Analysis of Perception, Livelihood Impacts and Threats of Climate Change

Abstract

This chapter addresses climate change perception index, sea level rise index, livelihood impact and major threats of climate change among the forest dependent people in different agro-climatic regions of West Bengal. 5.1 Climate Change Perception and Climate Change Perception Index of the Households in Drought Prone Area Perception of climate change in drought areas of West Bengal is analyzed with the help of 11 indicators like realization about longer duration of summer, feeling more warming days in summer than before, feeling the period of winter season has been decreasing, feeling the late starts of winter period, notice any unusual formation of fog, notice the characteristics of one season have been falling in another season. (i.e. overlapping of seasons), observing irregular pattern of rainfall, observing more incidents of drought now a days than before, observing more incidents of storm than before. These 11 indicators have been used to test the perception of climate change. We have found that more than 90% households have self realization about longer duration of summer in the village of Junsura and Baskula (Table 5.1). More than 96% households have self realization about warmer summer in both the villages. Ninty-five percentage of households have self realization about shorter period of winter in both the villages. Ninty percentage of households have self realization about less cool winter. Most of them have expressed their views that they do not know about "unusual formation of fog, overlapping of seasons" and about 'irregular rainfall pattern' (Table 5.1). As the forest dependent people have long attachment with the local environment they have experience about the climatic variation. To measure climate experience