Designing restoration projects requires integrating socio-economic and cultural needs of local stakeholders for enduring and just outcomes. Using India as a case study, we demonstrate a people-centric approach to help policymakers translate global restoration prioritization studies for application to a country-specific context and to identify different socio-environmental conditions restoration programs could consider when siting projects. Focusing, in particular, on poverty quantified by living standards and land tenure, we find that of the 579 districts considered here, 116 of the poorest districts have high biophysical restoration potential (upper 50th percentile of both factors). In most districts, the predominant land tenure is private, indicating an opportunity to focus on agri-pastoral restoration over carbon and forest-based restoration projects.
Country: India
India
Transformation towards low carbon development needs action to transform our economy and energy simultaneously. India has taken several noble aims for continuing to increase renewable energy since an efficient energy transition will help to mitigate climate change. Socio-economic consequences like a considerable loss of livelihood will also occur. The ‘just transition’ concept emphasises delivering the transition fairly to high carbon concentrated workers’ communities’ livelihood and fossil fuel-based economy towards the regenerative economy and addressing inequality and poverty issues. While nature-based solutions are initiatives taken to restore, protect, and sustainably manage nature to tackle societal problems such as changing climate, challenges originating from urban expansion and livelihood support. There is a substantial research gap on why efforts to address just transition should support nature-based solutions (NbS). This research paper tries to offer a detailed perspective regarding the possibilities of delivering just transition and relate it to nature-based solutions based on available literature and various examples worldwide.
Ecological infrastructure refers to naturally functioning ecosystems that deliver valuable services to people, such as filtered water and disaster risk reduction. With natural resources becoming scarcer, there is a growing interest in reinvesting in naturally functioning ecosystems in the form of ecological infrastructure, with the assumption that ecological infrastructure complements engineered infrastructure. In many low- and middle-income countries, ecological infrastructure interventions are seen as a key strategy to simultaneously alleviate poverty and improve ecosystem functioning. However, the socio-economic outcomes of ecological infrastructure investments remain poorly documented. We address this knowledge gap by synthesizing research (n = 53 cases) that analyses how ecological infrastructure investments affect ten different socio-economic dimensions, such as income and food security in low- and middle-income countries. We find that ecological infrastructure investments primarily lead to positive outcomes for short-term income and natural capital, whereas positive outcomes for other socio-economic dimensions are less frequently observed. Cases with a high degree of participant involvement in the early implementation of ecological infrastructure investments are significantly more likely to capture positive outcomes across a variety of socio-economic dimensions. Analogously, cases spanning multiple methods – rather than adopting either a qualitative or a quantitative approach – report positive outcomes across more dimensions.
Planting trees has long been a major forest improvement and management activity globally. Forest plantations take years, even decades to mature and establish. Yet most national and international projects to support plantations are of relatively short duration, which presents a major challenge to near-term accountability as well as assessment of longer-term social and ecological impacts. Here, we address this challenge by identifying and empirically validating a set of predictive proxy indicators (PPIs)—measures on key variables taken during program implementation that are predictive of longer-term impacts—for community-oriented tree-planting efforts in northern India. Using process-tracing and qualitative comparative analysis, we find that clusters of PPIs explained vegetation growth trajectories and other outcomes over more than a decade in 23 randomly selected public forest plantations in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh. PPIs relating to property rights and local livelihood benefits, community-led monitoring and enforcement, and seedling survival rate, together, were associated with successful long-term forest plantation outcomes, including more tree cover and socio-economic benefits for local communities. The causal pathways identified in this study suggest that measuring and comparing indicator values in specific spatial and temporal contexts can help to assess the likelihood and directionality of the long-term social and ecological impacts of forest plantations. In addition to the empirical contribution it makes, this study also demonstrates a novel approach to understanding long-term impacts of public forest plantations relevant to country contexts around the world.
