Anamika Barua

Climate change and poverty: building resilience of rural mountain communities in South Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India

The rural mountain communities have long faced challenges from a range of social, economic, political and environmental factors and the threat from these factors has only intensified due to the current climate change. This study was conducted in South Sikkim, a mountain region located in the Indian Eastern Himalaya, to get a deeper insight of the multitude of barriers and stresses that a poor rural mountain community experiences. The purpose of the study was to get community’s perception on the kind of interventions that they consider important to lift them out of poverty and enhance their resilience to manage climate risk. The analysis is based on focus group discussions and household survey, using a multidimensional poverty assessment tool. The study highlights that the vulnerability of the study region to climate change is not concentrated to physical or geographical factors alone, but mostly to the socio-economic factors like lack of access to education, health care, limited livelihood opportunities, limited resources, etc. People consider that these non-climatic factors act as barriers for them to overcome poverty, contribute to their weak resilience, and make it extremely difficult for them to manage the risk posed by climate change. The study therefore suggests that it is of utmost importance that the interventions are planned in ways that address the multidimensional poverty in the region which in turn will enhance community’s inherent capacity to adapt to current as well as future climate risk.

An empirical analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution in India

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) has become an accepted standard for describing the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation. However, the available evidence based on the EKC for water is ambiguous and it varies depending on the sets of countries selected for the study. This leaves an open question whether there is an EKC type of relationship for water. This paper contributes to this debate by using per capita income and water quality indicators for 16 states of India along with a variety of relevant explanatory variables. Using a panel data set for 20 years (1981-2001) we apply both the Generalised Least Square (GLS) and Arellano-Bond Generalised Method of Moments (GMM A-B) econometric methods. We did not find evidence in support of the EKC hypothesis. Overall, we found that the decline in pollution during the process of economic growth is only temporary, as it tends to rise with further income growth. Population density, livestock population and literacy are found to have strong effects on the water quality of the rivers of India.

Powering or sharing water in the Brahmaputra River basin

Abstract This article examines the power interplay that shapes the transboundary water interaction in the Brahmaputra River basin. The article provides two key insights based on data sharing and bilateralism aspects. First, the lack of a standard, hydrological data-sharing mechanism has created a sense of mistrust between riparians. Second, bilateralism and power asymmetry between the riparian countries has created a sense of unilateral control over the Brahmaputra River. This article concludes that due to regional geo-politics, issues of sovereignty, and unequal power, negotiation for a multilateral basin-wide treaty at this moment is a non-starter in the Brahmaputra basin.

Assessment of interstate virtual water flows embedded in agriculture to mitigate water scarcity in India (1996–2014)

India is the largest global freshwater user despite being highly water scarce. Agriculture is largest consumer of water and is most affected by water scarcity. Water scarcity is a persistent challenge in India, due to a gap in science and policy spheres. Virtual Water (VW) flows concept to mitigate water scarcity is at the science-policy interface. The paper aims to address the gap in VW research in India by first analyzing the interstate VW-flows embedded in food grains, and then linking these VW-flows with the water scarcity situation in the states, and elements of state and national water policies for the postreforms, and recovery periods of Indias agriculture. There were net water savings (WS) of 207.5 PL during 1996–2014, indicating sustainable flows at the national level. WS increased from 11.2 TL/yr (1996–2005) to 25931.7 TL/yr (2005–2014), with the increase in interstate movement of food grains, and yield. However, unsustainable flows are seen at subnational scale, as VW-flows are from highly water-scarce states in North to highly water-scarce states in West and South. These flows are causing a concentration of water scarcity in water-scarce zones/states. Net VW imports were found to be driven by larger population and net VW exports by arable land. Further, the absence of state water policy cripples water management. Therefore, the paper argues that there is a need to rethink policy decisions on agriculture at the national and state level by internalizing water as a factor of production, through VW research.

Contribution of Urbanization to Emissions: Case of Guwahati City, India

The focus of research over the years has been mostly on industrial greenhouse gas emissions. While there has been an extensive analysis of the drivers of aggregate CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production, analysis of the drivers of greenhouse gases emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses which are also known as non-industrial emissions are limited (Sanchez and Stern in Ecol Econ 124:17–24, 2016). Agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) represents 20–24% of the global GHG emissions, the largest emitting sector next to energy. In Asia, the AFOLU sector is important and accounts for the largest proportion of global AFOLU emissions. India is the world’s fourth largest economy and fifth largest global GHG emitter. The net AFOLU emissions in India were 146.7 million tCO2e, accounting for about 11% of its net national emissions. The agricultural emissions were 355.6 million tCO2e, accounting for 23% of gross national emissions and 96% of gross AFOLU emissions in the same year. AFOLU is not the largest emitter in India. The forestry and other land use (FOLU) is, on the other hand, an important sink with net removals of 236 million tCO2e as reported in 2000. Cities and towns have been found to be settled after clearing large areas under forest cover in Assam. The present study examines the non-Industrial (AFOLU) emissions in the city of Guwahati. This study analyses 100 years trend (1911–2015) of deforestation and conversion of forests to settlements, wetlands and agricultural land and fuelwood burning within the city limits. The area values of AFOLU sectors were computed from maps and satellite images. Emission factor (EF) values were obtained from available literature to study the AFOLU emissions in the city. The findings indicate that the share of deforestation in CO2 emission increased from 49% in 1911 to 85% in 2011, and contributed almost 0.91 tCO2 per capita to the total emissions. Past 100 years average AFOLU emission per capita for Guwahati was found to be 1.81 tCO2 against 1.03 tCO2 for the last 50-year average. The results would be useful for policymakers given the fact that the city of Guwahati is one of the 100 cities in India that has been taken up for the smart city project presently underway in the country. Moreover, the results of the study would also be useful for further research and decision-making for achieving the SDG 11.

Assessment of climate induced seasonality of tourism for planning sustainable tourism - a case of Northeast India

Tourisms contribution to Indias economy is growing significantly. Its development in northeast region is perceived crucial for livelihood diversification and security in an otherwise agriculture-based economy. As tourism is climate-sensitive, and its potential depends on climate-induced seasonality, it is crucial to prioritise sustainable tourism. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the potential of tourism sector based on the climate-induced seasonality of tourism in Northeast India by using the tourism climatic index (TCI). Recognition of sustainable tourism by state tourism policies provides the impetus for the proposed research. Uniqueness of the study is that findings of TCI were matched with field survey. Further, perceptions of tourism service providers on climate change were gathered. Among the states considered, Meghalaya and Sikkim were found to have suitable climatic conditions throughout the year, while Assam has only five months. The paper concludes that capturing state-specific climate-tourism interaction is crucial for planning sustainable tourism.

Understanding the multifaceted attributes to rural poverty while assessing the water-poverty-climate change linkage in the Indian Eastern Himalaya

Rural livelihoods depend extensively on water resources. Continued climate change may put the lives and livelihoods of rural poor under greater risk, due to lack of water. Yet poverty is a multifaceted and complex issue, as there are numerous factors which lead to poverty. To presume that there is a direct link between water and poverty is a simplistic way of looking at a complex relationship. Therefore, this paper makes an attempt to understand the multifaceted attributes of poverty, while simultaneously examining the water poverty linkage in the context of climate change, using a Multidimensional Poverty Assessment Tool (MPAT). The paper, with the help of a case study from a region located in the Indian Eastern Himalaya, argues that water is essential, but not sufficient for sustained poverty reduction, as the ultimate goal of any poverty eradication effort should be to increase resilience of rural poor to any unforeseen extreme event.