Food and Livelihood Securities in Changing Climate of the Himalaya

186 Pages·2023·6.065 MB·English

by  Suresh Chand Rai

Human-Environment Interactions 9
Suresh Chand Rai
Food
and Livelihood
Securities in
Changing Climate
of the Himalaya
Human-Environment Interactions
Volume 9
Series Editor
Emilio F. Moran, Michigan State University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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Suresh Chand Rai
Food and Livelihood
Securities in Changing
Climate of the Himalaya
Suresh Chand Rai
Department of Geography
Delhi School of Economics
University of Delhi
Delhi, India
ISSN 2214-2339 ISSN 2452-1744 (electronic)
Human-Environment Interactions
ISBN 978-3-031-22816-2 ISBN 978-3-031-22817-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22817-9
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Preface
Climate variability/change is apparent from the observations of an upsurge in extreme
weather events, average global temperature, melting of ice and snow, coastal flooding,
and storm surge. It is a worldwide problem, and the Himalaya is subjected to it,
due to its exceptional geophysical and hydro-climatic conditions. Climate change
is expected to alter the existing vulnerability profile of the Himalaya. The Eastern
Himalayan region of India is harboring the largest number of endemic and endangered
species and is one of the significant biodiversity “hotspots” of the Indian subcontinent.
Livelihood in the villages of the Himalayan region mainly depends on subsis-
tence farming. “These farming systems have developed over the centuries as a
comparative advantage to other livelihood options in the mountain areas.” There-
fore, in the Sikkim Himalaya, upland farming is a traditional integrated land-use
system comprising forest, agriculture, horticulture, agroforestry, bee farming, seri-
culture, poultry farming, and animal husbandry which will not only add to agricultural
production but also improve the quality of food. Since there have been a lot of spatio-
temporal variations in agriculture, there is a necessity for in-depth research in this
direction. Therefore, the Sikkim Himalaya has been selected for the present study
due to its heterogeneous geographical locations.
This study is constructed on both primary and secondary databases. The secondary
information was attained from published and unpublished records of the government
and semi-government organizations and NGOs. The primary data was collected from
the household surveys along an altitudinal gradient. The data have been processed and
analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques and presented in tabular, diagram-
matic, and map forms using GIS software. The whole study has been organized into
eight chapters. Chapter 1 describes the context, statement of the problem, review of
literature, objectives, hypothesis, methods of data collection and significance of the
study, etc. Chapter 2 deals with the biophysical and socio-economic characteristics of
the area. Chapter 3 deals with climate variability and farmers’ perception. Chapter 4
is about spatio-temporal change delineation and forecasting of snow/ice-covered
areas. Agricultural systems and agrobiodiversity have been described in Chap. 5.
Chapter 6 is about the analysis of food availability. Chapter 7 describes an analysis
v
vi Preface
of livelihood security. Conservation of agricultural and sustainable livelihood has
been discussed in Chap. 8. Based on the critical analysis of the facts and figures in
the previous chapters, a summary and suggestions were given in the last.
I express my sincere thanks to the Director, G. B. Pant National Institute of
Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development (An Autonomous Institute
under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of
India) who has generously sanctioned this major project for me. I am thankful to Dr.
R. C. Sundriyal, and Dr. G. C. S. Negi, the Scientists In-charge, of the ERP Project
for their continuous support during the project period. I also express my thanks to the
Head, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi for
providing facilities. Special thanks are due to Dr. Prabuddh Kumar Mishra, Assistant
professor, Department of Geography, Shivaji College, University of Delhi for his
continuous help and support.
The entire fieldwork and collection of primary and secondary data have been done
by project fellows, especially Miss Nikita Roy Mukherjee and Mr. Aman Rai. I place
on record my thanks and appreciation for their painstaking study villages where they
stayed for a considerable period and collected primary and secondary data. I am also
thankful for my Ph.D. Scholars Dr. Pawan Kumar and Mr. Aakash Upadhyay for
their continuous support to finish this task. A special thanks to all the farmers who
supported us during fieldwork.
Delhi, India Prof. Suresh Chand Rai
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................... 1
1.1 The Context ............................................... 1
1.2 Definition of Problem ....................................... 4
1.3 An Overview .............................................. 6
1.4 Hypothesis and Objectives ................................... 9
1.4.1 Hypothesis .......................................... 9
1.4.2 Objectives .......................................... 9
1.5 Methodological Approach ................................... 9
1.5.1 Data Collection ...................................... 10
1.6 The Study Area ............................................ 11
1.7 Significance of the Study .................................... 11
1.8 Structure of the Book ....................................... 12
References ..................................................... 12
2 Biophysical and Socio-economic Characteristics ................... 17
2.1 Background ............................................... 17
2.2 Physical Characteristics ..................................... 18
2.2.1 Location and Extent .................................. 18
2.2.2 Topography ......................................... 19
2.2.3 Slope ............................................... 21
2.2.4 Drainage Pattern ..................................... 21
