Divya GEHLAWAT, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, India
Bindhy Wasini PANDEY, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, India
Climate change are the long term modifications of Earth’s weather conditions occurring due to geological, atmospheric, chemical or anthropogenic factors. Increasing average temperatures and erratic precipitation patterns have manifested in drastic changes in livelihood of local communities sourcing their means of subsistence from climate sensitive activities like agriculture. The Bhagirathi basin is a fragile landscape and the mainstay of the local population of the region depends on farming. The region cultivates rice and wheat as food crops and lower reaches of the valley produces a range of fruits and vegetables. However, conditions of water scarcity due to decrease in monsoonal rains, rising temperatures and increase in instances of pest attacks has led to decline in farm productivity and yield, ultimately impacting farm income. The paper assesses the impact of climate change on livelihood security of local community depending on agriculture. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative data to undertake the impact assessment. The spatial and temporal climatic data both for temperature and precipitation will be obtained using Landsat images sourced from USGS. First hand field survey conducted through questionnaire method using random sampling to study the implications of climatic variations on agricultural landscapes and the resultant dynamics of livelihood patterns. The research concluded that increasing impacts of climate change has led to fragile livelihood security and the local population is migrating to other areas. The paper stressed on the rising need to adapt to such variations in ecologically sustainable manner and devise climate smart practices for agriculture by holistic amalgamation of traditional knowledge and scientific innovation for resilient agricultural practices along with securing robust food security infrastructure for the region.
Mots clés : Climate change|Agriculture|Livelihood|Food security|Bhagirathi River basin
A104224DG