ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Sub-basin scale characterization of climate change vulnerability,impacts and adaptation in an Indian River basin

Ajay Gajanan Bhave • Ashok Mishra •

Annemarie Groot

Received: 27 June 2012 / Accepted: 27 January 2013 / Published online: 13 February 2013

� Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Abstract Knowledge of climate change vulnerability and

impacts is a prerequisite for formulating locally relevant

climate change adaptation policies. A participatory

approach has been used in this study to determine climate

change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation aspects for

the Kangsabati River basin, India. The study approach

involved engaging with stakeholders representing state

(sub-national), district and community levels, through an

interactive brainstorming method, to understand stake-

holder perceptions regarding (a) local characteristics which

influence vulnerability, (b) climate change impacts and

(c) relevant adaptation options. The study reveals that

vulnerability varies across upstream, midstream and

downstream sections of the river basin. Suggested adapta-

tion options, in this predominantly agricultural basin, are

found to be applicable across spatial scales. Stakeholder

perceptions, regarding vulnerability and impacts, vary with

the level of interaction, academic background and type of

experience. Interaction confirms the notion that stake-

holders have inherent knowledge regarding adaptation,

reveals their preferences and ability to think unconven-

tionally. We discuss limitations of the approach while

demonstrating its ability to deliver locally relevant and

acceptable adaptation options, which could facilitate

implementation. We conclude that engaging stakeholders

at multiple levels was highly effective in assessing locally

relevant aspects of climate change vulnerability, impacts

and applicable adaptation options in the Kangsabati River

basin. Based on this assessment, a sub-basin scale is rec-

ommended for evaluating these aspects, especially for

water resources and agricultural systems, through multi-

level stakeholder input.

Keywords Adaptation � Participatory approach � Climate

change � River basin

Introduction

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and changing

land use patterns have increased average global tempera-

tures, which is altering regional rainfall patterns and water

resource availability. These changes pose a threat to water

and food security and, especially, rain-fed agriculture

(Moorhead 2009). Reilly and Schimmelpfennig (1999) and

Morton (2007) have highlighted smallholder farmers in

rain-fed regions and lower-income populations as highly

vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, proactive climate

change adaptation in vulnerable regions especially for

water and food security is a must. Typically, two approa-

ches are followed for characterization of climate change

vulnerability, impacts and adaptation (VIA): impact mod-

elling and assessment (Piao et al. 2010; Purkey et al. 2008)

and stakeholder participation (Eakin et al. 2007; van Aalst

et al. 2008; Tompkins et al. 2008; Martens and McEvoy

2009). River basins, being defined by the natural hydrol-

ogy, are often used as an appropriate spatial scale for VIA

assessment of water and agriculture sectors (Mishra et al.

2007; Mishra and Kar 2011).

A. G. Bhave (&) � A. Mishra

Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering,

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur,

Kharagpur (W.B.) 721302, India

e-mail: ajaybhave84@gmail.com

A. Mishra

e-mail: amishra@agfe.iitkgp.ernet.in

A. Groot

Alterra, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

e-mail: Annemarie.Groot@wur.nl

123

Reg Environ Change (2013) 13:1087–1098

DOI 10.1007/s10113-013-0416-8

However, in this paper we demonstrate that due to intra-

basin differences in vulnerability along upstream, mid-

stream and downstream (UMD) river sections, a sub-basin-

scale approach should be employed. A more detailed sub-

basin-scale approach follows the natural boundaries of

hydrology and could support local-level decision-making

effectively. We discuss multi-level stakeholder involve-

ment for identification of climate change VIA aspects

through a brainstorming method. The study is carried out

for the Kangsabati River basin, a case study area of the

HighNoon project.1 It is spread across districts Purulia,

Bankura and Midnapore of West Bengal state, India. We

suggest that it is important to account for intra-basin dif-

ferences in vulnerability, adaptive capacity and climate

change impacts. Moreover, locally relevant adaptation

strategies should be identified, at the sub-basin scale, in

consultation with multi-level stakeholders.

In brief, this paper addresses two major questions link-

ing the involvement of stakeholders, vulnerability, adap-

tation strategies and appropriate scale of analysis.

• How do climate change VIA aspects vary spatially

within the Kangsabati River basin and does it neces-

sitate VIA assessment at a sub-basin scale?

• What lessons can be drawn from the involvement of

stakeholders at a basin versus a sub-basin VIA

assessment?