Mangroves are believed to stabilize the coastlines by controlling erosion and facilitating sediment deposition. Coastal managers often plant mangroves to counter coastal erosion. The state of Gujarat in West India has planted thousands of hectares of mangroves over the years, and control of coastal erosion has been one of the prime reasons of plantation. This study performed a statistical assessment of the effect of the planted mangroves on the coastline changes in the state from 1990 to 2013. The study utilized geographic information system and remote sensing data to demarcate the areas under erosion and accretion during this period, and then compared these changes with the change in mangrove cover using statistical models. This cross-sectional analysis was conducted at the level of a tehsil, an administrative unit below a district. The results show that mangrove plantation did not decrease erosion, not even after normalizing the coastline changes by the length of the coastline and using controls for physical and anthropogenic features of the tehsils. Tehsils with increased mangrove cover witnessed both increased erosion and accretion, although the latter was much higher. The geophysical features of the area appeared to be the main determinants of coastline changes in Gujarat.
As the severity of the triple challenges of global inequality, climate change and biodiversity loss becomes clearer, governments and international development institutions must find effective policy instruments to respond. We examine the potential of social assistance policies in this context. Social assistance refers to transfers to poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups to reduce their vulnerability and livelihood risks, and to enhance their rights and status. Substantial public funds support social assistance programmes globally. Collectively, lower- and middle-income countries spend approximately 1.5% of their GDP on social assistance annually. We focus on the potential of paid employment schemes to promote effective ecosystem stewardship. Available evidence suggests such programmes can offer multiple benefits in terms of improvements in local ecosystems and natural capital, carbon sequestration and local biodiversity conservation. We review evidence from three key case studies: in India (the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), Ethiopia (the Productive Safety Nets Programme) and Mexico (the Temporary Employment Programme). We conclude that, to realize the potential of employment-based social assistance for ecosystem benefits it will be necessary to address two challenges: first, the weak design and maintenance of local public works outputs in many schemes, and second, the concern that social protection schemes may become less effective if they are overburdened with additional objectives. Overcoming these challenges requires an evolution of institutional systems for delivering social assistance to enable a more effective combination of social and environmental objectives. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’.
The impending threats of changing climate have been well documented across sectors. The climate risks are best addressed through increasing adaptive capacity and building resilience. Ever since the global call during the Rio Summit in 1992 for establishing sustainability indicators across sectors, there have been several studies across the world on developing indicators for sustainability, vulnerability and climate resilience. Agriculture, the most vulnerable system to changing climate, depends on the resilience of both social and ecological systems. This paper focuses on integrating the variability of climate into the agricultural sustainability measurement with a broad base of indicators and bringing in the localized factors for representing the agroecosystem specificities. The paper also aims at identifying indicators for measuring climate resilient agriculture in Indian sub-continent and developing a conceptual framework for profiling the spatial resilience across various agro-ecosystems for appropriate location-specific policy interventions. In the current study 1209 indicators used in various research studies were screened, grouped for similarity and purpose and classified based on the various dimensions viz., social, economic, ecological, etc. After a critical review based on their appropriateness as a measurable indicator, extent of overlap, relevance in Indian context and possible data availability, 41 indicators were shortlisted for validation through a comprehensive structured online survey among subject matter specialists (n = 225). The responses from the experts (n = 36) were analysed using weighted sum model (WSM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The study identifies a list of 30 sustainability indicators for climate resilient agriculture in India, that are particularly suitable for different agro-ecosystems of the sub-continent. The authors advocate an action-oriented model called Climate Risk Management Package for Agriculture (CRiMPA) to aid in planning spatial/agro-ecosystem specific interventions, which in turn could strengthen the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) of Government of India.
Cities are dependent on their upstream watersheds for storage and gradual release of water into river systems. These watersheds act as important flood mitigation infrastructure, providing an essential ecosystem service. In this paper we use metrics from the WaterWorld model to examine the flood management-relevant natural infrastructure of the upstream watersheds of selected global cities. These metrics enable the characterisation of different types, magnitudes and geographical distributions of potential natural flood storage. The storages are categorised as either green (forest canopy, wetland and soil) or blue (water body and floodplain) storages and the proportion of green to blue indicates how different city upstream basin contexts provide different types and levels of storage which may buffer flood risk. We apply the WaterWorld method for examining flood risk as the ratio of accumulated modelled annual runoff volume to accumulated available green and blue water storage capacity. The aim of these metrics is to highlight areas where there is more runoff than storage capacity and thus where the maintenance or restoration of further natural infrastructure (such as canopy cover, wetlands and soil) could aid in storing more water and thus better alleviate flood risks. Such information is needed by urban planners, city authorities and governments to help prepare cities for climate change impacts.
