Of Himalayan states, Assam, Mizoram, J&K least prepared for climate change hazards
FirstpostAround 50 million Indians live in the Himalayan region & depend on its ecology for water, food and energy. In Assam, the drivers include low per capita income, low percentage area under crop insurance and low participation in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme, a poverty alleviation programme that promises 100 days of paid work to poor families. J&K lags in road density, area under crop insurance, area under forests per 1,000 rural households, percentage of marginal farmers, percentage area under horticulture crops, livestock-to-human ratio, and percentage of women in the workforce. State Project Sanctioned Amount Sanctioned Vulnerability Drivers Assam Management of ecosystem of Kaziranga National Park by creating a climate-resilient livelihood for vulnerable communities through organic farming and pond-based fish farming 12 Least area under irrigation, least forest area available per 1,000 rural households, least number of farmers taking loans as compared to other states. It also has the second lowest per capita income, low percentage area covered under crop insurance and low MGNREGA participation Mizoram Sustainable agriculture development through expansion, enhancement, and modeling 5 Highest yield variability, no area under crop insurance, largest area under open forests, largest area under slope as compared to other states, second lowest percentage area under irrigation and third lowest road density among the 12 states Jammu & Kashmir Climate-resilient sustainable agriculture in rain-fed farming areas 11 Least road density, no area under crop insurance, low area under forests per 1,000 rural households, high percentage of marginal farmers, low percentage area under horticulture, low livestock-to-human ratio and low percentage of women in the workforce Manipur Development of model carbon-positive eco-village of Phayeng 5 Lowest per capita income, low percentage of farmers taking loans and low area under forests per 1,000 households Meghalaya Spring-shed development for rejuvenation of springs for climate-resilient development in water-stressed areas 11.45 Very less area under crop insurance, low per capita income, low area under forests per 1,000 households and low percentage of farmers taking loans West Bengal Rainwater harvesting and sustainable water supply to the hilly areas in Darjeeling, adaptive measures 11.56 Highest population density, least number of primary healthcare centres per 100,000 households, least percentage of women in the workforce, second lowest area under forests, high percentage of marginal farmers and low MGNREGA participation Nagaland Gene pool conservation of indigenous rice varieties under the traditional, integrated rotational farming system for promoting livelihood and food security 12.34 No area under crop insurance, low percentage of farmers taking loans and low area under forests per 1,000 rural households Himachal Pradesh Sustainable livelihoods of agriculture-dependent rural communities in drought-prone districts 10 Low livestock-to-human ratio, inadequate irrigation, large proportion of small and marginal farmers Tripura NA NA Highest percentage of land under marginal farmers, low per capita income, low percentage area under forests and crop insurance Arunachal Pradesh NA NA Large area underslope >30%, low road density, least livestock-to-human ratio, lowest percentage of area under horticulture crops, least participation in MGNREGA, no croparea under insurance and low percentage of farmers taking loans Uttarakhand NA NA Low area under forests per 1,000 households Sikkim Addressing climate change vulnerability of water sector at gram panchayat level in drought-prone areas 10 Low area under forests per 1,000 households, low percentage area covered by insurance and low percentage of farmers taking loans The author is an intern at IndiaSpend.