Toward climate change and community-based adaptation-mitigation strategies in hill agriculture

Abstract

Climate change is being experienced by the hill community in the form of rising temperatures, extreme climatic events, changing rainfall pattern, and frequently occurring drought-like situations. In hills of Uttarakhand, agriculture and animal husbandry are the main occupations, and therefore, food and nutritional security much more depends on favorable climatic conditions. Crop productivity in the hilly areas is getting reduced because of low soil fertility and higher pest and disease infestations. The persistent changes in weather conditions have resulted in overall decrease in the water level in almost all the water sources of the area. The area under irrigation is decreasing gradually due to drying of most of the water bodies for irrigation resulting in low productivity of crops. Rising temperature has led to the shift in forest biodiversity. Pine trees have replaced broad leaf tree species which is posing a major threat to fodder availability and have resulted in increased forest fire incidents. People in hill region have learned to live and survive with risks for thousands of years, but the present rate of climate change is very rapid which demands much attention for the socioeconomic concerns in the area. Women in hills are involved in maintaining and promoting agricultural genetic diversity by selecting, conserving, and propagating seeds. Participatory adaptation strategies with women involved at every stage must be framed as they have rich traditional knowledge and experience with respect to crop adaptation to enhance food security. Drought-resistant crop varieties should be promoted to address drought-like situations and instances of less rain during cropping seasons. Dual-purpose crop varieties which can be grown for grain as well as for fodder could save a lot of time and drudgery of women involved in carrying back-breaking load up and down in hilly terrains. Developmental policies and strategies should be supportive to enhance access and control of men and women over natural resources in order to conserve natural resources, alleviate poverty, and ensure that vulnerable groups including women are enabled to cope with the climate change.