Floods in India are regular phenomenon that occurs in almost all parts of the country, causing significant damage to human lives, assets and ecosystem. Rapid change in weather patterns and decline in forest cover are considered to be the main reasons for frequent floods and associated damage to both human and natural system. Does forest cover help prevent frequent occurrences of flood and reduce flood related damages? Empirical evidences on the flood protective role of forest cover do not give a clear picture. While few studies find a strong link between forest cover and reduced flood incidence, several other studies from across the globe have challenged this traditional notion of the protective role of forest cover. The present study makes an attempt to examine the association between forest cover and flood damage using data from Indian states and the flood affected districts of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, taking into account the social, economic, climatic and infrastructural parameters. The findings suggest that forest cover tends to reduce the extent of flood damage and hence has the ability to protect human lives and properties during flood events. It is essential that mitigation and adaptation strategies are shaped in a way that promotes preservation and regeneration of forest resources. Hence, the present study suggests adoption of ecosystem-based adaptation measures along with traditional hard structure flood prevention measures in order to prevent flood related damages effectively.
Coastal vegetation has been widely recognized as a natural method to reduce the energy of tsunami waves. However, a vegetation barrier cannot completely stop a tsunami, and its effectiveness depends on the magnitude of the tsunami as well as the structure of the vegetation. For coastal rehabilitation, optimal planning of natural coastal systems, and their maintenance, we need to quantitatively elucidate the capacity of vegetation to reduce the energy of tsunami waves. The limitations of coastal forests in relation to the magnitude of a tsunami and the maintenance of forests as natural disaster buffer zones have to be understood correctly for effective coastal vegetation planning. Demerits of coastal forests have also been revealed: for example, an open gap in a forest (i.e., a road, river, difference in elevation, etc.) can channel and amplify a strong current by forcing it into the gap. Floating debris from broken trees also can damage surrounding buildings and hurt people. However, many studies have revealed that these demerits can be overcome with proper planning and management of mangroves and coastal forests, and that coastal vegetation has a significant potential to mitigate damage in constructed areas and save human lives by acting as buffer zones during extreme natural events. However, mangrove forests have been damaged by anthropogenic activities (i.e., tourism, shrimp farming, and industrial development), making coastal areas increasingly vulnerable to tsunamis and other natural disasters. The effectiveness of vegetation also changes with the age and structure of the forest. This highlights the fact that proper planning and management of vegetation are required to maintain the tsunami buffering function of coastal forests. Although many government and nongovernmental organizations have implemented coastal vegetation projects, many of them have been unsuccessful due to a lack of proper maintenance. A pilot project in Matara City, Sri Lanka, revealed that participation and support from local authorities and communities is essential to make the planting projects successful. An integrated coastal vegetation management system that includes utilization of the materials produced by the forest and a community participation and awareness program are proposed to achieve a sustainable and long-lasting vegetation bioshield.
The world population is expected to increase by a further three billion by 2050 and 90% of the three billion will be from developing countries that rely on existing land, water, and ecology for food and well-being of human kind. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment report (AR5) stated that warming of the climate system is unequivocal and is more pronounced since the 1950s. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea level has risen. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the earth’s surface than any preceding decade since 1850 and the globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature data as calculated by a linear trend show a warming of 0.85 degrees C (0.65-1.06 degrees C) over the period of 1880-2012. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ranked 2015 as the hottest year on record. Climate change poses many challenges to growth and development in South Asia. The Indian agriculture production system faces the daunting task of feeding 17.5% of the global population with only 2.4% of land and 4% of water resources at its disposal. India is more vulnerable to climate change in view of the dependence of huge population on agriculture, excessive pressure on natural resources, and relatively weak coping mechanisms. The warming trend in India over the past 100 years has indicated an increase of 0.6 degrees C, which is likely to impact many crops, negatively impacting food and livelihood security of millions of farmers. There are already evidences of negative impacts on yield of wheat and paddy in some parts of India due to increased temperature, water stress, and reduction in number of rainy days. Significant negative impacts have been projected under medium-term (2020-39) climate change scenario, for example, yield reduction by 4.5-9%, depending on the magnitude and distribution of warming. Since agriculture currently contributes about 15% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), a negative impact on production implies cost of climate change to roughly range from 0.7% to 1.35% of GDP per year. Indian agriculture, with 80% of farmers being smallholders (<0.5 ha) having diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, is monsoon-dependent rainfed agriculture (58%), about 30% of population undernourished, migration from rural to urban regions, child malnutrition etc., has become more vulnerable with changed climate or variability situations. During the past decade, frequency of droughts, cyclone, and hailstorms increased, with 2002, 2004, 2009, 2012, and 2014 being severe droughts. Frequent cyclones and severe hailstorms in drought prone areas have become common. Eastern part of the country is affected by seawater intrusion. Reduced food grain productivity, loss to vegetable and fruit crops, fodder scarcity, shortage of drinking water to animals during