Presented by Aditi Dass Winrock International India May 11, 2006

1. 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

2. Outline of presentation • Case Study on Drought and Flood in India • Risks & vulnerabilities • Adaptation strategies

3. Case Studies 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.

4. Damages due to extreme events between the period 1900 to 2004 Number of people affected due to various extreme events in India.

5. 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

6. Severe droughts in India in last 100 years After 1987, India experienced severe drought in 2002, where 29% of the area was affected

7. 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 2000 1984 1986 2001 1997 2002

8. Damages due to droughts

9. 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

10. Adaptation Local 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

11. Traditional coping strategies in response to drought Physical Household/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

12. Traditional coping strategies in response to drought (contd.)

13. 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

14. 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

15. Floods in India and its impacts 2003 1986 1988 2000 2001

16. Government expenditure and Damages due to floods

17. Impact of floods Floods 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

18. Coping with Floods • 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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)

22. Policy Question What do we need to do differently because of the expected adverse impacts of climate change?

23. Thank You