Livelihood Vulnerability Due to Climate Change - A Micro-Level Analysis

Vulnerability to the climate change is the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability may be assessed as the function of three overlapping characteristics: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The present study was undertaken to assess the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of a system. Effect of climate change is perceived by the changed pattern of precipitation, variation in average minimum and maximum temperature, increased occurrence of storm, cyclones and floods etc. People can feel climate change with its changed pattern resulting in changed options of livelihood sustainability. The present study was conducted in two contiguous villages of Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, India. The villages are surrounded by river Torsha. Torsha is originated from the Hill ranges of the Bhutan Himalayas and experiences flash flood when rain occurs in these hill ranges. In previous few years the devastability of flood is being increased due to erratic rainfall pattern, hectic river bank erosion and land slide in the hill areas of the river course. As a result, the river has changed its flow near the study villages resulting the detachment of the villages from the mainland. Flow change of river has silted their cultivable lands, washed out dwelling houses and loss of physical and other assets. A number of families had to migrate from the villages, had to change their income generating options. The study tried to analyse and assess the changed pattern of vulnerability of these flood prone societies due to climate and revealed that the unpredictable nature of climate has destabilized their food security and increased vulnerability manifold in the recent years.