summer, forced migration of animals, severe loss to poultry and fishery sectors were registered, threatening the livelihoods of rural poor. Enhancing agricultural productivity, therefore, is critical for ensuring food and nutritional security for all, particularly the resource-poor, small, and marginal farmers who would be the most affected. In the absence of planned adaptation, the consequences of long-term climate change on the livelihood security of the poor could be severe. In India, the estimated countrywide agricultural loss in 2030 is expected to be over $ 7 billion that will severely affect the income of at least 10% of the population. However, this could be reduced by 80%, if cost-effective climate resilient measures are implemented. Climate risks are best addressed through increasing adaptive capacity and building resilience which can bring immediate benefits and can also reduce the adverse impacts of climate change. Climate resilient agriculture (CRA) encompasses the incorporation of adaptation and resilient practices in agriculture which increases the capacity of the system to respond to various climate-related disturbances by resisting damage and ensures quick recovery. Such disturbances include events such as drought, flood, heat/cold wave, erratic rainfall pattern, pest outbreaks, and other threats caused by changing climate. Resilience is the ability of the system to bounce back and essentially involves judicious and improved management of natural resources, land, water, soil, and genetic resources through adoption of best bet practices. CRA is a way to achieve short-and long-term agricultural development priorities in the face of climate change and serves as a bridge to other development priorities. It seeks to support countries and other actors in securing the necessary policy, technical and financial conditions to enable them to: (1) sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes in order to meet national food security and development goals, (2) build resilience and the capacity of agricultural and food systems to adapt to climate change, and (3) seek opportunities to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and increase carbon sequestration. These three conditions (food security, adaptation, and mitigation) are referred to as the 'triple win' of overall CRA. The concept of climate resilient village (CRV) has been taken up by Government of India, to provide stability to farm productivity and household incomes and resilience through livelihood diversification in the face of extreme climatic events like droughts, cyclones, floods, hailstorms, heat wave, frost, and seawater inundation. Development of CRVs warrants establishment of a host of enabling mechanisms to mobilize and empower communities in the decision-making process to manage and recover from climate risks. The overall program of establishing CRVs have structured village level institutions such as Village Climate Risk Management Committee (VCRMC), custom hiring center (CHC) for farm implements, community seed and fodder banks, commodity groups etc. The establishment of CRVs was based on bottom-up approach with village community taking a central role in decision making on institutional requirements, technological interventions and supporting systems with able support from experts. In our knowledge, the CRV network of National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is by far the largest outreach program involving farmer's participation ever undertaken in the field of climate change adaptation anywhere in the world. Planning, coordination, monitoring, and capacity building of the program at the country level is the responsibility of the research organization (ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture). At the district level, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK; Farm Science Centre) under the Division of Agricultural Extension under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRPDA) centers and Transfer of Technology divisions of various ICAR Institutions across the country are responsible in implementing the project at village level through farmers' participatory approach. To address the climate vulnerabilities of the selected villages, different interventions were planned under the four modules; however, the specific intervention under each module for a particular village was need based and decided based on climatic vulnerability and resource situation of the particular village. The four intervention modules being implemented are (1) Natural resource management (in situ moisture conservation, biomass mulching, residue recycling, manure management, soil health card-based nutrient application, water harvesting and recycling for supplementary or life saving irrigation, improved drainage in high rainfall/flood prone villages, conservation tillage, and water saving irrigation methods). (2) Crop production module consisting of introduction of short-duration and drought/flood-tolerant varieties, modifications in planting dates for postrainy (winter) season crops to cope with terminal heat stress, water saving paddy systems (System of Rice Intensification, aerobic, direct seeding), frost management in fruit/vegetables, community nursery in staggered dates to meet delay in onset of monsoon, energy-efficient farm machinery through village CHC with timely completion of farm operation in limited sowing window, location specific intercropping systems, and suitable agroforestry systems. (3) Module III covers livestock and fisheries interventions through augmentation of fodder production, fodder storage methods, prophylaxis, and improved shelters for reducing heat stress in livestock, management of fish ponds/tanks during water scarcity and excess water, and promotion of livestock as climate adaptation strategy. (4) Module IV consists of village level institutions, collective marketing groups, introduction of weather-based insurance, and climate literacy though establishment of automated weather stations. Impacts of these climate resilient interventions in the villages were assessed through various resilience indicators, importantly, improved farm productivity, farm income, livelihoods at household and village level. Environmental impacts were assessed on improved soil carbon sequestration, groundwater recharge, vegetation and forest cover, and measurements of GHG emissions which were correlated with ex ante assessment of village level carbon balance and overall contribution to global warming potential. These 151 CRVs are learning sites for further expanding resilient villages to adjoining clusters and districts so that large number of villages will become part of the overall adaptation-led climate change mitigation mission in the country.
