Managing Community Impacts of Climate Change
Workshop Proceedings
Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 March, 2012
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Welcome
Professor Amiya Bagchi
Director, Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, India
The impacts of climate change in South Asia are already evident with millions of people affected
by cyclones, droughts and floods. Poor rural communities are particularly vulnerable and
persistent poverty arises from women more occupied with collecting water than caring for and
educating their children. Public investment in education is still low. Developing a community
response to climate change is fundamental to social well being. Migration from affected areas (e.g.
floods, impoverished lands) is an adaptive response but can create additional problems in already
overcrowded cities. India and Bangladesh share water resources, in particular those of the Ganga
Basin. I welcome the involvement of participants in this workshop from these two nations.
Summary of Presentations
Dr Paul McShane
Project Leader, Monash Sustainability Institute, Monash University, Australia
Knowledge management for improved community outcomes in response to climate change.
This program aimed to identify and promote measures to improve community resilience and
sustainable livelihood systems in the Ganga Basin in response to climate change. Parallel processes
include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
population increase and concentration in urban settings;
pressure on social-physical infrastructure arising from high density occupancy in cities;
community health issues arising from poor sanitation and water quality;
transition from agriculture to industry to support economic growth;
climate change including variable rainfall, floods, droughts and cyclones; and
land clearing and land use change.
A co-ordinated response to these processes is frustrated by poor communication among agencies
within and among states (including nations occupying the Ganga Basin). Knowledge management
is the systematic collection and sharing of information to inform policy. It includes formal
knowledge (e.g. science) and informal knowledge (e.g. traditional wisdom). Knowledge
management promotes shared understanding which is important given top down policy
aspirations (e.g. an adaptive response to climate change) and a bottom up response (change in
behaviour at community level consistent with effective adaptation). This requires mapping of how
information is collected shared and stored, identification of barriers to (or opportunities for)
knowledge transfer among agencies; an alignment of economic, social and environmental
information, and a co-ordinated approach to policy development and implementation. The
identification of mutual benefits among states is a pathway to collective action. For example,
ecosystem services offered by upstream states (e.g. proactive catchment management) can
provide benefits to downstream states. Explicit valuation of non-market services, such as
maintenance of ecosystem integrity, should be part of a collaborative approach to river basin
management across state boundaries.
Page 2
Dr Ashish Ghosh
Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
Challenging sustainability: a case study on climate change adaptation and food security from the
Sundarbans.
The Sundarbans is one of the largest deltas in the world and is home to some five million people.
Climate change is already evident with the Sundarbans experiencing increases in sea level higher
than world averages. Food security in the region is affected by declining soil fertility and saline
intrusion. Application of pesticides has created community health problems. This has resulted in
adverse responses including migration and debt. An initiative to adapt to climate change and to
respond to food security issues involved the isolation of traditional strains of rice. With the “green
revolution” in India, traditional rice varieties have become rare or extinct. Salt-tolerant varieties
were grown and seeds harvested for wider distribution among participating farmers. Traditional
wisdom was an important knowledge driver in culturing these rice varieties. Planting manuals in
the local language have been produced. Trials have now been extended to 5000 farmers who have
enthusiastically adopted the traditional rice varieties with successful outcomes.
Professor Joyashree Roy
Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
How sensitive policies and implementation are to ecosystem services.
The Sundarbans wetlands exemplify ecosystem services which provide a number of benefits
including water quality and agricultural productivity. These represent a unique variety of public
goods. Goods and services flow from a natural capital base. However, current land use/allocation
decisions do not account for these services. Engineering interventions (embankments to prevent
floods) are more tangible examples of economic intervention in land management. Socioeconomic activity can create conflict among land use. For example, migration of labour,
conversion of forests to agriculture, and development of shrimp aquaculture can cause conflict.
Land allocation decisions must consider ecosystem services which can be costed in economic
terms. Loss of biodiversity, land erosion, sedimentation, salinity, eutrophication can all arise from
poor land management and a failure to maintain key ecosystem services. These failures can be
measured in economic terms. Non-market valuation must be applied in a policy setting to weigh
ecosystem impacts against economic gains from land use.
Dr Jenia Mukherjee
Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, India
Ecosystems for life: studying the role of ecosystem
services in the community.
The Ganges river basin, particularly in the lower reaches,
contains “chars” or ephemeral sand banks important to
migratory communities in the region. The establishment of
the Farakka barrage accelerated the process of settlement
and resettlement of chars.
Page 3
Ecosystem services can be valued against an equivalent replication in a technologically produced
biosphere. Ecosystem services include:
•
•
•
•
provisioning (e.g. food and water);
regulatory (e.g. waste, water purification, crop pollination);
supporting (e.g. nutrient dispersal, primary production); and
cultural (e.g. recreation, spiritual needs).
