IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v20y2018i2d10.1007_s10668-017-9920-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Climate change perceptions and response strategies of forest fringe communities in Indian Eastern Himalaya

Author

Listed:
  • Tanusri Dey

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

  • Nazir A. Pala

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

  • Gopal Shukla

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

  • Prabhat K. Pal

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

  • Ganesh Das

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

  • Sumit Chakarvarty

    (Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya)

Abstract

The study documented perception of forest fringe community of Chilapata reserve forest in West Bengal, India, from September 2013 to May 2015 through questionnaire-based personal in-depth interviews involving 400 respondents and group discussions. Adaptation strategies used by the community in response to impact of climate change were also documented. Majority of the respondents were farmers with marginal land holding. Almost all the respondents perceived the phenomena of climate change. The overall perception of the community toward change in temperature-related events and precipitation is high with average perception score of 0.74, while it is medium for change in regularity of climate events with score of 0.51. In spite of such perceptions, the community had low average livelihood impact perception score of 0.23. Considering the adaptation strategies based on knowledge–adoption index, the adaptation in response to climate change is at medium level with average mean score of 0.63. A total of 17 coping options were identified. Pre-monsoon dry seeding, agroforestry, crop rotation, short duration crop varieties and use of organic products were popular. The study recommend a need for scientists, government and non-government agents and other stakeholders to support efforts by farmers to adapt to effects of climate change through technological, policy and financial interventions with an aim of improving livelihoods and food security.

Suggested Citation

  • Tanusri Dey & Nazir A. Pala & Gopal Shukla & Prabhat K. Pal & Ganesh Das & Sumit Chakarvarty, 2018. "Climate change perceptions and response strategies of forest fringe communities in Indian Eastern Himalaya," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 925-938, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:20:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-017-9920-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-017-9920-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-017-9920-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-017-9920-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simbarashe Gukurume, 2013. "Climate change, variability and sustainable agriculture in Zimbabwe"s rural communities," Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, CyberLeninka;Редакция журнала Russian Journal of Agricultural and Socio-Economic Sciences, vol. 14(2), pages 89-100.
    2. J. Arbuckle & Lois Morton & Jon Hobbs, 2013. "Farmer beliefs and concerns about climate change and attitudes toward adaptation and mitigation: Evidence from Iowa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 551-563, June.
    3. Sonwa, Denis J. & Somorin, Olufunso A. & Jum, Cyprian & Bele, Mekou Y. & Nkem, Johnson N., 2012. "Vulnerability, forest-related sectors and climate change adaptation: The case of Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Wozniak, Gregory D, 1984. "The Adoption of Interrelated Innovations: A Human Capital Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 66(1), pages 70-79, February.
    5. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Baidu-Forson, Jojo, 1995. "Farmers' perceptions and adoption of new agricultural technology: evidence from analysis in Burkina Faso and Guinea, West Africa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, October.
    6. Oecd, 2009. "Climate Change and Africa," OECD Journal: General Papers, OECD Publishing, vol. 2009(1), pages 5-35.
    7. Coretha Komba & Edwin Muchapondwa, 2012. "Adaptation to climate change by smallholder farmers in Tanzania," Working Papers 299, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maryam Aslany & Shannon Brincat, 2021. "Class and climate‐change adaptation in rural India: Beyond community‐based adaptation models," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 571-582, May.
    2. Pablo Rodrigo & Ignacio J. Duran, 2021. "Why Does Context Really Matter? Understanding Companies’ Dialogue with Fringe Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-26, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wekesa, Bright Masakha, 2017. "Effect Of Climate Smart Agricultural Practices On Food Security Of Small Scale Farmers In Teso North Sub-County, Kenya," Research Theses 276427, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    2. Franklin Simtowe & Paswel Marenya & Emily Amondo & Mosisa Worku & Dil Bahadur Rahut & Olaf Erenstein, 2019. "Heterogeneous seed access and information exposure: implications for the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties in Uganda," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Fan, Yubing & McCann, Laura E., 2015. "Households' Adoption of Drought Tolerant Plants: An Adaptation to Climate Change?," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205544, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Larson,Donald F. & Muraoka,Rie & Otsuka,Keijiro, 2016. "On the central role of small farms in African rural development strategies," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7710, The World Bank.
    5. Dilshad Ahmad & Mohammad Afzal & Abdur Rauf, 2021. "Farmers’ adaptation decisions to landslides and flash floods in the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(6), pages 8573-8600, June.
    6. Albert Ayorinde Abegunde, 2017. "Local communities’ belief in climate change in a rural region of Sub-Saharan Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1489-1522, August.
    7. Meredith T. Niles & Margaret Brown & Robyn Dynes, 2016. "Farmer’s intended and actual adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 277-295, March.
    8. Md Kamrul Hasan & Sam Desiere & Marijke D’Haese & Lalit Kumar, 2018. "Impact of climate-smart agriculture adoption on the food security of coastal farmers in Bangladesh," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 1073-1088, August.
    9. Lim, Krisha & Wichmann, Bruno & Luckert, Martin, 2021. "Adaptation, spatial effects, and targeting: Evidence from Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    10. Mustafa, Ghulam & Latif, Ismail Abd & Ashfaq, Muhammad & Bashir, Muhammad Khalid & Shamsudin, Mad Nasir & Wan Daud, Wan Mohamed Noordin, 2017. "Adaptation Process To Climate Change In Agriculture- An Empirical Study," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 5(4), October.
    11. Kamau M.W & Ndung’u C.K & Muriu Ng’ang’a F.W, 2020. "Factors Influencing Farmers’ Adaptations to Climate Variability and Extreme Events in Dry Kitui, Kenya," International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 24(1), pages 1-8, March.
    12. Ndambiri, Hilary K. & Ritho, Cecilia N. & Mbogoh, Stephen G., 2013. "An Evaluation Of Farmers’ Perceptions Of And Adaptation To The Effects Of Climate Change In Kenya," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 1(1), pages 1-22, July.
    13. Thuo, Mary & Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Hathie, Ibrahima & Obeng-Asiedu, Patrick, 2011. "Adoption of chemical fertilizer by smallholder farmers in the peanut basin of Senegal," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 6(1), pages 1-17, March.
    14. B. Fosu-Mensah & P. Vlek & D. MacCarthy, 2012. "Farmers’ perception and adaptation to climate change: a case study of Sekyedumase district in Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 495-505, August.
    15. Byishimo, Patrick, 2017. "ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON CROP YIELDS AND FARMERS’ ADAPTATION MEASURES: a case of Rwanda," Research Theses 265578, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    16. Moranga, Lawrence Ongwae & Otieno, David Jakinda & Oluoch-Kosura, Willis, 2016. "Analysis Of Factors Influencing Tomato Farmers’ Willingness To Adopt Innovative Timing Approaches For Management Of Climate Change Effects In Taita Taveta County, Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 269270, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    17. Feng, Hongli & Wang, Tong & Hennessy, David A., 2017. "Perception Biases and Land Use Decisions," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258571, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Meredith Niles & Margaret Brown & Robyn Dynes, 2016. "Farmer’s intended and actual adoption of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(2), pages 277-295, March.
    19. Thinda, K.T. & Ogundeji, A.A. & Belle, J.A. & Ojo, T.O., 2020. "Understanding the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers: Evidence from land reform beneficiaries in South Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    20. Clifton Makate & Marshall Makate & Nelson Mango, 2017. "Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions on Climate Change and the Use of Sustainable Agricultural Practices in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:20:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-017-9920-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.