Rural communities are the ones who are directly experiencing impacts of climate change. They are also the first respondents to any climate induced disasters such as flash floods, hailstorms and the related impacts on water, sanitation and hygiene. Changes in quantity of rainfall and seasonal patterns are already being experienced in many parts of India, creating problems for the rural population and other communities’ dependent on land in securing their livelihoods and increasing the risks they face.

Participatory planning for climate resilience brings communities to the fore for any climate adaptation action in a country. The process involves applying a climate lens to already complex developmental processes and incorporating new thinking to integrate climate risks into development priorities.

Such an exercise was undertaken during the implementation of the UNICEF and Development Alternatives project titled, ‘Enhancing Climate Resilience of Children, Adolescents and Women in Rajasthan.’ Rural communities in Rajasthan are increasingly confronted with the realities of climate change. The climate resilient planning for WASH in Rajasthan that was undertaken involved orientation of the community on micro-planning, understanding of climate change and its impacts on livelihoods and their environment, use of participatory rural appraisal tools and group exercises to understand the situation, problem identification, planning with adaptation visioning exercises. The community then engaged in detailed activity planning focussing on issues in the water sector that were identified during the planning exercises. These micro-plans were then shared with local government officials to explore options for funding and support for implementation.

The exercises revealed that the most common changes reported relate to the timing, quality, quantity and overall predictability of rainfall such as delayed onset and shorter rainy seasons, increased frequency of heavy rainfall events and frequent prolonged drought seasons. These perceived changes correlated with an analysis of meteorological data over the last few decades. The communities even revealed that rainfall variability affects crop production and hence livelihood security. The solutions for increasing rainwater storage capacity and groundwater recharge through repair and upgrading of small dams can be possible at the village level. A financial mapping for the costs of these small adaptation measures can be addressed through panchayat level funds and existing schemes. To address water scarcity during summer months, enhancing water management capacity of the communities through formation of water management committees would be the way forward.

While community can drive the shift towards adaptation, village and block level interventions cannot fully address the needs. It is required to have appropriate external policy to support it. Not all existing plans and policies may address the issues faced by the communities as a result of climate change. There is a need for state and national level interventions to assist with the necessary economic and infrastructural resources required. A good measure to address adaptation in the water sector would be to develop village water security plans with a climate lens. The National Rural Drinking Water Programme (2013) guidelines direct that external help from CSOs for planning and technical support would be required for making the village water security plans and implementing them. Without effective hand-holding, governmental interventions for addressing climate impacts will have no ownership. These will remain at most as pockets of good practices that are not mainstreamed.

Adaptation to climate change is not about radically new responses. It is about implementing measures that give priority to existent development and environmental issues. The strategies and measures are already present in the state climate action plans, disaster management plans, drinking water management plans but haven’t been successfully implemented. ■

Syed A A Farhan
sishaqi@devalt.org

References

• Reid, H., et al., (2009), 'Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change: An Overview', in Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change’, Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) Series, no. 60, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), pp. 11-33

• CARE, (2011), Decision-making for climate resilient livelihoods and risk reduction: A Participatory Scenario Planning approach

• CARE, (2012), Policy brief: Why Community Based Adaptation Makes Economic Sense

• CARE, (2014), Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection and Learning for Community-based Adaptation