What shapes vulnerability and risk management in semi-arid India? Moving towards an agenda of sustainable adaptation

Singh, Chandni; Solomon, Divya; Bendapudi, Ramkumar; Kuchimanchi, Bhavana Rao; Iyer, Soundarya; Bazaz, Amir

doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2019.04.007

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…through higher incomes) but dampen subjective well-being (e.g. lower social capital in destination areas, feelings of alienation and insecurity, lesser leisure, especially for women) [75,[85][86][87]. These findings demonstrate that while remittances help migrating households and can have adaptation co-benefits, moving entails other intangible costs which can in certain conditions increase vulnerability and at other times improve adaptive capacity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…On the other hand, it has been described as a failure to adapt where populations being unable to respond to risk migrate as a last option [6]. Between these two extremes of the migration for adaptation debate are ideas of how migration drivers and outcomes are differentiated and it can denote adaptation in certain situations and for certain people while signifying a failure to adapt for others [18,85,87,103]. In fragile environments, migration is a common response to vulnerability to slow and rapid onset events [68,104].…”

Section: Conceptual Links Between Climate Change Migration and Adaptmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Migration and Household Adaptation in Climate-Sensitive Hotspots in South Asia

Maharjan

Campos

Singh

et al. 2020

Curr Clim Change Rep

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Purpose of Review South Asia is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, owing to the high dependency on climatesensitive livelihoods and recurrent extreme events. Consequently, an increasing number of households are adopting labour migration as a livelihood strategy to diversify incomes, spread risks, and meet aspirations. Under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) initiative, four research consortia have investigated migration patterns and their inherent linkages to adaptation to climate change in climate hotspots. This article synthesizes key findings in regional context of South Asia. Recent Findings The synthesis suggests that in climate-sensitive hotspots, migration is an important livelihood diversification strategy and a response to various risks, including climate change. Typically, one or more household members, often young men, migrated internally or internationally to work in predominantly informal sectors. Remittances helped spatially diversify household income, spread risks, and insure against external stressors. The outcomes of migration are often influenced by who moves, where to, and what capacities they possess. Summary Migration was found to help improve household adaptive capacity, albeit in a limited capacity. Migration was mainly used as a response to risk and uncertainty, but with potential to have positive adaptation co-benefits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Conceptual Links Between Climate Change Migration and Adaptmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration and Household Adaptation in Climate-Sensitive Hotspots in South Asia

Maharjan

Campos

Singh

et al. 2020

Curr Clim Change Rep

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“…However, the effect of caste differentiation is not so unidirectional. Caste affiliations are often leveraged to assert political agency in migrant destinations and to avail of livelihood opportunities through caste‐based migrant networks (Singh et al, 2019). Thus, caste‐based ties can also serve as enablers of adaptation by providing safety nets during distress and helping people diversify livelihoods.…”

Section: Caste and Livelihood Options In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Culture as a mediator of climate change adaptation: Neither static nor unidirectional

Few

Spear

Singh³

et al. 2020

WIREs Climate Change

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Though there is increasing recognition of the cultural dimensions that shape climate change adaptation, our experience from working with actors engaged in adaptation policy and practice suggests that the role of culture still tends to be conceived in overly narrow and fixed terms. This is exemplified in portrayals of conservative cultural norms as stifling positive change. A growing body of research across the world indicates that the reality is seldom as simple as this—culture works in complex and variable ways, and, most importantly, is inherently dynamic. Drawing especially from research work on vulnerability and adaptation conducted in semi‐arid regions, we illustrate this argument by briefly exploring three themes—multiple knowledge systems for farming in Botswana, the dynamics of pastoralist values and livelihoods in Kenya, and the interplay of caste and livelihood choices in India. Understanding how different facets of culture such as these operate in context helps move away from viewing culture statically as a barrier or enabler, and toward a more plural and dynamic appreciation of the role of culture in adaptation. This includes recognizing the potential for factors that may be construed as barriers to become enablers. Critical, balanced engagement with cultural dimensions in both research and practice, understanding and working with these dynamic social structures, is essential if adaptation is to create meaningful and lasting change for those who need it most. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values‐Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation

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“…The sustainable adaptation framing draws from sustainability studies but might sometimes conflate vulnerability with poverty. A critique has been unclear demarcation between what is adaptation and what general development (Eakin et al, 2014;Kuchimanchi et al, 2021;Schipper et al, 2020;Singh et al, 2019), making it unclear whether sustainable adaptation is sustainable development plus climate change or something more.…”

Section: Effective Adaptation As Sustainable Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interrogating ‘effectiveness’ in climate change adaptation: 11 guiding principles for adaptation research and practice

Singh

Iyer

New

et al. 2021

Climate and Development

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The Paris Agreement articulates a global goal on adaptation, which aims to ensure an 'adequate adaptation response' to the 'global temperature goal', and requires countries to report progress through periodic global stocktakes. However, there remain conceptual and methodological challenges in defining an adaptation goal and mixed evidence on what effective adaptation looks like and how it can be enabled. In this review, we demonstrate how different normative views on adaptation outcomes, arising from different epistemological and disciplinary entry points, can lead to very different interpretations of adaptation effectiveness. We argue that how effectiveness is framed will significantly impact adaptation implementation and outcomes. This, furthermore, represents a way of exercising influence in adaptation decision-making. Eleven principles of effective adaptation are distilled as a way to pluralize guidance in international processes such as the Global Stocktake as well as national and sub-national exercises on tracking and monitoring adaptation.

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What shapes vulnerability and risk management in semi-arid India? Moving towards an agenda of sustainable adaptation

Cited by 24 publications

References 55 publications

Migration and Household Adaptation in Climate-Sensitive Hotspots in South Asia

Migration and Household Adaptation in Climate-Sensitive Hotspots in South Asia

Culture as a mediator of climate change adaptation: Neither static nor unidirectional

Interrogating ‘effectiveness’ in climate change adaptation: 11 guiding principles for adaptation research and practice

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