Approaches to climate change adaptation of vulnerable coastal communities of India

Abstract

In the context of developing countries, climate change and variability poses a serious threat to the coastal rural communities due to their poor adaptive capacities, weak implementation of developmental activities, and lack of technological solutions needed to address this challenge. In order to address the current vulnerabilities of these coastal communities where development initiatives are itself lacking, adaptation measures will play a crucial role in streamlining and collaborating with development initiatives. Literature review in Indian context suggests that there are no estimates available of impact of climate change on coastal agriculture and fisheries and therefore on agricultural, pastoral, and fishing communities. This research addresses the aforementioned research gap with a case study from Western India focusing on livelihood security and human well-being while integrating development plans to climate change adaptation. Based on vulnerabilities identified for the study areas, adaptation plan consisting of goals with several measures were created which were linked to existing national development schemes along with their co-benefits and barriers to implementation. Development choices made today will influence the adaptive capacity of people in the future. Thus, there is an urgent need to undertake development activities and decision making with climate lens, and this research will be the first step in the process.