Building upon the Adaptive Capacity to Livelihood Resilience in arid, semi arid and
flood prone regions
Presented by
Aditi DassWinrock International India
May 11, 2006
Outline of presentation
Case Study on Drought and Flood in India
• Risks & vulnerabilities
• Adaptation strategies
States selected on the basis of the level of vulnerability of the states to droughts, floods and cyclones which is a function of damages reported
Villages within the most drought prone districts of Rajasthan, Andhrapradesh and Karnataka have been selected.
Similarly, a case study in Orissa has been taken up within a flood prone district, which is also susceptible to cyclones.
Case Studies
37 37
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ExtremeTemperature
Land slides Wind Storm Flood Drought
No.
of e
vent
s
0
400
800
1200
1600
Tota
l no.
of p
eopl
e af
fect
edno. of events
total affected
Number of people affected due to various extreme events in India.
Damages due to extreme events between the period 1900 to 2004
Probability of Occurrence of Droughts
A perennial feature
19% of area affecting 12% of population annually
Frequency of droughts:
Tamilnadu, J&K, Telangana, West Rajasthan - every 2.5 years
Gujarat, E. Rajasthan & Western Uttarpradesh – every 3 years
Other states have droughts every 4-5 years
Based on the rainfall deficiency for the last 100 years
Severe droughts in India in last 100 years
Year % of country area affected
% of less rainfall over entire India
% of less rainfall over drought reg.
1918 71 -26 -491965 41 -17 -361972 47 -25 -351979 45 -21 -381987 50 -18 -45
After 1987, India experienced severe drought in 2002, where 29% of the area was affected
1984
1986
1997
2000
2001
2002
Temporal-spatial spread of drought & impacts
Drought is occurring in some or the other part of the country
Primary impacts: water availability, agriculture production, hydropower generation
Secondary Impact: Agricultural GDP dips, increase in commodity prices, livelihood of people dependent on rainfed farming (marginal farmers & farm laborers surviving) affected
Rainfed areas (61%) – most affected
Damages due to droughts
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
1984 1985 1986 1987
dist
ricts
/pop
ulat
ion
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
crop
ped
area
affe
cted
/ cat
tle
pop.
Number of Districtsaffected
Population affected(lakh)
Cropped Areaaffected (lakh ha)
Cattle populationaffected (lakh)
Case study analysis: Risks associated with droughts
• Depletion in water resources for agriculture and drinking : women walk 1-2 kms to fetch water
• Reduction in crop yields and change in cropping pattern
• Dwindling fodder stock and declining income of farmers lead cattle selling; esp. marginal and small farmers who sell at depressed prices
• Increased incidences of debt: • Decline in nutrition and health status:
malnutrition strikes (esp. among children and women) whenever drought occurs
AdaptationLocal Level Adaptation Case studies in Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhrapradesh Level of adaptation not sameGovernment Institutions and policies to combat droughts Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) Rural Works Programme Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) - labor intensive schemes such as medium and minor irrigation, road construction, soil conservation and afforest actionDissemination of technologies relating to soil management, water harvesting, improved agronomic practices and drought-resistant crops - CRIDADesert Development Programme (DDP) Integrated Watershed Management Programme – rejuvenate depleted natural resources on watershed basisNational Watershed Program for Rainfed Areas (NWSDPRA) –around 22 mha
Traditional coping strategies in response to drought
PhysicalHousehold/Community• Migration (15-30%)• Sale of assets (land, livestock, durable assets)• Reduce intake of food and decline in other
expenditure• Shift from superior to inferior food grain• Mixed cropping
State/Government• Food distribution system• Water supply (tanker, new wells etc)• Employment programs
Traditional coping strategies in response to drought (contd.)