Need for participatory sub-basin-level approach

Although multiple definitions of vulnerability are docu-

mented, in the HighNoon project, we followed the Inter-

governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) definition

of vulnerability. It is a function of the character, magnitude,

and rate of climate change and variation to which a system

is exposed, its sensitivity and its adaptive capacity (Parry

et al. 2007). Adaptive capacity, a component of vulnera-

bility, is dependent on socio-economic and governance

aspects. We also defined adaptation based on the IPCC and

have conceptualized our research focus based on VIA

interrelationship (Fig. 1) conceptualized by Isoard et al.

(2008).

We applied a combined top-down and bottom-up

approach for developing adaptation strategies based on the

conceptual framework given by Dessai and Hulme (2004).

The top-down approach is widely applied by the IPCC and

uses a range of scenarios of world development, climate

model projections and impact model outputs. It is criticized

for its strong reliance on climate projections, which may

not be applicable for a smaller scale or for decision-maker

requirements (van Aalst et al. 2008). Although science can

provide ‘what if’ aspects of climate change, the ‘so what’

and ‘what should be done’ aspects, being regional in nat-

ure, must be addressed through a multi-stakeholder process

(Cohen 1997).

The bottom-up approach (Fig. 2) focuses on vulnera-

bility and risk management by examining adaptive capacity

and adaptation measures. It is considered useful for

addressing vulnerability to current climatic variability, but

is criticized for lack of practical applicability and certainty.

Scientist–stakeholder interactions have proven useful in the

past for incorporating perceptions in the research process

(Welp et al. 2006; Shackley and Deanwood 2002;

Kloprogge and Sluijs 2006; Cullises et al. 2010; Veraart

et al. 2010). However, little research with stakeholder

involvement on VIA assessment of water resources and

agriculture has been carried out except by Metzger and

Schroter (2006) and Vega-Leinert et al. (2008).

Most previous climate change studies in India have

focused on impacts (Mall et al. 2006; Ramachandran 2011;

Lal 2011; Chattopadhyay 2011), neglecting stakeholder

Fig. 1 VIA Assessment:

Integral to responding to climate

change (based on Isoard et al.

2008)

1 http://www.eu-highnoon.org/.

1088 A. G. Bhave et al.

123

perceptions. Vulnerability assessments using district-level

socio-economic indicators have been attempted before

(Brenkert and Malone 2005). But these indicators may be

misleading, because vulnerability components vary across

scales, making local-level assessment and adaptation cru-

cial (O’Brien et al. 2004). Based on this reasoning, a sub-

basin-scale, stakeholder-based, VIA assessment has been

carried out in the Kangsabati River basin, focusing on

water resources and agriculture.

Sub-basin approach in Kangsabati River basin

The Kangsabati River basin (Fig. 3) is a part of the lower

Ganga basin and its last tributary in India. With an area of

5796 km2, it lies mostly within West Bengal state, between

coordinates 87�320E and 85�570E, 22�180N and 23�280N.

The Kangsabati reservoir project at the border of Purulia

and Bankura provides irrigation facilities in parts of

Bankura and Midnapore districts. The Midnapore district

has recently been divided into two separate districts: East

and West Midnapore. However, socio-economic data are

available for the combined Midnapore district. Due to this

reason, the combined Midnapore district has been consid-

ered for this study.

In the basin, annual rainfall and annual mean tempera-

ture trends were evaluated, using high-resolution

(1� 9 1�), daily gridded dataset for the period 1969–2005

prepared by India Meteorological Department (IMD)

(Fig. 4). Statistical determination of interannual coefficient

of variation (%) for rainfall (16.17) and temperature (0.96)

reveals higher rainfall variability and changing temperature

range over the basin. Abrupt changes in yearly rainfall and

temperature cause this basin to be vulnerable to climatic

extremes such as droughts and floods. Along with climatic

factors, considerable differences in physical and topo-

graphical characteristics, soil type and fertility, natural

hazards, socio-economic characteristics and infrastructure

are also observed within this mesoscale basin.