With challenges from global climate change, it is imperative to enhance food production using climate-smart technologies and maximize farm efficiency. Fifty-six households in Rudhiapada and Badamahulidiha, Odisha, India were selected to evaluate farmers’ efficiency using conservation agriculture (CA) cropping system practices. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and regression analysis were used to estimate farmer efficiency and the determinants of yield. Conventional tillage with the local maize cultivar was compared to reduced tillage with improved maize cultivar and maize intercropped with cowpea. Badamahulidiha outperformed Rudhiapada in yields for all cropping systems. This could be attributed to lower input use and exposure to NGO training. The current efficiency level of farmers’ productivity was between 0.4 and 0.7. Inputs such as labor, seed, and fertilizers were found to be significant in increasing yield except for female labor and phosphate. This finding suggests conservation agriculture cropping system is female friendly. The conservation agriculture cropping systems improved maize yields by 60% to 70% when compared to conventional farming system. Combining conservation agriculture practices with improving efficiency of farmers in optimal use of the inputs can contribute substantially to productivity, thus enhancing food security and nutrition in the face of climate change in India and other tropical areas.
Conversion of coastal sand dunes to plantations has intensified dramatically after the tsunami of December 2004, driven largely by the belief that bio-shields mitigated tsunami inundation. This assumption was tested using field-based mapping and remote sensing. A regression between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and inundation distance was non-significant, questioning the premise for large-scale bio-shield plantations, mostly Casuarina equisetifolia, an exotic timber with unquantified ecological impacts. These plantations may obliterate the natural sand dune ecosystems along the Coromandel coast, which are an important natural defence and provide a range of ecological goods and services.
Emissions from deforestation are significant and account for more than 18% of global annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. With the Bali Action Plan categorically placing reduced emissions from degradation and deforestation (REDD) activities on the agenda of future climate change negotiations, there is now a strong possibility that policy approaches and incentives relating to enhancement of carbon stocks in low biomass forests will be successfully negotiated and accepted as a legitimate greenhouse gas mitigation option in the upcoming post-2012 climate change regime. Using the institutional mechanisms provided by community-based forest management (CBFM), 833.8 Tg carbon can be sequestered by enhancement of forest carbon stocks in low biomass Indian forests. By protection refugia, restoring biodiversity, providing connectivity, mimicking nature in plantations and controlling man-made fires, CBFM as practiced in India can be an effective way of managing forests during times of climate change. Appropriately designed CBFM policy can provide means to sustain and strengthen community livelihoods and at the same time avoid deforestation, restore forest cover and density, provide carbon mitigation and create rural assets. Channeling carbon investment funds into CBFM projects can make both development and conservation economically viable and attractive for the local communities to maintain biodiversity and integrity of nature. However, before actual funding under the Clean Development Mechanism and other international C investment funds is available, policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to REDD need to be negotiated and agreed upon by the participating nations to UNFCCC.
