@article{SusanSamAbbasSurendranPadmajaetal.2021, author = {Susan Sam, Anu and Abbas, Azhar and Surendran Padmaja, Subash and Raghavan Sathyan, Archana and Vijayan, Dhanya and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Kumar, Ranjit and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Flood vulnerability and food security in eastern India: A threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals}, series = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {66}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, number = {66}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {2212-4209}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102589}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7383}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The food security situation in India has improved due to economic growth, increased agricultural productivity, public policies and hunger eradication programmes. Nevertheless, much of India's population still suffers from hunger and poverty. Floods obstruct agricultural production; destroy infrastructure; and disrupt livelihoods, normal services, health care, etc. In this way, floods ultimately affect households' food security. We examined household food security in flood-prone rural areas of India in a more extensive way than in previous studies by constructing an index that incorporates various factors of the food security dimensions. Factors determining the level of flood-prone households' food security were also analyzed. By polychoric principal component analysis, an aggregate food security index was constructed. The food security score was regressed on different explanatory variables to evaluate their effect on the overall food security situation in the study area. Our results showed that three-fourths of the respondent households faced food security issues to varying degrees. Family type, physical assets and employment scheme showed positive impacts on the level of food security of the respondents. In contrast, households with female household heads and those suffering losses of property due to floods were adversely affected in terms of negative impacts on overall food security. The results suggest the need for the adoption of integrated strategies to effectively address food security issues amidst the increased severity of flood events. The study findings are useful for policy makers in India and countries with similar backgrounds to tackle the food insecurity brought about by flood hazards.}, language = {en} } @article{VijayanGirindranSametal., author = {Vijayan, Dhanya and Girindran, Renoy and Sam, Anu Susan and Sathyan, Archana Raghavan and Kaechele, Harald}, title = {The large-scale expansion of rubber plantations in southern India: major impacts and the changing nature of drivers}, series = {Environmental Monitoring and Assessment}, volume = {196}, journal = {Environmental Monitoring and Assessment}, number = {4}, publisher = {Springer International Publishing}, address = {Cham}, issn = {0167-6369}, doi = {10.1007/s10661-024-12517-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-9443}, abstract = {Abstract This study investigates the major environmental and socio-economic impacts of an increase in the area of rubber plantations and the changing patterns of drivers of land use changes. Using a combination of geospatial techniques and socio-economic methods, we mainly analyzed the rate of increase in area under rubber plantations, the major impacts of land use changes, and the changing drivers of land use changes. Our results show that the area under rubber plantations has increased significantly within the study area, with the area under rubber plantations increasing from 30 to 74\% of the total area within five decades. Impact assessment of land use changes based on household surveys showed significant improvement in the socio-economic conditions of the farmers, however, at the expense of severe environmental degradation. Our results also indicate that while areas under rubber plantations continue to increase, the drivers of land use changes have changed over time. Furthermore, it has been observed that in the past, many interventions prioritized social and economic development and placed less emphasis on the ecological stability of the region. Perceptions of farmers revealed that the effects of ecological fragility already affected the economic robustness of the whole area. Therefore, we conclude that government interventions to support additional rubber cultivation should also focus on ecosystem stabilization in order to minimize the risk of an ecological catastrophe that would significantly affect the economic prosperity of the region.}, subject = {-}, language = {en} }