Purulia has highly gullied lands and eroded residual hills

prone to high run-off and consequently soil erosion. It is a

drought-prone district where only rain-fed agriculture is

practiced due to lack of irrigation facilities (Government of

West Bengal 2011). Consequently, cropping intensity in

the district is only 105 % (West Bengal State Marketing

Board 2012). Traditionally marginalized tribals, residing in

remote hilly areas, comprise 20.7–51.5 % of the total block

populations (sub-district administrative units) across the

district. The income index is only 0.18 with 43.65 %

people below poverty line, leading to low adaptive

capacity, indicated by a low Human Development Index

(HDI) of 0.45 (West Bengal Human Development Report

2004).

Bankura is an intermediate district in terms of topog-

raphy with undulating uplands towards Purulia and lower

alluvial plains towards Midnapore. Canal irrigation water

Fig. 2 ‘Top-down’ and

‘bottom-up’ approaches used to

inform climate change

adaptation (based on Dessai and

Hulme 2004)

Sub-basin-scale characterization 1089

123

from the Kangsabati reservoir provides an opportunity for

multi-cropping, due to which Bankura has a higher crop-

ping intensity of 147 % than Purulia. However, tradition-

ally marginalized classes, including lower castes and

tribals, constitute 30.5–58.7 % of population across blocks

of Bankura, and 42.48 % of the population lies below

poverty line, leading to a low income index of 0.26.

Overall, a HDI of 0.52 for midstream Bankura is better

than for upstream Purulia (0.45).

Midnapore district is the most developed of the three

districts with a HDI of 0.62. This is in spite of having both

drought- and flood-prone areas and a large tribal population

(West Bengal Human Development Report 2004;

Government of West Bengal 2011). Better educational and

commercial institutions are present in urban areas of

Midnapore and Kharagpur. The lower floodplains of

Kangsabati and Rupnarayan rivers are fertile, and canal

irrigation water is available from the Kangsabati reservoir

and Midnapore canal projects. Consequently, downstream

Midnapore district has a high cropping intensity of 180 %

and high income index (0.45). Moreover, its proximity and

transport linkages with metropolitan areas of Jamshedpur

and Kolkata provide employment and growth. Conse-

quently, diverse conditions within the Kangsabati River

basin provide a research opportunity to study VIA varia-

tions along UMD sections.

Hydrological impacts of climate change in the

Kangsabati basin have been analysed by Dhar and

Mazumdar (2009a, b), and they project an increasing trend

for hydrologic processes: transmission losses, soil water

content and potential evapotranspiration (ET). Projected

changes in mean temperature and precipitation may also

Fig. 4 Interannual variability in

the Kangsabati River basin

Fig. 3 Study Area: Kangsabati River Basin

1090 A. G. Bhave et al.

123

alter the frequency and intensity of extremes like heat-

waves, droughts and floods (Mastrandrea and Luers 2012).

Participatory approach

Stakeholders at multiple levels were involved in this study

through seven workshops: one at state level, three with

district-level scientists and three (in each district) at the

community level with farmers. Stakeholders from back-

grounds and/or with experience in water resources man-

agement, agriculture and allied sectors were involved in the

process. In an agricultural basin, experience in hydrology,

climatology, agriculture, botany, fisheries and livestock

was considered important. However, management and

policy-making activities, including banking and finance,

irrigation and drinking water distribution sectors, were also

represented, ensuring multidimensional input. To avoid

gender bias, especially at the community level, women

farmer participation was ensured.

The state-level workshop involved stakeholders repre-

senting the government, academia, non-governmental

organizations, semi-governmental organizations and

financial institutions. The aim was to incorporate state-

level cross-sectoral expertise or management experience.

At the district level, the agricultural organization Krishi

Vigyan Kendra (KVK) was chosen for interaction with

scientists working in agriculture, allied activities and water

resources. These organizations are district-level centres of

the Indian Council of Agriculture (ICAR), a national body

which conducts research and dissemination of scientific

knowledge. The scientists have in-depth scientific experi-

ence of intra-district conditions and insights into agricul-

tural, socio-environmental and socio-economic aspects.

Interaction at the community level with individual farmers

added the dimension of personal experience and traditional

knowledge. Their perceptions were important as they are

directly affected by climatic changes and will be principal

beneficiaries of adaptation strategies. Their idea of what

works at field level adds a dimension of practicality to the

approach. Key aspects differentiating and complementing

the various workshops in terms of process, scale and scope

of participation have been given in Table 1.

Problem web–solution web

The ‘problem web–solution web’ is a brainstorming tool

where stakeholders pool in their ideas regarding what they

perceive/know to be problems and solutions for the region.