Massive deforestation induced by unplanned urbanization in the hilly watersheds of Brahmaputra basin, India, has led to ecological imbalance and is gradually transforming this basin into a multi-hazard zone. Removal of green cover is also becoming a matter of global concern, as it can accelerate the adverse impacts of climate change. People coming in search of work generally reside in the hills, as they cannot afford the high cost of land in plains. This has led to deforestation of the hilly area and has resulted in increased surface erosion from the upper catchments. Though sediment and water yield from these degraded watersheds could have been minimized by implementing ecologically sustainable management practices (EMPs), such as grass land, forest land and detention pond, poor economic conditions of the people stands in the way of field implementation. On the other hand, major industries, which can be held responsible for emission of greenhouse gases, can be asked to finance greenery development in these hilly watersheds through implementation of selected EMPs to earn carbon credit for them. To convert this concept into reality, the EMP combination must be selected in such a way that it restricts sediment and water yield from the watershed within the permissible limit and maximizes its carbon sequestration capacity at minimum possible cost. Such optimal planning is a prerequisite for preparing an acceptable logical agreement between Government and private companies. Keeping this in mind, an optimization model was developed and applied to a micro watershed of Guwahati to explore its applicability in actual field. The model developed in this study provides most logical carbon credit negotiation, subject to the availability of reliable value of CO2 sequestration for different EMPs.
A potential impact of climate change in the south Asian context in general and the Indian subcontinent in particular is an increase in rainfall, in some areas up to 50%. Using an extensive information base available on the dynamics of landscape structure and function of the northeastern hill areas of India, scenarios on landscape changes, as an adaptation to climate change, have been constructed. Climate change would impose a variety of stresses on sustainable livelihood of the inhabitants of the rain-forested areas through stresses on ecosystem function. It is concluded that appropriate management strategies for natural forests and plantation forestry should go hand in hand with a comprehensive rural Ecosystem restoration plan.
Autonomous adaptation in the water sector is assessed to derive lessons for more successful climate change adaptation from six empirical, consistently designed river management case studies based on projects of WWF. They show that when adaptation measures are considered in the context of common problems in water management, many practical ways of building resilience to climate change through mainstream programs are evident. The cases are mainly from developing countries—India, China, Mexico, Brazil, the lower Danube basin and Tanzania—where efforts to reduce environmental degradation and enhance livelihoods have directly helped to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change. The key lessons include: the benefits of concurrent measures for improving livelihoods and reducing physical vulnerability; the need to enhance and fund local institutions to mainstream adaptation programmes; and the value in implementing ‘no and low regrets’ measures despite uncertainties.
Rajasthan presents evidence for the existence of one of the most advanced examples of ancient mining and accompanied deforestation to be found anywhere in the world. Mining continues to be an important economic activity contributing to 2% of the State Domestic Product and providing at least a 1.76 % share to the regular employment pool in Rajasthan. However, economic benefits of mineral extraction also accompany environmental, economic and social costs. Mine waste dumps and mined out areas viewed simply as the legacies of past may appear overwhelming environmental hazards presenting ugly picture of cultural landscape. However, mine wastes can be transformed into an opportunity for learning, adaptation and productivity enhancement for sustainable livelihoods through ecological restoration. Here we propose a strategy for mine spoil restoration aimed at creating a multifunctional ecosystem in mine waste dumps. We suggest that dredging and sediment removal from traditional tanks and ponds can potentially be used to prepare the substratum over the mine wastes for direct seeding. It will also create enhanced decentralized water storage capacity for wildlife and people. Our strategy combines the concomitant revival of traditional water harvesting systems, ground water recharge, enhanced biomass production and an adaptation to random recurrence of droughts in Rajasthan.
