Environmental Development
Publication Type: Journal Article
Author: Vijhani, Ayushi, Vinay Shankar Prasad Sinha, Chandrashekhar Azad Vishwakarma, Prashant Singh, Archit Pandey, and Mini Govindan
Abstract: Understanding climate change from the perspective of local communities can provide valuable insights into policy and strategy planning for the unprecedented consequences of climate change. A semi-structured questionnaire survey was carried out at 253 locations in the entire state of Uttarakhand that included three stakeholder groups, namely water resource managers, tribal communities, and local people. Qualitative and Quantitative methods were used to analyze the stakeholder responses about awareness, indicators, consequences, traditional practices, and adaptation strategies. Hypothesis testing using the Chi-Square (χ2) test at a 95% confidence level was performed to assess the climate change perceptions considering the stakeholder characteristics such as gender, income, landholding size, tribe, and residency period. The study deals with an innovative approach for validating the stakeholders' responses with geospatial datasets using common indicators such as precipitation, surface and sub-surface flow, and land use and land cover change (LULCC). The findings indicate that different stakeholder groups have different perceptions regarding the impact of climate change on natural resources, agriculture, and water. The results reveal that the stakeholders’ perceptions are concurrent with observed geospatial datasets. The study will help water resource managers and policy makers develop appropriate adaptation strategies based on indigenous and local knowledge to cope with climate change impacts.