This framework is an improvisation on tools already

developed for group brainstorming, vulnerability assess-

ment and adaptation theory (Downing and Patwardhan

2004; Shih et al. 2009) and does not have a precedent. The

attempt through this approach is to acquire information and

experiences from diverse stakeholders regarding vulnera-

bility, observed climate change impacts and possible

adaptation strategies for the region. The process is mod-

erated by a project staff member who guides the direction

of the brainstorming sessions during the workshop by ini-

tiating discussion and interaction amongst the stakeholders.

The moderator records the progress of the discussion on a

writing board, but does not actively participate in or

influence the discussion.

The first stage of the process involves mapping of dif-

ferent vulnerability aspects, observed climate change

impacts and their interrelationships suggested by stake-

holders onto the writing board. This exercise provides an

opportunity to the stakeholders to visualize and understand

the interconnected network of issues as a problem web. The

role of the moderator at this stage is to engage all stake-

holders in the process so as to get a comprehensive set of

observations and opinions. Development of the problem

Table 1 Key aspects of the multi-level stakeholders’ workshops

Basin-wide stakeholders District-level scientists Individual farmers

Process

Objective

Determine basin-wide vulnerability aspects,

impacts and adaptation strategies

Determine district-level

vulnerability, impacts and

adaptation strategies and scientific

input

Determine local-level vulnerability,

impacts and adaptation strategies

based on experience

Level of

involvement

State Level District Level Community Level

Details of

Participating

stakeholders

29 Participants consisting of Government

Officials/Non-Governmental Organizations/

Academicians/Bank Representatives/Farmer’s

Club Representatives

Purulia–6

Bankura–9

Midnapore–15

Specialists in agronomy, crop

production, fishery, animal

husbandry, horticulture and plant

protection

District Male

Farmers

Female

Farmers

Purulia 19 11

Bankura 18 5

Midnapore 18 10

Sub-basin-scale characterization 1091

123

web creates a common understanding of issues through

knowledge sharing and stimulates in-depth discussion for

the analysis of target problems in terms of their importance

and urgency. No upper/lower limits are placed on the

number of target problems and are entirely up stakeholder

discretion.

Solutions to identified target problems are then mapped

in a solution web. It consists of individual stakeholder–

suggested strategies which are meant to alleviate the effects

of a target problem. As one solution can address multiple

problems, a network of solutions to the target problems is

obtained. These solutions (adaptation strategies) are framed

in a simplified manner as ‘What would you do/recommend

in a climate change scenario to nullify its impacts or to tide

over the problems?’ Stakeholders are asked to suggest

measures implemented in the past, currently underway or

applicable in the future. Suggestions are based on his/her

experiences, steps he/she has taken, seen or heard of or

envisions as adaptation measures in the short or long term.

This way a comprehensive list of adaptation options tar-

geting current climatic variability and future climate

change are obtained.

In this study, certain process differences were incorpo-

rated to allow for differences within stakeholder groups.

Effort was made to extract information based on the level

and nature of work the stakeholders were involved in.

State- and district-level workshops were kept interactive to

get diverse opinions. Community workshops were lightly

moderated and allowed each participant to relate his/her

experiences. They were designed to enable individual

farmers to freely relate their experiences regarding climatic

changes, if any, and linkages with vulnerability.

Results

The vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations identified by

the three classes of stakeholders involved in this study are

presented in Tables 2, 3, 4 and 5. The district- and com-

munity-level workshop results are combined to provide a

sub-basin perspective, while the state-level workshop has

been dealt with separately to understand common and

cross-sectoral issues across the basin.

The state-level stakeholders felt that erratic rainfall was

the key climatic characteristic of rain-fed agriculture in the

region (Table 2). This coupled with lateritic soil properties,

of low water retention and a high run-off coefficient, and

low irrigation development makes this region very vulner-

able. Land fragmentation, lack of socio-political acceptance

for land consolidation, loss of forests as resource base and

an almost ‘stubborn refusal to plant anything but rice’

intensify its vulnerability. Rice, a water-intensive cereal, is

the staple diet and over the past couple of decades has been

monocropped. Moreover, summer rice cropping (Boro

rice), although productive, compounds the problem of water

availability. Impacts observed in the past few years range

from no-flow conditions in the river to changing livelihood

patterns and migration to cities for work.

