the community learn local Indigenous knowledge and practices in order to protect the environment.

Future water supplies will be affected by both climate change and altered land-water management. In the Mediterranean region, an expected warming and drying together with increased water withdrawal in key tourist destinations will put further pressure on already scarce water resources. In this study, a scenario analysis was conducted to explore the combined impacts of climate and land-water management changes in an 89 km2 watershed upstream of Navarino Environmental Observatory, southwestern Greece. A simple process-based hydrological model based on the Thornthwaite-Mather water balance procedure for the estimation of daily actual evapotranspiration and soil moisture was used to predict streamflow and storage fluxes. The model conceptualization includes two storage compartments, loosely representing a shallow and fast draining groundwater component (S1) and a deep and slowly draining component (S2) from where the irrigation water was assumed to be taken. These were calibrated assuming no change in the hydrologic system over the three years of available data (2009-2011). The scenario analysis included the IPCC’s A2 and B2 projections for 2071-2100 and two scenarios for land-water management change 1) the conversion of olive groves to golf courses and 2) an export of irrigation water to a hypothetical golf course located outside of the catchment boundaries. The model results indicated vulnerability to future climate change which could reduce streamflow and potentially lead to a draw-down of the water table. For example, even under the B2 scenario (the least dry of the climate change scenarios explored), model simulated storages will be reduced by 32-87% and the simulated streamflow by 28-86% of the current level through introduction of a golf course size representing only 1.5% of the catchment area (depending of course on season considered and golf course location). The hydrologic system would thus be altered from the current 2009-2011 state by future land-water management changes towards intensive irrigation (such as golf course development) coupled with climate change. / Framtida vattentillgångar kommer påverkas av både klimatförändringar och förändrad mark- och vattenförvaltning. I Medelhavsregionen väntas ett varmare och torrare klimat i kombination med ökad vattenanvändning i viktiga turistdestinationer att öka trycket ytterligare på de redan knappa vattenresurserna. I den här studien genomfördes en scenarioanalys över hur kombinationen av klimatförändringar och mark-och vattenförvaltningsförändringar kan påverka vattenresurserna i ett 89 km2 stort avrinningsområde uppströms om Navarino Environmental Observatory, sydvästra Grekland. En enkel process-baserad hydrologisk modell baserad på Thornthwaite-Mathers vattenbalansmetod för uppskattning av varje dags evapotranspiration och markfuktighet användes för att förutsäga förändringar i vattenföring och grundvattennivå. Konceptualiseringen av modellen inkluderar två vattenmagasin som approximativt kan sägas representera en grund och snabbt dränerande grundvattenkomponent (S1) och en djup och långsamt dränerande grundvattenkomponent (S2) varifrån bevattningsvattnet antogs tas. Dessa kalibrerades utefter antagandet att grundvattennivån var stabil under åren med tillgänglig data (2009-2011). Scenarioanalysen inkluderade the IPCC’s A2 och B2 projektioner för 2071-2100 samt två scenarior för mark-och vattenförvaltningsförändring 1) en konvertering av olivlundar till golfbanor och 2) en export av vatten för bevattningsändamål till en hypotetisk golfbana utanför avrinningsområdets gränser. Resultaten av modellen indikerade en sårbarhet för klimatförändringar vilka kan komma att minska vattenföringen i vattendragen och potentiellt leda till en sänkning av grundvattennivån. Exempelvis, kommer det simulerade grundvattenmagasinet att reduceras med 32-87% och den simulerade vattenföringen med 28-86% av dagens nivå av en golfbaneareal som representerar bara 1,5 % av avrinningsområdets area (beroende på årstid och golfbanans placering) till och med i IPCC’s B2 scenario (det klimatscenario som förutspår minst minskning av nederbörden och minst uppvärmning). Det hydrologiska systemet kommer således att ändras från dagens tillstånd genom framtida mark-och vattenförvaltningsförändringar mot intensiv bevattning (såsom golfbaneetablering) i kombination med klimatförändringarnas påverkan. / <p>Degree project in the master program: Hydrology, hydrogeology and water resources.</p><p>Examensarbete inom masterprogrammet: Hydrologi, hydrogeologi och vattenresurser.</p>