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Adapting to a Changing Environment

Sahyog Sansthan

Udaipur (Raj.), Índia

An Overview Of Our Solution

Who is this solution impacting?
Ecossistema
Grasslands
Grasslands
Tipo de comunidade
Rural
Rural
Additional Information
  • Population Impacted:
  • Continent: Asia
General Info

Endereço

53, Old Fatehpura, Bedla Road
Udaipur (Raj.) 313 001
Índia

E-mail

sahyogsanthan@gmail.com
Problem

População impactada

5000 households, 90 villages (30 thousand population)

Tamanho

120 kilometers

Principais ocupações

Agriculture, animal husbandry & wage labouring

Recursos locais dos quais a comunidade depende e com que finalidade

The community, mostly tribal and marginalized farming families, depends on available (meager) agricultural land, monsoon rains and water resources, livestock, decreasing forests, common property resources and very limited capacities to anticipant .....

Ameaças locais aos recursos

The resources in our work area are under the following serious threat (A) Denuded hills and less vegetative cover exposes the land to various erosions leading to converting these semi arid areas into arid region. (B) The commercial and industrial .....

Perigos climáticos

The community has been categorically expressing their concerned about (A) Changing nature of climate and its adverse impact on their water resources and fodder availability. (B) The variability of climate conditions and the inaccurate predictability in the region poses a serious threat to the livelihood systems of the community particularly the poor and large marginalized section in rural tribal areas. (C) The most critical and crucial base of livelihood, the agriculture and livestock are being undermined with special reference to agro-ecological restoration, management and sustainability. (D) Droughts effects severely the agriculture, livestock and livelihood of people and the local and regional evidences have been indicating that droughts would affect the majority the people in arid and semi arid regions like ours in coming times.

Nível de sensibilidade

The variability in climate condition and the variation in precipitation, have been affecting the agricultural productivity, water and forests on the one land and the livelihood base of the resource poor community on the other. The uneven and erratic rainfall (flooding or droughts) damages the crops, increases livestock causalities and accentuate stressed migration.

Nível de capacidade adaptativa

Level of adaptive capacity of community has been at the lowest because of the backward area, low literacy, degraded natural resources subsistence agriculture and exploitation of the poor by vested interests. The strategy to cope with the climate hazards as well as socio-economic millue and its adaptation by the community has been slow but effective for instance, development of common property resources and conservation of bio-diversity, appropriate conservation, effective management and judicious utilization of water, goat breed up-gradation and organic farming, vermi composting etc. related activities were planned and implemental in partnership with the community have been successful.
Solution

We visualized that the programme implemented would improve the entire livelihood system of these marginalized indigenous communities sustainability. It has been confirmed that the development of degraded land resources (arable, private and common pastures) have enabled the community to increase productivity in agriculture (leading to food security), fodder and fuel wood through agro-ecology in the village. Further, the rain water harvesting and conservation measures recharged the underground aquifers resulted in increased availability of water for long span as well as effective and judicious use of water in agriculture and drinking through innovative water banking system. Furthermore, the breed up-gradation of local breed of goat and introduction of improved indigenous breed (Gir) of cows have enhanced the ability of the community to earn additional income by selling milk and meat.

Results

Custos Ecológicos

**In Rs. Water bank system: 365,532 Low cost water harvesting structure: 201,317 Private pasture development (5 ha): 90,000 Common pasture development (14 ha): 314,542 Land development (4 ha): 30,000 Goat breed up-gradation (2 buck): 15,000 Agro-meteoro

Benefício Ecológico

Water bank system: 4 ha land of 12 families irrigated Low cost water harvesting structure: 5 wells recharged providing irrigation 20 ha of 22 families Private pasture development (5 ha): 12 families of Darjiyatalai have enough fodder for their animals Com

Indicadores Econômicos usados para medir o benefício

Water bank system: Additional area irrigated rabi crop production Low cost water harvesting structure: Additional area irrigated rabi crop production Private pasture development (5 ha): Bundals of grass production Common pasture development (14 ha): Bundals of grass production Land development (4 ha): Area covered Goat breed up-gradation (2 buck): No. of kids born, No. of kids sold Agro-meteorological lab (1): No. of farmers visiting lab and sharing information Energy (54 improved oven): Saving of fuel wood Renovation of open dug wells (7): Effective use of water

Custo comunitário/social

Salary, travel, stationery, office support, meeting, training, workshop and interface meetings, etc.: 611,000

Indicadores comunitários/sociais usados para medir o benefício

Vision and capacity of communities enhanced

Custo Econômico

1854991

Quais foram/são os desafios que sua comunidade enfrentou na implementação desta solução?

Poverty, illiteracy, zero risk taking capacity, resource deficitness and inaccessibility to the mainstream development agencies including government and resources meant for them have been serious challenges faced by the community in implementation. The challenges were met by enhancing the vision and capacity of the community to under stand and articulate and planning minimum achievable activities by harnessing the people?s potential. The significant risks in the continued success of these solutions include the powerful vested interests, undermining by endowed and powerful people and market forces.