Table 2 Vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations identified by state-level stakeholders

Climate Agriculture Water Socio-economic

State-level

workshop

Large differences in spatio-

temporal distribution of

rainfall

Rain-fed agriculture

Rice monocropping

High surface run-off

Low water retention

capacity

Depleting forest

resources

Small and fragmented

land holdings

Lack of access to

information and

credit

Vulnerability

Delayed onset of monsoon

and scanty rainfall

Increase in extreme events

Decrease in winter duration

Higher temperatures lower rate

of photosynthesis

More pests and diseases

Decreasing production has

affected livestock fodder

availability

Surface water

bodies drying up

No-flow conditions

in Kangsabati

River

Change of means of

livelihood

Migration to cities

Impacts

Weather forecasting and

information transfer

Forecasting of monsoon

rainfall

Better rice varieties

Greater reliance on C4 plants

Adopt lac culture

Increase in forest intensity

Change in cropping pattern

Water-efficient irrigation

Agroforestry

Wastewater reuse

Roof water

harvesting

On-farm ponds

Check dams

Bottom-up governance

approach

Land consolidation

Support cottage

industries to limit

migration

Adaptation

1092 A. G. Bhave et al.

123

A key feature of the state-level workshop findings was

the implicit top-down nature of adaptation options, dem-

onstrated by large-scale measures including weather fore-

casting, technological improvement in irrigation and

agriculture and state support to cottage industries. Decision-

making and transfer of technology was also suggested in a

unidirectional top-down manner. This approach was linked

to current practices, especially of government officials, for

improving water and agricultural management. This

approach was, however, not seconded by stakeholders who

worked with farmers, especially NGOs and the Agriculture

Extension Department. According to them, adaptation was

best initiated through the bottom-up governance approach.

In Purulia district, farmers were especially curious to

know the scientific explanation for their experiences of a

changing climate, especially changing seasonal patterns

(Table 3). They have had to adapt to the changing onset of

monsoon by shifting rice transplanting time from May to

June. Along with less water availability for agriculture,

allied activities like livestock rearing were considered

highly vulnerable. However, livestock overgrazing was

also understood to cause higher run-off and soil erosion. To

counter this, conventional watershed management activi-

ties, hitherto unexplored in this region, were suggested.

KVK scientists focused on two aspects: better agriculture

education, to increase efficiency in agriculture, and better

dissemination of weather information due to high spatial

distribution of rainfall. They explained their difficulty in

providing locally relevant weather details to all 170 local

government bodies. The experience of farmers with

increasing local and regional forest cover for better soil

moisture demonstrates positive experience of the indirect

Table 3 Vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations identified by community- and district-level stakeholders for Purulia district

District Sector Vulnerability Impact Adaptation

Purulia Climate Large differences in spatio-

temporal distribution of rainfall

Erratic rainfall and

increase in

temperature and

humidity

Earlier six distinct

seasons, now only

three

Dissemination of weather information

through India Meteorological

Department (IMD) should be

increased

Agriculture Monoculture cultivation of rice,

unlike before, has increased

vulnerability

Overgrazed landscape due to high

livestock population

Lack of efficient information

delivery mechanism to local

government bodies

Sowing time has

shifted by one month

from May to June in

the last 5 years

Animal diseases have

increased, including

fungal and viral

infections

Lack of fodder in a

failed monsoon

forces locals to sell

livestock at lesser

prices

Change of crop from rice to vegetables

for better income

Sal (Shorea robusta) tree species used

successfully for long-term financial

investment, groundwater

augmentation and improving soil

moisture conditions throughout the

year

Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna) tree species

used successfully for sericulture, fuel

wood and silk worm droppings

increase soil fertility

Agroforestry of Acacia species

Agricultural education at primary

(elementary) school level

Provision of fodder vegetation in upland

areas for sustaining the animal

resources, given the level of

dependence

Orchard development

Water Upland water availability is less as

hard-pan sub-surface geology

generates greater run-off

Intra-district differences in

rainfall, topography and soil type

makes generalization of water

conservation measures difficult

Less sub-surface flow

Difficult to plan

critical irrigation

periods because of

erratic rainfall

Unavailability of

surface water has

increased

groundwater

extraction

Pisciculture in village ponds

Decentralization of funding and

execution of water conservation

projects to increase local relevance of

structures

Watershed management activities in

upland areas along with check dams

and lift irrigation

Sub-basin-scale characterization 1093

123

Table 4 Vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations identified by community- and district-level stakeholders for Bankura district