2.2.5 Geology ............................................ 21
2.2.6 Soils ............................................... 25
2.2.7 Climate ............................................. 27
2.2.8 Natural Vegetation ................................... 29
2.3 Cultural Characteristics ..................................... 30
2.3.1 History ............................................. 30
2.3.2 Demographic Characteristics .......................... 31
2.4 Infrastructure Facilities ...................................... 36
2.4.1 Education ........................................... 36
2.4.2 Health .............................................. 38
vii
viii Contents
2.4.3 Transport and Communication ......................... 38
2.4.4 Banking Facilities .................................... 39
2.4.5 Trade Flows ......................................... 39
2.4.6 Hydropower Projects ................................. 40
2.5 Land-Use/Cover Analysis ................................... 40
References ..................................................... 42
3 Climate Variability and Farmers’ Perception ..................... 43
3.1 Introduction ............................................... 43
3.2 Materials and Methods ...................................... 44
3.2.1 IMD Data ........................................... 44
3.2.2 Questionnaire Survey ................................. 45
3.3 Results and Discussion ...................................... 45
3.3.1 Assessment of Climate Variability ...................... 45
3.3.2 Farmers’ Perceptions and Adaptive Capacity ............. 49
3.3.3 Policy Initiatives to Raise Adaptive Capacity ............. 56
3.4 Conclusion ................................................ 58
References ..................................................... 58
4 Spatio-temporal Change Delineation and Forecasting
of Snow/Ice-Covered Areas ...................................... 61
4.1 Introduction ............................................... 61
4.2 Materials and Methods ...................................... 62
4.2.1 Data Source ......................................... 62
4.2.2 Methods ............................................ 63
4.3 Results and Discussion ...................................... 66
4.3.1 Snow Cover Index (S3) ............................... 66
4.3.2 Normalized Difference Snow Thermal Index (NDSTI) .... 69
4.3.3 Perennial Snow Index ................................ 69
4.3.4 Time Series Analysis ................................. 72
4.3.5 Error Matrix ......................................... 73
4.4 Conclusion ................................................ 74
References ..................................................... 76
5 Agriculture System and Agrobiodiversity ......................... 79
5.1 Introduction ............................................... 79
5.2 Agriculture Scenario of Sikkim ............................... 80
5.3 Agroecosystems of Sikkim ................................... 81
5.4 Analysis of Agrobiodiversity ................................. 83
5.4.1 Crop Diversity in Sikkim .............................. 83
5.5 Analysis of Cropping Patterns ................................ 87
5.5.1 Food Crops ......................................... 87
5.5.2 Non-food Crops ..................................... 92
5.6 Cropping Pattern in Sampled Households ...................... 106
5.6.1 Changes in Cropping Pattern .......................... 107
5.6.2 Farming Systems and Practices ........................ 108
Contents ix
5.6.3 Functions of Farming Practices ........................ 108
5.6.4 Agricultural Inputs ................................... 109
5.6.5 Reason Behind the Changing Pattern in the Yield ......... 110
5.7 Crop Diversification ........................................ 110
5.7.1 The Pattern of Crop Diversification ..................... 111
5.8 Conclusion ................................................ 114
References ..................................................... 115
6 Analysis of Food Availability .................................... 117
6.1 Introduction ............................................... 117
6.2 Methods .................................................. 118
6.2.1 Gross Food Availability ............................... 119
6.2.2 Net Food Availability ................................. 119
6.2.3 Carrying Capacity of Land ............................ 119
6.3 Results and Discussion ...................................... 120
6.3.1 Pattern of Consumption ............................... 120
6.4 Conclusion ................................................ 123
References ..................................................... 124
7 Analysis of Livelihood Security .................................. 125
7.1 Introduction ............................................... 125
7.2 Methodology .............................................. 126
7.2.1 Logistic Regression Model ............................ 128
7.2.2 Multinomial Logistic Regression ....................... 129
7.3 Results and Discussion ...................................... 130
7.3.1 Agricultural Diversities for Livelihood .................. 130
7.3.2 Range of Livelihood Options .......................... 133
7.3.3 Factors Affecting the Livelihood Options ................ 137
7.3.4 Econometric Analysis of Factors Affecting
the Livelihood Options ................................ 137
7.4 Conclusion ................................................ 142
References ..................................................... 143
8 Conservation of Agriculture for Sustainable Livelihood ............ 145
8.1 Introduction ............................................... 145
8.2 SWOT Analysis for Conservation Agriculture .................. 147
8.3 Adoption of Conservation Agriculture ......................... 148
8.3.1 Minimum Mechanical Soil Disturbance ................. 149
8.3.2 Permanent Soil Cover with Crop Residues and Live
Mulches ............................................ 151
8.3.3 Diversified Crop Rotation and Intercropping ............. 152
8.3.4 Organic Farming ..................................... 152
8.3.5 Soil Conservation .................................... 154
8.3.6 Integrated Pest Control and Management (IPCM) ......... 159