Systematic review of observed climate change adaptation in Gujarat
Introduction
From the mid-twentieth century, the dynamics of climate change started to be observed and Gujarat has remained no exception to this phenomenon. Scientific discourse initially dubbed these environmental changes as cyclical patterns but soon it they were identified to be a trend. Gujarat is an area with semi-arid zones and entails thelongest coastline. These peculiar features make the state comparatively more prone to climate change. Agricultural growth, food security, human health, biodiversity, and overall development could be at serious risk if the matter is not addressed upon in a punctual and logical way.
Over 650 million Indians depend on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forestry and fishery for their livelihoods. The adverse impacts of water availability due to change in rainfall, increased flooding in certain areas and recession of glaciers combined with increased water demand due to demographic development and climate change could threaten food security, destabilize the natural ecosystems including species that sustain the livelihood of rural households and impact the coastal system due to sea level rise and increased extreme weather events (Garg et al. 2007).
Majority of Indian’s livelihoods are dependent upon land and water based occupational functions such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries. India’s total land is about 329 million hectares, out of which 175 million hectares of land is non-productive hence non-profitable and therefore it requires special treatment for the same reason. In India, water availability situation is murky because of spatial and temporal variability. Both these factors are forecaste...
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...he total expenditure amount, was borne by the beneficiary. For the construction of farm ponds in the village, minimum contribution of twenty percent was to be made by the villagers.
Output
Annual rainwater harvesting potential is shown in Table 2 whereas Table 3 shows the change in water depth in the wells before and after the interventions (SEEDS 2005).
Table 2
Table 3
Sr. No. Name of beneficiary Year & month Well depth (ft.) Water depth in well (ft.) No's of well in surrounding Surface catchments area (Hector) Water level in well after 1 rain (ft.)
1 Devshi Giga Bhutia 2004 July 85 5 20 2 10
2 RambhaiSindhal 2004 July 70 25 10 41 65
3 BharatbhaiMashribhaiBhutia 2004 July 100 40 15 41 90
4 BhanubhaiRamabhaiRatadia 2004 July 90 5 10 32 80
5 VirambhaiRambhaiAudedra 2004 July 72 15 10 10 28
6 ParbatbhaiArjanbhaiAudedra 2004 July 80 10 10 6 25
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Climate includes temperature, rainfall, wind and other weather conditions over a larger region and on a longer time frame unlike weather. On the other hand, change is the act or a process through which something becomes different. In lame man’s language, climate change is the alteration of weather conditions in a huge area over a long period of time. Hence, this concept is usually referred to as the concept of global climate change. According to the UNDP (2009), climate change is a scientifically proven phenomenon that includes any change in the climate, whether due to its natural variability or as a result of human activity. UNFCCC (1992), defines climate change as change which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that
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all the time. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the earth at temperatures that
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