District Sector Vulnerability Impact Adaptation

Bankura Climate Monsoon ceases early

affecting water availability

during critical flowering

stage of rain-fed rice

Temperature has increased in the

last 5–10 years

High-intensity rainfall spells

followed by prolonged dry

periods

Dissemination of weather

information through India

Meteorological Department

(IMD) should be increased

Agriculture Lack of access to

communication channels

with policy makers and

officials

High dependence on rainfall

for agriculture

Eroded soil due to high run-

off

Land consolidation not

possible due to local social

problems

Winter crops not possible due to

water unavailability

Higher temperature has affected

seed germination due to

decrease in soil moisture and

delayed monsoon

Bamboo, date and sugarcane

production affected

Mushroom cultivation has

stopped due to increased

temperature

Earthworm population has

decreased affecting soil fertility

Aphid problems for mustard crop

due to rise in temperature

Diversification of means of

livelihood

Address challenges of last-mile

connectivity or transportation,

communication and information

exchange

Water Severe water scarcity from

March to June

Socio-economic differences

prevent equitable access to

water

Higher evaporation from

reservoirs and soil

Restriction on choice of crop due

to unavailability of water in dry

season

Roof-top harvesting and artificial

recharge of groundwater

Minimize cost for installation,

operation and maintenance of

water-efficient irrigation

systems

Table 5 Vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptations identified by community- and district-level stakeholders for Midnapore district

District Sector Vulnerability Impact Adaptation

Midnapore Climate Occurrence of pre-monsoon

rainfall and erratic monsoon

rainfall

High diurnal temperature

difference

Winter intensity is increasing while

rainfall is decreasing

Lack of rains in June affecting rice

seedlings

High-intensity, short-duration rainfall

has increased

Awareness and training

camps for farmers for

better use of irrigation

water

Agriculture Lack of access to soil testing

and climate information

Women farmers forced to

migrate due to lack of work

Women farmers claim lack of

access to financial resources

and jobs

Deforestation leading to

fragmented forests and loss

of habitat for migratory

animals

Less seed development due to

increased heating of soil

Hail storms have affected agriculture

Pest incidence has increased in last

10 years due to increased

temperature

Sporadic cases of animal diseases are

gaining epidemic proportion

Migratory elephants destroy crops

Organic farming

Popularizing

vermicomposting

Crop diversification based

on water requirements

Short-duration varieties of

rice

Afforestation

Adopting allied activities

like animal husbandry

Integrated farming with

vegetable farming on

periphery of artificial fish

ponds

Water Due to the presence of hard

pan, there is lesser recharge

of groundwater

More erratic rainfall in the past 5 years

leading to unavailability of water for

drinking and domestic purposes

Remodelling of traditional

seepage tank

1094 A. G. Bhave et al.

123

benefits of forestry. Moreover, monetary benefits from

silviculture and forest produce provided livelihood diver-

sification and additional income. Due to high acceptance

levels, forest cover increase could be a potent adaptation

option in Purulia.

Bankura stakeholders highlighted eroded soils, lack of

rains during critical rice flowering stage and social prob-

lems like land fragmentation and lack of equitable water

access (Table 4). Changing monsoon patterns have

adversely affected winter crops and seed germination, and

temperature increase has increased crop diseases. Com-

munication and transportation infrastructure along with

livelihood diversification were suggested as measures to

adapt to these circumstances. Bankura farmers’ interest in

more information and connectivity suggests knowledge of

better income prospects from agricultural diversification

and productivity. KVK scientists seconded this idea and

stressed on technological mechanisms for adapting to cli-

mate change.

In Midnapore, erratic rainfall and increased diurnal

temperature were important concerns of stakeholders

(Table 5). Although thunderstorm activity in the region is

normal, especially during the summer months, intense

rainfall events during monsoon have resulted in crop

damage. A cloud burst in the year 2008 was often cited by

farmers to illustrate this phenomenon. They appreciated the

fact that loss and fragmentation of elephant habitat has

caused greater human–wildlife conflict and destruction of

crops. Increasing forest cover and providing corridors for

elephant migration could be the key to their peaceful

coexistence (Table 5). They felt that initiatives and long-

term support should come from the local- and state-level

administration. Efficient use of available canal irrigation

water and crop diversification was deemed necessary to

increase agricultural productivity. Diversification in agri-

cultural income and employing organic farming to target a

growing market in Kolkata was considered important from

an economic perspective.