Action

Descreva o processo baseado na comunidade usado para desenvolver a solução, incluindo ferramentas e processos usados

The socio-economic and political profile of the community was thoroughly studied and analyzed to identify the needs and the capacities of the poor and marginalized communities. Which, enabled us to understand local management dynamics, aptitude of the communities and development potentials to address the problem and find it solutions by promoting and nurturing community initiatives. On the basis of our field experience were visualized of initiated a programme for vulnerability assessment and enhance and adaptive capacities of people in semi arid area of Rajasthan (INDIA). The plan included four thematic areas hypothesis namely: water, land use, livestock and energy. Which are the support bases of the entire population of semi arid areas. The functional process included the socio eco profile of Kundai village (for 155 households), community meetings imparting technical know-how for planning and implementation of the various programmes. These meetings & trainings resulted in a group of 12 tribal (BPL) household of Darjiatalai hemlet of the village took the initiative for water conservation and its judicious utilization for irrigation and drinking purposes through water banking system. The activities included renovation of shared open dug well, installation of irrigation system (overhead tank and distribution through pipes) and management on cost sharing basis. The water banking system enabled them to replace the four diesel operated pump set on the well, by a 5 HP electric pump set owned by all 12 households, thus reducing the carbon emission as well as the saving of energy and cost. All decisions in this regards were taken by themselves with active participation of their families. Soil water conservation: The main livelihood base of the marginalized farming community has been isoil and water which have been exposed to climate change and degraded, required conservation and development. For this purpose, both indigenous and modern measures were implemented by the communities on cost sharing basis. These included traditional field bunding, PRT and checkdams, low cost small water harvesting structures. These measures enabled communities to stop further degradation and retention of moisture and soil in both arable and non-arable areas. This inturn has strengthened the ecosystem of the hemlet. Livestock : Livestock has been a crucial livelihood support sources in general and during droughts in particular for the communities in these semi arid areas. For livestock develop and management, we supported the community (on cost sharing basis) for protection and development of both public and private pasture lands for increased availability of fodder, fuel wood and conservation and management of bio-diversity. We also facilitated to increase their access for veterinary services for better management and treatment of livestock. Further, the up-gradation of the local breed good indigenous breed of goat and cow has been introduced. Technical know how was up-graded for feed and fodder management of cattle. Market linkages were facilitated for better returns from livestock products. Energy : The reduction of pressure on forest and vegetation cover has been imperative. We in partnership with college of technology and agricultural engineering and the community installed fuel saving device (improved oven) for cooking and related purposes. Diversification: The implementation of the above programme has resulted in diversification of agriculture and other livelihood sources. Agro-meteorological Lab: The community has been empowered to understand and use the weather related (rain, temperature, relative humility and wind) information for adapting to the changes in weather condition for agricultural and animal husbandry activities. In this regard one agro meteorological laboratory has been established in Dargiyatalai hemlet in the year 2007. Since than the lab has been managed and maintained by a group of young tribal men and women trained to record and analyse the data on daily basis (two times a day). This work is performed voluntarily. Records are up-to-date and information shared with in and neighboring villages. The vulnerability assessment and enhancing adaptative capacity of climate change in semi arid regions of India was implemented from 2005 to 2008 by Sahyog Sansthan, Udaipur with financial support of Swiss agency for Development cooperation, (Switzerland) and scientific and technical support by Dr. M. S. Swminathan foundation, Channi and local techno-managerial support by AFPRO, New Delhi. Since the completion it has been managed and maintained by the local communities as planned and required. The community has shown the adaption to these changes from time to time. The system has been adapted and replicated by other NGOs Panchayat and corporates in the state of Rajasthan. The approach was to involve community actively in decision making processes and self help groups were instrumental at all levels of processes.

Perigo climático preocupante

Drought

Como sua solução reduz a exposição e amortece/protege o ecossistema afetado?

Since droughts have been one of the serious climatic hazards in the semi arid regions, mitigation of such extremes of shortage of water food and fodder has been achieved greatly by restoration of sound eco system and increased adaptive capacity of the community through accomplishment of the above mentioned activities. Significantly the intervention has made available safe drinking water and nutritive diet to the local community and animals. *** The increased adaptive capacity of the community together with improved water recharged under ground acquitters would support sustain food and fodder production during the drought conditions and reduce the threat to livelihood system of the vulnerable communities in such drought prone semi arid regions.

How has your solution increased the capacity of the ecosystem to adapt to potential climate changes?

The soil conservation in this area has increased the potential of the ecological, as well as human systems to adapt to potential climate changes by increased under ground water recharged, stopped degradation and more vegetative cover on the one hand and the discouraging the deep bore wells, promotion of agro ecological practices, effective community management and governance system, equity based judicious utilization of natural resources on the other. It has been confirmed by evidences in about 90 villages in rural tribal semi arid areas covering about 5 thousand household with a total population of about 30 thousand.

Como sua solução reduz a exposição e amortece/protege as comunidades afetadas?

Due to conservation and regeneration of natural resources, the enhanced capacity of people and the availability of water, food and fodder have reduced the hardships caused by drought and extreme climatic changes. During the past 25 years of our work the created assets like 132 low cost water harvesting structure, developed 4016 hectare of arable and non arable land, 559 well renovated, 39 hectare of common pastures and 567 hectare of private pasture developed and 13 community irrigation schemes have conspicuous evidences in this regard.

Como sua solução reduz a sensibilidade das comunidades afetadas?

The interventions have reduced the sensitivity of the community to the extent of 25 to 30%.

Como sua solução aumentou a capacidade das comunidades locais de se adaptarem a possíveis mudanças climáticas?

The capacity and know-how of local communities have been enhanced through a network of small grass root people organization (SHGs) as well as changes in the attitudes, articulation and sharing methods of adaptation to climatic changes have been evident. The platforms for such sharing have been village level meetings, group trainings experience sharing and joint workshop interface meeting between villages and line departments for synergy and mainstreaming.

Scale

Esta solução pode ser replicada em outro lugar?

The solution are being adapted and implemented by people, voluntary organizations and mainstream agencies at local state and national level. These solutions one community owned and managed. These are planned implemented by participatory approach and cost sharing purpose leading to promotion of transparency, sustain ability and democratic decontaminate for better management and governance.

Overview
Solution
Scale
Rare
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