Understanding local adaptation to climate induced water hazards : A case study in the eastern Assam flood plain in the

Brahmaputra river basin, India

Researchers Workshop on Climate Change and Migration in Asia and the Pacific

Partha J Das
Water Climate and Hazard Programme AARANYAK (A Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation of India) Guwahati-781 028 Email: partha@aaranyak.org

Organised by ADB, IOM and ADPC Date: 14 September, 2011 Auditorium Zone A ADB Headquarters Manila(Philippines)
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Objective

To document and assess traditional and contemporary coping and adaptation strategies of indigenous communities to climate induced water hazards
Methodology Primary research Rapid Rural Appraisal(RRA) , Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA), Historical Time Line, Trend analysis, Secondary Research Study of climate change indicators Socioeconomic profile of the villages Expert opinion for validation of PRA results(selective)

Warming over the Brahmaputra Basin

During 1971-2003 warming over the basin of Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) was 0.30C per decade (YOU Qinglong, 2007) This is significantly higher than the rate of increase of the average annual temperature over India (0.22 C per decade) in the same period(Kothawale and Rupa Kumar , 2005). Considering the entire Brahmaputra basin there is a clear increasing trend in temperature at an average rate of 0.06 C per decade(Immerzeel, 2008)

Major climate-induced water hazards in the Brahmaputra river basin, India

Rainstorms, high rainfall episodes(cloud burst)

Flooding; Flash Flooding/Debris Flow

Landslide Dam outburst Flooding(LDOF) Glacial Lake Outburst Flooding(GLOF) Siltation/Sand casting/Land degradation Shift in river course; River bank erosion Landslide(in hills) River-dam Induced flooding; Reduced Environmental Flow

Water Scarcity/Drought (moderate)

Disaster Vulnerability Map: The state of Assam, India

Assam has the largest flood prone area in the country, 3.2 million ha, or 40% of the states total geographical area 9.6% of the country's total flood prone area

Vulnerability Index
eh_bnd 0 0 0.39 About -2000 villages inundated every year 0.4 - 0.44
0 0 - 0.39 0.4 - 0.44 0.45 - 0.47 0.47 - 0.50 0.51 - 0.53 0.54 - 0.56 0.57 - 0.62

Vulnerability Index

Average annual crop damage : Rs. 2500 million

0.45 - 0.47 0.51 - 0.53 0.47 - million people are annually affected About 3 0.50

Courtesy: ICIMOD, Kathmandu 0.54 - 0.56

0.57 - 0.62

Adaptation study districts: Lakhimpur, Dhemaji

Location of study area

Learning to live with too much water :Majgaon

Flooding 2008

Flooding -2008

Water induced Hazards: Matmora

Sand casting(siltation)

Erosion of river bank

The menace of sand casting in Dhemaji district

Burial of a School under sand: the All Assam Miri Higher Secondary School at Khamon Birina village, Matmora

Pro-active /Anticipatory Adaptation(Preparedness)

Reactive Adaptation

Adaptation in housing (Mising Community)

The CHANG GHAR: Stilt House is a classic example of traditional adaptation strategy Modern influence increases the durability and safety of the raised house but reduces its flexibility to change with flood level
Concrete staircase to a chang ghar

Chang Ghar

Adaptation in housing (Other communities)

Inhouse chang

Residence

Granary

Granary cum Shelter

Coping to Survive
(non-farm livelihood)
Trade in fish and dried fish Selling country liquor Daily wage earning (both men and women) Collecting and selling of drift wood and fuel wood Carpentry & timber trade Weaving Labour migration for menial work(e.g. rickshaw pulling) Labour migration for jobs to Kerala, Nagaland(rubber, plywood factory) Trade in milk

Selling country liquor is a common source of income

Carpentry skills lead to a new livelihood

Community(planned) Adaptation

Youth group in rebuilding effort Development intervention

High rise platform Women in rescue service

Public Adaptation
Police Station, Majuli

Road construction under MGNREGA

Government buildings being built on elevated platform at Majuli river island as a flood proofing strategy. The Chang-Ghar model promoted for public or private buildings/houses by the Government

New Circuit House, Majuli

Governance of flood mitigation infrastructure

Settlement on embankment is a common coping practice that makes people and structures more vulnerable in the long-term

Lack of maintenance of embankment: Jiadhal river, Dhemaji

Geo textile tube based embankments at Matmora on the Brahmaputra river

Environmental migration in Assam

Internal or local migration: within the state
Trans-border migration from other states and neighbouring countries Climate change is one of the many drivers of displacement and migration within Assam No appropriate legal and policy instruments to address the causes and consequences of environmental migration

Migration, Adaptation and Resilience

Migration is both a coping and adaptation strategy Migration may or may not result in reduction of vulnerability and risk depending on selection of sites and adaptive capacity of communities/households concerned Crisis of land is a constraint to migration based adaptation

Enabling(E) & Disabling(D) Factors influencing community adaptation

Traditional knowledge and skills(E) Social and cultural norms and traditions(E/D) Social network and cohesion(E) Structural intervention(E/D) External help and assistance(E/D)

Governance(Policy, programme, implementation)(E/D)

Political affiliation and influence(E/D) Household/community and labour /individual migration(E/D)

Key Learning
Indigenous communities have been responding to floods and other water-related stresses in unique ways, based on their traditional knowledge systems.

With the intensity , frequency and uncertainty of the hazards increasing in recent times, their ways of coping and adapting have also changed and have sometimes become less effective.
Cultural norms and traditions play a significant role in determining how these communities cope and adapt.

Key Learning
Insensitive governance regimes are making people more vulnerable and less adaptive Migration at community, household or individual level is a common response strategy to hazards but do not always lead to reduction of vulnerability and increase in resilience.
Local coping and adaptation needs to be supported by implementing improved DRR practices and proper policy and institutional reforms

Acknowledgement Villagers of the study sites in Assam, ICIMOD, SIDA, UNEP, SEI,CICERO, NIDM