Much of the developing world and areas of the developed world suffer water vulnerability. Engineering solutions enable technically efficient extraction and diversion of water towards areas of demand but, without rebalancing resource regeneration, can generate multiple adverse ecological and human consequences. The Banas River, Rajasthan (India), has been extensively developed for water diversion, particularly from the Bisalpur Dam from which water is appropriated by powerful urban constituencies dispossessing local people. Coincidentally, abandonment of traditional management, including groundwater recharge practices, is leading to increasingly receding and contaminated groundwater. This creates linked vulnerabilities for rural communities, irrigation schemes, urban users, dependent ecosystems and the multiple ecosystem services that they provide, compounded by climate change and population growth. This paper addresses vulnerabilities created by fragmented policy measures between rural development, urban and irrigation water supply and downstream consequences for people and wildlife. Perpetuating narrowly technocentric approaches to resource exploitation is likely only to compound emerging problems. Alternatively, restoration or innovation of groundwater recharge practices, particularly in the upper catchment, can represent a proven, ecosystem-based approach to resource regeneration with linked beneficial socio-ecological benefits. Hybridising an ecosystem-based approach with engineered methods can simultaneously increase the security of rural livelihoods, piped urban and irrigation supplies, and the vitality of river ecosystems and their services to beneficiaries. A renewed policy focus on local-scale water recharge practices balancing water extraction technologies is consistent with emerging Rajasthani policies, particularly Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan (‘water self-reliance mission’). Policy reform emphasising recharge can contribute to water security and yield socio-economic outcomes through a systemic understanding of how the water system functions, and by connecting goals and budgets across multiple, currently fragmented policy areas. The underpinning principles of this necessary paradigm shift are proven and have wider geographic relevance, though context-specific research is required to underpin robust policy and practical implementation.
CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) along with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Geneva, organized a consultative workshop on “Ecological Engineering for DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) and CCA (Climate Change Adaptation)” in NEERI, Nagpur, on February 5, 2016. The workshop brought together technical experts and policy makers across India to review how the new opportunities offered by science and international policies could be leveraged to promote ecosystem-based (Eb) approaches in India. The consultation succeeded in brainstorming and identifying key actions, actors, and priority areas keeping in view conservation and development challenges. Discussions were also on implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Workshop also came up with integrating biodiversity management with existing and ongoing development practices, including existing policy measures and enabling mechanisms at regional, national, and state level. Priority actions for improving DRR approaches, and identification of interventions to support EbDRR and EbA in the country, and possible role and responsibility of potential national institutions and other agencies were the final outcomes of the brainstorming and workshop.
As in other parts of the world, the indigenous people of Jharkhand hold important context-relevant knowledge and strategies for addressing dwindling natural resources base and climate change. The paper documents some of the collective wealth of indigenous knowledge related to agricultural practices, including land preparation/ manuring/ soil treatment, cropping systems, input management, water resource management and utilization, and soil and water conservation practices, used especially by tribal farmers of the region. Related research and policy issues essential for successful amalgamation of such indigenous knowledge in resource conservation and climate change adaptation are also discussed. It concludes that the indigenous knowledge will help to address food and nutritional security in the face of climate change.
Protection against coastal disasters has been identified as an important service of mangrove ecosystems. Empirical studies on this service have been criticized, however, for using small samples and inadequately controlling for confounding factors. We used data on several hundred villages to test the impact of mangroves on human deaths during a 1999 super cyclone that struck Orissa, India. We found that villages with wider mangroves between them and the coast experienced significantly fewer deaths than ones with narrower or no mangroves. This finding was robust to the inclusion of a wide range of other variables to our statistical model, including controls for the historical extent of mangroves. Although mangroves evidently saved fewer lives than an early warning issued by the government, the retention of remaining mangroves in Orissa is economically justified even without considering the many benefits they provide to human society besides storm-protection services.
The need for credible, salient and legitimate climate change adaptation options in the water sector, which target location specific adaptation requirements, is well recognized. In developing countries, the low-hanging fruit; no-regret options, should be identified with stakeholders and assessed against future changes in water availability and demand, for comparing effectiveness and robustness. Such integrated basin-scale assessments, including reservoir catchment and command areas, can suitably inform adaptation decision-making. In this study, we integrate participatory and modelling approaches for evaluation of reservoir catchment and command area no-regret options addressing water availability and demand in the Kangsabati river basin. Through multi-level stakeholder workshops we identify and prioritize options, followed by evaluation of two reservoir catchment options; check dams and increasing forest cover and three reservoir command options; changing cropping pattern, traditional ponds and waste water reuse, using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model. We use four high resolution (~25 km) regional climate model simulations of future climatic factors, along with non-climatic factors affecting water demand, for forcing WEAP. We find that options have varied ability in addressing adaptation requirements. Amongst catchment options, increasing forest cover addresses adaptation requirements more suitably than check dams, while in the command areas we observe mixed abilities of options, leading to the inference that combining complementary options may be a more useful strategy. We conclude by discussing our experiences with this approach in a developing country context, in terms of benefits, limitations, lessons learnt and future research directions.