Comparative livelihood vulnerability assessment of villages to climate change in high-altitude cold desert, Ladakh, India

Livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) was employed to identify the differential vulnerability of two villages to climate change effects, which are located at different altitudes (Chushul at 4000–5000 m and Shey at 3000–4000 m above sea level). Primary data were collected from 165 households on indicators of health, food, water, demographic profile, livelihood strategies, social networks, and their perception of climate variability and natural disasters. A composite index was employed to aggregate the data. The vulnerability of different components or indicators of the village were compared to estimate the differential vulnerability. The vulnerability of indicators ranges from (0) as the least vulnerable and (1) as the most vulnerable. The results suggest that both high-altitude village (HAV) and low-altitude village (LAV) were highly vulnerable in terms of climate variability and natural disasters. The vulnerability of livelihood strategies and food for HAV was higher than that of LAV; however, both villages were vulnerable to water shortages. Comparatively, HAV was more vulnerable to water shortages than LAV. It was found that both villages are the least vulnerable in terms of social networks and health facilities. Overall, the livelihood vulnerability index for HAV was 0.668, which was higher than that of LAV, with a vulnerability index of 0.443. The pragmatic LVI approach can be used to estimate the vulnerability of any region by altering the indicators and selecting those indicators suitable for the study region. Furthermore, the livelihood vulnerability index results may have an inference for government institutions and stakeholders to carry out developmental works and adaptation strategies in both the villages.