Anchoring V&A in SDC's Country Programme India

SDC's Country Programme India 2003-2010 aims at supporting processes that render rural development in India sustainable and equitable. SDC is committed to support developments that are people centred, people owned and people controlled. The Country Programme focuses on poverty reduction in semi-arid, rural India through empowerment.[1] The objectives pursued by SDC supported projects also promote decentralization and change processes addressing discrimination of caste, class and gender.

The focus on vulnerability and adaptation provides synergies with SDC's thematic orientation of enhancing the access to resources and productivity of the poor through interventions within SDC's three focuses: retention and sustainable use of water, rural finance and employment, and rural energy and housing.

Climate change is increasing the pressure on available water resources and negatively affects the poor who have restricted access to water for drinking and agriculture purposes. Similarly, changes in climate do affect biomass production and thus further reduce the access to energy sources by the poor. Combating the impact of climate change on the livelihoods of the poor is directly linked to SDC's aim to enhance their productivity and employment opportunities.

The rationale for SDC's involvement in vulnerability and adaptation is not only based on the direct link to the thematic foci. It is also justified because of the alignment with the strategies and approaches set out in the Country Programme India. Important features of the V&A Programme in line with the Country Programme are the potential to:

·         address the implications of climate change in a holistic manner on the basis of sustainability thinking,

·         encompass socio-economic, gender, caste and class dimensions as well as equity concerns,

 ·        involve people and their institution and focus on communities that are the most vulnerable to climate.  

V&A in Semi-Arid Areas of India

India's recent initial National Communication to the UNFCCC[2] confirmed that the livelihoods of the majority of the Indian population are threatened due to the impacts of climate change. Nearly two thirds of the Indian population is rural. And most of the Indian rural population live in harsh climate regions of mountains, deserts and river deltas which make them more susceptible to a changing climate as their dependence on climate-sensitive natural resources is very high.

The Indian agriculture sector is monsoon dependent. Over 60 per cent of the crop area is under rain-fed agriculture that is highly vulnerable to climate variability and change. Any adverse impact on water availability due to recession of glaciers, decrease in rainfall and increased flooding in some pockets would threaten food security, cause degradation of ecosystems, affecting species that sustain the livelihood of rural households and impact the coastal system due to sea level rise.

The preliminary assessments in the National Communication also reveal that the severity of droughts and intensity of floods in various parts of India might increase and that the quantity of available run-off may be reduced. Large river basins of Sabarmati and Luni, which occupy about one quarter of the area of Gujarat and 60% of Rajasthan, may experience acute water scarcity conditions. The studies indicate that increased temperatures would increase enhanced crop water demand resulting in increased water-pumping requirements and subsequent decrease in ground water levels.

Biodiversity is also likely to be hit. About 70 % of the vegetation in India is likely to find itself less than optimally adapted to its present location, making it more vulnerable to adverse climatic conditions. The impacts on forests will have adverse socio-economic implications for forest dependent communities and the national economy, it adds. Sea level rise would have a significant impact on the coastal population and the total agricultural production of India.

Besides coastal zones, the arid and semi-arid areas are considered to be among the most vulnerable regions in India. Arid and semi-arid areas in India experience an annual rainfall between 100 and 400 mm or 400 and 800 mm respectively with a very high coefficient of variation ranging from 40 to 70%. Low and erratic rainfall coupled with extreme temperatures and intense solar radiation results in frequent crop failures and considerably affects the agricultural economy in these regions.[3]

Figures 1 and 2 indicate arid and semi-arid regions of India and the degree and nature of water stress in different regions.[4] These figures were prepared under the SIT project in 2001 (see chapter 1, Introduction) and also correspond to results presented in India's first National Communication. Andhra Pradesh in the South-East and Rajasthan in the North-West of India are among the most vulnerable states because of their extensive areas with arid and semi-arid conditions.

Correspondingly, the V&A programme of SDC shall contribute to enhance the adaptive capacity of local communities to better cope with adverse impacts of climate variability (e.g. increased droughts, monsoon variability) and climate change in selected sites of the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan where SDC has already supported other programmes and projects relating to natural resource and water management.