Building upon the Adaptive Capacity to Livelihood Resilience in arid, semi arid and

flood prone regions

Presented by

Aditi Dass

Winrock 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

133

156

21

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ExtremeTemperature

Land slides Wind Storm Flood Drought

No

. of e

ven

ts

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400

800

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1600

To

tal n

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f pe

op

le a

ffect

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 -49

1965 41 -17 -36

1972 47 -25 -35

1979 45 -21 -38

1987 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

dis

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po

pu

lati

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1000

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1600

1800

cro

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are

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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 same

Government 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 action

Dissemination of technologies relating to soil management, water harvesting, improved agronomic practices and drought-resistant crops - CRIDA

Desert Development Programme (DDP)

Integrated Watershed Management Programme – rejuvenate depleted natural resources on watershed basis

National 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

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203040

5060

7080

1953

1955

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1963

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1953

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1959

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1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

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1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

Are

a af

fect

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Mh

a)

2001

Government expenditure and Damages due to floods

205.0

148.9

130.0

86.0

80.4

79.3

67.7

63.7

39.3

37.8

25.4

20.9

20.4

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17.6

16.6

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1974-7

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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