Impact of climate change and human intervention on mangrove, wetland and riverine ecosystems: A global systematic review with a regional focus on the Bengal Delta

Climate change has altered global ecosystems and human livelihoods, drawing the attention of researchers worldwide. However, detailed and systematic reviews on this topic are limited. This study aims to focus on mangroves, floodplain wetlands, and fluvial ecosystems of the world's major deltas, and how they are responding to climate change. Therefore, the study examined 597 articles from the Scopus database from 1991 to 2024. The systematic review first examined global progress, hotspots, and prospects in deltaic ecosystem responses to climate change and human interventions, and then used the Bengal Delta as an in-depth regional case to demonstrate how these global patterns translate into locally observable ecosystem change and management responses. The results confirm that (i) this study is getting diverse, and the content is becoming more methodical and precise. (ii) Most research focuses on topics including climate change, declining wetland ecosystem services, ecosystem restoration, human health concerns, etc. (iii) The research works on the Bengal Delta region have given more attention to issues of rivers, e.g., declining environmental flow, loss of wetland area, and vulnerable mangrove ecosystems. The review findings have finally led to the development of novel suggestions for the sustainability framework. These suggestions include the integration of traditional ecological knowledge with modern scientific methodologies to support local community empowerment and cultural heritage preservation, in addition to strengthening ecological resilience. This strategy emphasises the value of local knowledge and involvement in decision-making processes, which is consistent with the concepts of ecosystem-based adaptation and community-based natural resource management.