State-level stakeholders described sectoral interrela-

tionships and suggested adaptation options with application

across a wider range of spatial scales. Check dams and

integrated farming have local importance, while land

consolidation, research and implementation of new crop

varieties are more important at the state level, and climate

forecasting requires national-scale research coordination.

District-level scientists, perhaps due to their wider scien-

tific knowledge, explained target problems for water,

agriculture and allied activities for development of locally

relevant adaptation options. They gave more importance to

topographical and climatic problems vis-a-vis socio-

economic issues. However, scientists had no first-hand

experience of autonomous adaptation, and their expertise

was restricted to ‘what could work’ as compared to ‘what

has worked’. Farmers focusing on their day-to-day

Fig. 5 Spatial variation in vulnerability and associated adaptation options; vulnerability and impacts (red) and adaptation strategies and effects

(blue) are mapped for UMD sections of the basin

Sub-basin-scale characterization 1095

123

activities spoke about access to resources, water avail-

ability, transport infrastructure, local power dynamics and

linked social issues. Their measures being focused provide

better input for local-level decision-making.

An important finding was that along with conventional

water and agricultural management, suggested measures

like orchard development, lac culture development, check

dam with lift irrigation, supporting cottage industries and

organic farming show out-of-box thinking. Success with

farmer-initiated afforestation activities in Purulia using

local tree species of Shorea robusta and Terminalia arjuna

illustrates their benefits in high run-off regions. Such

studies provide corroborating evidence of adaptation

strategies known to stakeholders and hence provide scope

for implementation and replication. Knowledge integration

through multiple, multi-level and diverse stakeholder

interaction is hence a necessary step in VIA assessment.

Biophysical characteristics are different in each UMD

section of the river basin, which affects vulnerability to

climatic variability and change. Stakeholder-perceived

impacts confirm sub-basin specificity of VIA (Fig. 5).

Suggested adaptation options target specific vulnerabilities

and impacts. The intended benefits demonstrate stake-

holder knowledge and preferences. Erratic rainfall is a

common feature, while geological and climatological

characteristics vary across sections. Stakeholders felt that

hard-pan geology combined with erratic rainfall has

increased run-off in Purulia. Increase in temperature has

increased evapotranspiration in Bankura leading to loss of

soil moisture content, while in Midnapore, agriculture has

been impacted due to reduced seed germination, depleting

soil moisture, pest infestation and livestock diseases.

Purulia and Bankura stakeholders were interested to

increase soil moisture content through adaptation mea-

sures, due to soil moisture deficiency. In Midnapore,

stakeholders were interested in ensuring timely availability

of water for agriculture and maintaining soil productivity.

Integrated farming may provide water supply from local

fish ponds and along with organic farming may improve

soil productivity. In this way, upper, middle and down-

stream sections of the Kangsabati River basin show spec-

ificity for vulnerability, impacts and adaptation

characteristics, which could be applicable for other river

basins as well.

Discussion and conclusion

Climate change adaptation is essentially a local phenom-

enon, and it should correspond to specific local vulnera-

bility aspects and climate change impacts. Spatial

variability and specificity of VIA were captured well by the

bottom-up participatory approach used in this study.

Diverse and interlinked issues of vulnerability and climate

change impacts were discussed and recorded due to the

brainstorming nature of the approach. Diverse adaptation

strategies including top-down, bottom-up, structural, non-

structural, conventional, unconventional, traditional and

technological were also recounted by the stakeholders as

part of the solution web. These adaptation strategies, as

shown in Fig. 5, correspond to specific upstream, mid-

stream and downstream characteristics and adaptation

requirements. Moreover, the approach facilitated the nar-

ration of autonomous adaptation strategies, such as of

farmers of Purulia, who have increased soil moisture con-

tent by increasing forest cover. The process of allowing

individual farmers to relate their experiences freely brought

forth specific viewpoints, preferences and knowledge of the

changes taking place. However, stakeholder judgment can

be influenced considerably by recent extreme or sudden

events and perceptions that, by definition, are based on

personal experience and observation. Additional subjec-

tivity associated with selection and level of involvement of

stakeholders was dealt with by including multiple, multi-

level stakeholders from a range of educational and expe-

riential backgrounds.