Work under an IUCN sponsored project examined communities in the Ganga Basin and examined
services and benefits to the communities including those occupying chars. Char communities are
particularly vulnerable to climate change and to human interventions such as major dam
construction. Three degrees of adaptation can be recognised:
•
•
•
powerless spectators;
coping; and
adaptive managers.
A requirement is to transform communities from coping to adaptive managers. This requires
institutional support.
Professor Bob Pokrant, Curtin University, Perth, Australia, and
Mr Mohklesur Rahman, Centre for Natural Resource Studies, Dhaka, Bangladesh
India, Bangladesh and the governance of the Ganga Brahmaputra Meghna Basin in an age of
climate change.
The study of villages in the lower Ganges basin in Bangladesh examined community-based
adaptation and trans-boundary governance. Salt water shrimp farming interferes with aquatic and
terrestrial biodiversity upon which most of the poor survive. Rice farming is under threat through
lack of freshwater (saline intrusion) and erratic rainfall. Institutional arrangements are not
participatory, pro-poor or pro-environment. Multiple resources systems (e.g. forests and fisheries)
are managed exclusively by the forest department. Climate change is already affecting livelihoods
in the region and is a multi-scalar governance issue. Community-based adaptation is a regional
issue. Community is the main agent of change, but needs a broader regional context given the
scale of climate change and the regional context. Trans-boundary governance is required. Complex
ecological interdependencies are rarely recognised or considered in national planning. Regional
water management bodies (e.g. SAARC) are generally weak and lack force in encouraging regional
co-operation. There is a need to shift from a hydrocentric
model to an ecocentric model and apply a systemic
approach to natural resource management.
Page 4
Professor S.K. Sarkar
University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
Arsenic and its species in sediments and biota of the Ganges River Basin.
Speciation of arsenic in inorganic and organic forms considerably affects its toxicity. For example,
arsenite is 60 times more toxic than arsenate. Arsenic contamination of the Ganga and its
tributaries in West Bengal is a current problem with many districts exceeding the WHO limit of 50
µg/l. Arsenic derives from natural sources (volcanic activity, rock weathering) but increasingly
anthropogenic sources (e.g. pesticides). Floods and other climate change impacts will create
further problems with arsenic contamination. Mangrove systems can act as both a sink and a
buffer and should be considered as part of an adaptive response to climate change.
Dr Ajoy Kumar Misra
Former Senior Hydrologist, Central Groundwater Board, Kolkata, India
Groundwater quality problems in West Bengal.
Arsenic contamination of ground water in West Bengal is a major problem. Salinity and fluoride
contamination are also problems. There has been a fall of 7 to 11 mtrs. in ground water over the
last 50 years in the Kolkata region. This has encouraged the development of ground water
reserves from deeper aquifers with pumping. Coal mining and seepage into groundwater can
further compound contamination problems. Arsenic contamination impacts can be measured in
community health and loss of labour productivity. Climate change will cause further impacts as
changes to rainfall increase dependencies on ground water by local communities.
Discussion Day 1:
•
Transition versus transformation. Regional collaboration is a prerequisite to adapting to climate
change.
•
There needs to be a shift from the state as the only actor in an adaptive response to climate
change.
•
Adaptation needs to be integrated into development planning. Current national water
management policies tend to lack climate change considerations.
•
There is a need to take a problem-based approach rather
than a discipline-based approach. Technical jargon will
not change behaviour.
•
There needs to be a move towards deliberative
governance at local levels. Regional alliances mediated by
NGOs can assist local communities.
Page 5
•
Climate change and development are linked. Development has created climate change and further
development needs to consider climate change impacts (adaptation and mitigation).
•
Education is an important pathway to inform young people.
•
The identification of mutual benefits is a key driver of collaborative action among states.
•
Policies must be flexible. Many good practices cannot be transferred because of inflexible policies.
•
Co-ordination among natural resource management agencies is often poor and can affect a
collaborative response to management.
•
Economic development (e.g. mining/forestry) should be consistent with sustainability.
•
Scientists should not be disinterested observers but should actively participate in climate change
policy debates.
•
Acceptance of the reality of climate change must be mainstream.
Day 2.
Dr Ajit Banerjee
Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, India
Delay in emergency measures to moderate global warming in the Indo-Gangetic region.
Climate change is generally accepted, but its regional impact varies considerably, particularly in
South Asia. The Ganga basin can be subdivided into: the mountainous, indo-gangetic and the
deltaic subregions. Climate change will impact these sub-regions differently. The mountainous
subregion is characterised by forested areas with agricultural concessions. The indo-gangetic
subregion has numerous large cities with high productivity and the deltaic subregion includes the
Sundarbans wetlands and has many poor rural communities. Changes to forest species will affect
the mountainous regions. Mass migration will impact on urbanisation and on community health.
Saline intrusion and greater frequency and severity of major climatic events (e.g. floods, cyclones)
will affect the deltaic subregion. This emphasises the need for a co-ordinated regional approach to
climate change adaptation.