Social EconomicSharing and cooperation
Borrowing
Sacrifice by senior hh members
Imports/assistance
New Community relationships
Diversification in source of income
Inter and intra community exchange programs
Subsidy/grants
- Relief works
Modern coping strategies
Farming techniques to retain productivity during droughts• Soil & water conservation practices• Farm Pond : enables storing runoff water • Planting drought resistant varieties: provided by the
state Agriculture Univ. • low adaptability of the above Livelihood: Education & skill based diversification of
occupation Livestock: ownership pattern changed from few people
owning bigger herd size to almost all hh owning few small animals
Govt. efforts: area – specific development programs initiated for drought prone areas to mitigate poverty
Conclusion - drought• Marginal & small farmers and landless hh are most vulnerable to
drought• Middle level farmers in AP have also fallen prey to recurrent
droughts due to:– Decline of crop acreage– Fall in water table & water harvesting structures– Fall in employment & purchasing power– Scarcity of food and fodder– Lack of change in cropping pattern & lack of drought resistant
seeds– Inability of farmers to repay loans with continuous droughts
• Drought in Rajasthan was effectively managed• Dominant strategies in drought prone areas:
– Adopting mixed farming system (crop, livestock & agro-forestry)– Resources conservation approach– Collective sustenance
1986 1988 2000 2003
Floods in India and its impacts
01020304050607080
1953
1955
1957
1959
1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999Po
pula
tion
affe
cted
(mill
ions
)
0
5
10
15
20
1953
1955
1957
1959
1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
Are
a af
fect
ed (M
ha)
2001
Government expenditure and Damages due to floods
205.
014
8.9
130.
086
.080
.479
.367
.763
.739
.337
.825
.420
.920
.418
.017
.616
.68.
44.
84.
33.
32.
42.
31.
61.
30.
70.
6
0
50
100
150
200
250
Utta
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rissa
Ker
ala
Him
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Pun
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Raj
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Nag
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Dam
ages
in C
rore
s (C
rop+
hous
eing
_pub
lic u
tiliti
es)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1974
-75
1975
-76
1976
-77
1977
-78
1978
-79
1979
-80
1980
-81
1981
-82
1982
-83
1983
-84
1984
-85
1985
-86
1986
-87
1987
-88
1988
-89
1989
-90
1990
-91
1991
-92
1992
-93
1993
-94
1994
-95
1995
-96
1996
-97
1997
-98
1998
-99
1999
-00
Gov
t. sp
endi
ng o
n irr
igat
ion
and
flood
co
ntro
l (RS
. IN
CRO
RES)
Impact of floodsFloods play major role in poverty & vulnerability, esp. of marginalized
communities • Damage on Infrastructure: health, sanitation, water supply, roads,
educational institutions and opportunities for environment • Loss of individual property:
– destroy of ‘kachcha’ houses, stored food & hh goods– Poor looses assets each time flood occurs– Poor have to take loans at high rate of interest for survival
• Health: – water borne diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid & other
gastrointestinal diseases are common– Lack of effective health care system– Unavailable & inaccessible due to prohibitive costs– Lack of clean drinking water, well water mixes with flood water
• Effect on women: – loose control over food, fodder, fuel & cattle rearing– In post-disaster recovery phases, women suffer the most– Can’t get loans against lands because it is never in their name
Structural measures:-
Construction of storage dams, reservoirs, embankments, drainage structures as required at suitable locations
•Raising the levels of the roads and constructing houses at higher heights or raising the plinth level of the houses
Non-structural measures:
•Flood forecasting & warning. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has a flood forecasting system covering 62 major rivers in 13 States with 157 stations for transmission of flood warnings on real time basis.
•Post-flood activities for rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations.
People’s Participation
Coping with Floods
Case study : Measures taken by Jagatsinghpur in Orissa (worst flood affected in 2001)
• Heights of embankments raised by 3-4 ft• Repairing jobs of weak points of embankment was taken
up by govt.• Elevated spot “merdha’ were used for immediate shelter to
flood affected people• Mud houses which were completely washed away, were
rebuilt at an elevated area• Just before onset of monsoon people got ready with dry
food reserve and other essential items• Different variety of paddy is sown in flood prone areas
which are not destroyed even if the plant remains under water until 10 days
Conclusion - flood
• 3 successive disasters have seriously affected sustainability of livelihoods in Jagatsinghpur– Super cyclone 1999– Flood 2001– Flood 2003
• Loss of thousands of lives • Areas most affected by flood of 2001 and 2003 were
areas affected by cyclone in 1999• Poor disaster preparedness• Restoration works have to extend beyond normal
time frame• Devastating flood has given opportunity to reflect
gaps in our disaster preparedness methods & mechanisms
Mainstreaming Climate Change, Vulnerability & Adaptation Concerns
Why
Climate change long term & impacts may be irreversible
Long gestation period required for adaptation (such as developing drought resistant varieties)
Infrastructure lifetimes are long and are at risk
Long time scales required for institutional arrangements to be in place for combating impacts of CC (national to village level)
What do we need to do differently because of the expected adverse impacts of climate change?
Policy Question
Thank You