Multi-level stakeholder interaction during the partici-

patory approach meant that stakeholders with equivalent

educational, socio-economic and experiential background

were consulted separately. This ensured that there was no

underrepresentation of any stakeholder group in the pro-

cess. However, certain individuals in all workshops showed

reluctance to voice their opinions. Moderator intervention

was needed during state- and district-level workshops to

ensure participation of all stakeholders, while for com-

munity-level workshops the moderator focused on ensuring

that individual experiences of all stakeholders were recor-

ded. In spite of this, it was felt that lack of active partici-

pation on the part of reluctant stakeholders may have meant

that all their opinions and ideas may not have been

recorded. It was observed that community stakeholders,

contrary to state- and district-level stakeholders, were

better at listing their experiences compared to mapping and

articulating the various interrelationships. Therefore,

community stakeholders required guiding questions to

enable preparation of the webs, while interactive discussion

at the district and state levels was sufficient to complete the

exercise, showing the importance of making process vari-

ations for different stakeholder groups.

The problem web–solution web process has been

developed to map VIA aspects in a simplified manner for

visualizing the complexity of interlinked issues. Balance

between simplification and loss of detail and accuracy has

to be maintained throughout the interaction. Selection of

target problems is necessary to avoid surplus detail and to

draw focus on the most important problems, while ensuring

1096 A. G. Bhave et al.

123

sufficient diversity of problems so that the scope of adap-

tation strategies is not curtailed. A feature of the process is

that the problem web has greater detail, especially due to

large number of diverse and interlinked aspects of climate

change vulnerability. In this study, it was consistently

observed that stakeholders have greater commonality in the

understanding of aspects of vulnerability, compared to the

specific climate change impacts. Specific observations

regarding climate change impacts, such as change in

humidity, were often argued upon before reaching a com-

mon consensus, while others such as delay in onset of

monsoon were readily agreed upon. Such differences and

agreements may be due to the spatially variable manifes-

tation of climate change impacts.

We also recognize that lack of consistency in natural

(river basin) and man-made (political/administrative)

boundaries makes analysis of socio-economic characteris-

tics of vulnerability at sub-basin level problematic. Due to

this reason, socio-economic data available for the district

as a whole were used as a representative of the corre-

sponding sub-basin. Socio-economic data availability at

basin/sub-basin scales is a limitation for such analysis,

which can be strengthened by availability of detailed

datasets at the sub-district level. The method employed

offers an additional approach for developing insights and

outcomes which cannot be developed through a purely

scientific modelling approach. Such studies also bring forth

incidences of autonomous adaptation, which are important

for analysing applicability and relevance at the local level.

As of now, national and state government action plans on

climate change in this region employ only a top-down

approach. Suggested adaptation strategies, too often, are

based on conventional, top-down natural resource man-

agement principles and fail to involve any stakeholders,

except ‘experts’, for assessing specific aspects of VIA. We

find that understanding the scale of application is critical to

developing and implementing adaptation strategies, as

demonstrated by this study. It is important to take cogni-

zance of such approaches for developing climate change

adaptation plans. However, it is noteworthy that local or

sub-basin VIA studies using participatory approaches

require considerably greater resources; trained manpower

and financial resources are a major limitation for large-

scale replication. Therefore, a case-specific trade-off

between benefits and input resources has to be made.

We conclude that a participatory sub-basin-scale

assessment of climate change vulnerability, impacts and

adaptation that involved multiple levels of stakeholder

engagement was highly effective in producing locally rel-

evant actionable results in the Kangsabati River basin. We

find that there is consistency in stakeholder accounts of

perceived climate change impacts which necessitates in-

depth study of changing climatic patterns in the region.

Results provide insight into spatial variation in applica-

bility of adaptation options for upstream, midstream and

downstream sections of a basin, based on specific vulner-

abilities and experienced impacts. The work also confirms

the notion that adaptation options to climate change are

already known to relevant stakeholders and their knowl-

edge is of vital importance in the development of locally

relevant adaptation strategies. Multi-level stakeholder

participation provides varied perspectives of ground reali-

ties which is necessary for determining key areas for

intervention. A similar approach may be replicated across

other river basins for determining relevant adaptation

requirements and strategies.

Acknowledgments This work has been supported by the HighNoon

project, funded by the European Commission Framework Programme

7 under Grant Nr. 227087. Funding for the workshops was generously

provided through the project HighNoon. We are grateful to the par-

ticipants of all the workshops for their active participation.

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