Dr Partha J. Das
AARANYAK, Assam, India
Local coping and adaptation strategies to climateinduced water hazards and their relevance for
community resilience and development in riparian areas:
perspectives from the Brahmaputra basin.
Coping strategies to climate change in the Brahmaputra
basin involve too much or too little water.
Page 6
Understanding local coping strategies to climatic events can provide insights into potential
adaptive responses to future climate change. Likely climate change scenarios include decreased
rainfall in the winter months (Jan/Feb) and increasing monsoonal rains. Related impacts include
land degradation due to siltation and sand casting. Sand deposited (through flood events) on
prime agricultural land can lead to severe losses of productivity with concomitant economic and
social impact. Social and cultural norms are key determinants of adaptive capacity and strategies
for climate change, for example, local adaptation strategies in agriculture (cropping calendars,
crop types). At the extreme, coping strategies could include moving away from agriculture-based
livelihoods. Mal-adaptation includes migration to vulnerable areas e.g. chars or embankments
vulnerable to flooding. Governance applicable to the Brahmaputra basin tends to be nonparticipatory, non-transparent and lacks accountability. There is a need for a conceptual and
analytical framework for adaptation planning at representative scales (national, sub-national, and
local).
Dr Tasneem Sidiqqui
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Migration as a coping strategy to climate change impacts.
Migration can be an effective adaptation to climate change but it can also lead to further
problems e.g. cultural conflict, over-crowding, and competition for resources. In this regard
migration is a threat but it is also a logical and legitimate livelihood diversification strategy for a
section of those who have been displaced or who have lost their livelihood. In Bangladesh, some
400 to 500 thousand Bangladeshis migrate abroad and contribute some US$12 billion in
remittances. When considering drivers of migration there are slow onset processes including land
degradation, salinity, changing rainfall patterns; and there are rapid onset processes including
floods and cyclones. Most migrants move locally rather than greater distances e.g. chars. Many
migrants lack capacity to move to less vulnerable areas. They require resources and alternative
livelihoods. Migration from rural to urban creates urban sprawls and problems associated with
dense city living (e.g. health, sanitation). This needs to be considered in a regional response to
climate change adaptation.
Ms Sreoshi Singh
South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, Andhra Prades, India
Peri-urban water security: adapting to climate change in South Asia.
Peri-urban communities are at the interface between rural
and urban society. Typically, they are transition zones with
mixed land use. They have no identifiable boundaries and
include socially-mixed populations. Land acquisition changes
water access and alters demand for water. Conflict between
water use can arise e.g shrimp aquaculture vs agriculture.
Crop calendars may change with climate. Dependencies on
tube wells and water collection can be burdensome
particularly on women and children. The development of
rainwater harvesting systems offers alternatives for clean
drinking water particularly for peri-urban communities.
Page 7
Key findings and recommendations:
•
Education is a key driver of change, meeting a need to raise awareness and understanding
of climate change impacts and responses.
•
Local knowledge and engagement is pivotal to an effective adaptive response (social and
cultural norms.
•
Climate change policies must be flexible and adaptive: e.g. National water plans need to
incorporate climate change.
•
Non-market valuation of ecosystem services and other public goods must enter the
mainstream and influence policy: the cost of inaction is greater than action (Stern).
•
There is a need to shift from the state as the only actor: climate change action and
development must be linked.
•
Interdependence of regions must be recognised in national planning.
•
Resilience to climate change may involve coping rather than adaptation. This will lead to
persistent vulnerability and community disturbance.
•
Proactive migration can significantly improve ability to cope or adapt to environmental
change but must be managed to avoid mal-adaptation.
•
Peri-urban issues arise from shifts from rural to urban settings and requires improved
institutional arrangements.
Knowledge management
Poverty Reduction
Economic Development
Adaptation to Climate Change
Community Development
Central agency
National target
Program
Local
government
Community
development
Water availability
Community health
Education
Legal and regulatory framework
Monash Sustainability Institute
Formal
knowledge
Governance
Traditional
wisdom
Culture
10
Page 8
Recommendations
•
Trans-boundary management of rivers requires institutional arrangements responsive to
information exchange.
•
Expert advice must be translated into language relevant to climate change. Abstract concepts
which may be well known to scientists should be accessible to policy makers and local communities
alike. Communities are diverse and cultural, ethnic, and religious differences will affect their
response to climate change and to acceptance (or rejection) of policy options (to adapt to climate
change).
•
Consideration to the establishment of a multi-national agency which oversees management of the
Ganga Basin could be established. The example of the Mekong River Commission, while not
perfect, provides a working case-study of international collaboration. In any case multi-track
diplomacy is required.
•
Knowledge management (see diagram above) includes the systematic collection and sharing of
information from top (policy) to bottom (community response). Case studies presented in this
workshop emphasise the importance of traditional wisdom in considering adaptive responses. This
also encourages collaborative (rather than conflicting) participation among agencies (among and
between states).
Page 9