Quantifying household vulnerability triggered by drought: evidence from rural India

Sam, A S and Kumar, R and Kächele, H and Müller, K (2017) Quantifying household vulnerability triggered by drought: evidence from rural India. Climate and Development, 9 (7). pp. 618-633. ISSN 1756-5529

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Abstract

Drought is a complex, slow-onset phenomenon that imposes serious challenges on human beings and ecosystems. The vulnerability associated with drought may vary at different social, geographical and temporal scales. These differences emphasize the need for regional-level vulnerability assessments, which in turn helps to formulate efficient adaptation policies and strategies that are suitable for the region to mitigate the drought risk. The objective of this paper is to quantify the livelihood and socio-economic vulnerability of rural households that are affected by drought in rural India. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index and Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index were applied to analyse the vulnerability of rural households. A sample size of 157 rural households from the state of Odisha in India was surveyed in 2015. Socio-demographic characteristics such as low literacy rates, high dependency ratios and weak housing structures make people more vulnerable, whereas access to social networks plays a significant role in supporting poor rural households. The research concludes that the impacts of drought make people who are already vulnerable due to poverty, inequality and marginalization even more vulnerable. The outcomes of this study may be considered in formulating effective coping strategies and policies that may help mitigate the drought risk. The findings and recommendations of this study will find applicability in other rural, natural resource-dependent countries with similar socio-economic profiles such as other south Asian countries.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : Asia
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Adaptive capacity, Assessment, Exposure, Natural disaster, Risk, Sensitivity, Drought, Rural India, Household vulnerability
Subjects:	Others > Agriculture Others > Drought Others > India
Depositing User:	Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2016 04:06
Last Modified:	28 Nov 2017 08:24
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9581
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2016.1193461
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	We would like to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Stiftung Fiat Panis for their support for this research. We are also grateful to Nagesh Barik of CIFA, Odisha, for the help and support provided during data collection. We honour the contribution of people in the research site for their responses and support during the data collection. We are also very grateful to the reviewers who provided invaluable comments and suggestions.
Links:	Google Scholar

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