Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change Along the East Coast of India

Abstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that the “Warming in the climate system is unequivocal and since 1950 many changes have been observed throughout the climate system that are unprecedented over decades to millennia. Each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth’s surface than any preceding decade since1850”. The changing climate resulting in unprecedented monsoon and high intense extreme weather events along the coast of India had created serious effects on the coastal communities. This study is conducted in Lower Vellar basin, Tamil Nadu, India which is vulnerable to floods along the coast witnessing series of cyclones during the north east monsoon and droughts along the plains since the plain region is the tail end of the deltaic zone. The main objectives of the study are to identify the peoples’ perception on climate change and the adaptation strategies by the people in the forest, agricultural and coastal areas of the Lower Vellar Basin to the changing climate. The primary data collection involved the usage of participatory rural appraisal tools like questionnaire, group discussions and key person interviews. The peoples’ perception recorded has shown the change they have felt in the changing climate for the past 15 years. The traditional farmers and fishermen were considered to be the key focal point, since they had witnessed the changing climate over a decade. The factors contributing to the choice of adaptation strategies were analyzed using Multinominal logit modelling to estimate the most influencing factor in the choice of adaptation strategy. Lack of financial support and lack of knowledge on adaptation techniques were the major hindrances to adaptation. This indicates that a people centered development approach at the decentralized level is essential in order to withstand the changing climate and achieve the 2030 sustainable agenda.