Climate Change Adaptation in Rural India: A Green Infrastructure Approach

水是稀缺资源在印度，尤其是在马哈拉施特拉邦，大多数降雨仅限于6月至9月的季风季节。印度政府长期以来一直促进了一种参与式分水岭发展（PWD）的方法来应对这种稀缺性，重点是技术和社会干预措施restore barren landscapes，促进农业生产并改善生计。

这PWD approach现在面临着一个重大挑战：气候变化。必威官网是真的吗在过去的十几年中，印度经历了four major droughts。This past year, the state of马哈拉施特拉邦received only 82 percent of its average monsoon rainfall; some districts received only 25-50 percent of average rainfall. For agrarian villages located in arid and semi-arid regions of Maharashtra, any small reduction in rainfall can compromise agricultural yields, drinking water supplies, and, really, the community’s entire existence. In the face of unabated climate change, reductions in monsoon rainfall are likely to become increasingly common.

但是有解决方案。这水shed Organisation Trust (WOTR)is one organization that’s exploring ways to safeguard livelihoods in these regions in the face of changing environmental conditions and increasing water shortages.

A Brief History of Participatory Watershed Development in India

WOTR has been actively implementing PWD projects in India since the 1990s. In Maharashtran villages like Wankute and Kumbharwadi, severe soil nutrient depletion, erosion, and water scarcity prevented villagers from cultivating more than a single crop during monsoon season—usually pearl millet or pulses. As a result, villagers were forced to work as migrant farm laborers or in sugarcane factories for the remaining six-to-eight months of the year.

WOTR helped develop the villages’ capacity to trap rainfall and replenish surface and groundwater using natural landscape treatments, such as farm bunds, hillside terracing, planting of native trees, and water and fertilizer budgeting. Villagers contributed their time and labor to install these landscape treatments and agreed to keep livestock from grazing on recently planted areas.

如今，Wankute和Kumbharwadi都是绿色的，有树木覆盖的山坡和全年的作物生产。现在，农民种植季风（Kharif），冬季（狂犬病）和夏季作物，由于灌溉和土壤质量的改善，作物产量增加了。在与农民团体的会议中，村民自豪地说明他们的孩子现在如何有足够的稳定能够在学校（甚至在大学里）。另外，妇女在社区中更加活跃：她们通过牲畜行动赚取了自己的收入，并创建了25个全女性的“自助”群体，这些团体是社区中的微贷方。

Adapting to Climate Change

然而，今年的干旱给这些村庄带来了新的挑战，以及使用PWD的发展成功的潜在挫折。Wankute和Kumbharwadi农民团体表示担心最近的干旱将降低其农业产量和收入。如果这种趋势继续下去，一些家庭可能不得不再次在村庄外面寻找工作，他们将需要水箱来补充饮用水供应。WOTR现在正在与村民合作，以适应这些障碍，随着全球温度继续升高，它们可能变得更加重要。

To address some near-term climate risks—specifically drought and weather fluctuations—WOTR is employing aClimate Change Adaptation (CCA) project。该计划的重点是扩大流域发展干预措施，以促进可持续的土地管理和提供新的弹性建设策略。WOTR的CCA项目目前正在印度三个州的53个村庄中实施。

CCA interventions includewater-budgeting techniquesand technologies (like drip irrigation and planning for a variety of water needs),Agro-Meleology安装向村民提供了频繁，及时的天气报告，agricultural intervention planning，，，，livelihood diversification，，，，and生物多样性和生态系统保护。这organization also promotes the use of太阳能设备for cooking and lighting--the former is particularly effective in conserving trees. In addition to helping villagers contend with an increasingly unpredictable climate, these treatments提供多个辅助益处，，，，such as habitat conservation, carbon sequestration, improvements in air and water quality and human health, and reduced soil erosion.

来自Maharasthra的教训

这situation in Maharashtra mirrors what an increasing number of rural communities are facing in regions all over the world. Due to changing environmental and climatic conditions,many communities必须改变他们多年以维护生计的实践。此外，这些社区必须保护和恢复它们所依赖的脆弱生态系统，哪些对于确保其对不断变化的条件的韧性很重要。WOTR的方法有可能为印度农村以及全球半干旱和干旱地区提供有价值的气候变化适应课程。必威官网是真的吗

WRI is currently working with WOTR to analyze the costs and benefits of a PWD approach and the use of climate change adaptation treatments to manage risks. As the Government of India moves forward with its watershed development programs, this collaborative work will hopefully shed light on how to protect rural livelihoods and determine which watershed treatments and technologies should be promoted in rain-fed agrarian villages across India.

阅读更多：

• Green vs. Gray Infrastructure: When Nature Is Better than Concrete

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