According to Andrea Meza Murillo, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), “The climate we envision in the distant future is already here. Record heat, cyclical droughts, floods, storms, hurricanes and cyclones, once rare , is the new norm. But our appetite for growth and economic growth has not been matched by our basic need for survival.”
A major report, “Economics of Drought: Investing in Nature-Based Solutions for Drought Resilience-Provisional Payoffs”, has been published by the UNCCD, the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative, and the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UN). -INWEH). Its broad goal is to conceptualize the economics of drought, solutions and ways to build resilience to these events. As the report collected evidence from around the world, the Indian partner was the Pune-based Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR).
WOTR’s work in Akole and Sangamner block villages in Ahmednagar were case studies in this country. The villages receive very little rainfall and the people are frequently exposed to drought conditions. WOTR’s initiatives included construction of ditches, afforestation, tree planting and institutional community building at the village level. Studies show that sustainable land and ecosystem management along with watershed development can improve land resilience. The report was launched on December 3 at the ongoing COP16 in Riyadh, with Marcela D’Souza, director of the WOTR Center for Resilience Studies, attending the event.
“We worked with six villages – four Sangamner and two Akole – between 2010 and 2014. We also established three control villages, where we had minimal or no intervention. For the UNCCD report, we evaluated these interventions in terms of economic evaluation. We have compared the benefits. What is the benefit-cost ratio of these interventions to the control villages. Basically, what is the cost of inaction? If we don’t take action to build, what’s the cost? If we do take action, what’s the cost?” Says Vijay Solanki, one of the researchers on the project.
As the report reveals, “soil erosion decreased by 24.7% (in the intervention villages) compared to a 2.8% increase in the control villages”. As a result of interventions to restore depleted water resources, some villages experienced a reduction in the need for water tankers, while others did not require tankers throughout the year. “A unique element was that we introduced agro-meteorological advice to farmers, where we set up automatic weather stations in those villages and analyzed temperature and humidity. This empowered farmers to understand what is suitable for particular crops. We used these agro-climates. Advises to farmers. If rain is not favorable, do not harvest or sow. As a result, farmers are able to reduce their dependence on the changing rainfall patterns They have been able to adapt crop cycles to increase production,” says Solanki.
“The overall cost-benefit ratio of the interventions ranged from 1.15 to 1.19 of social and financial returns for each dollar. Even though the project ended 10 years ago, the village continues to own the system. Ultimately, the communities contribute to the project in the form of labor donation or services. They contribute to their development. For, they are doing it voluntarily for the development of their village,” says Solanki. “Because of these interventions on the ground, we can see the benefits after 10 to 14 years. We call it sustainable gains,” he added.
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