@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{SamPadmajaKaecheleetal.2020, author = {Sam, Anu Susan and Padmaja, Subash Surendran and K{\"a}chele, Harald and Kumar, Ranjit and M{\"u}ller, Klaus}, title = {Climate change, drought and rural communities: Understanding people's perceptions and adaptations in rural eastern India}, series = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {44}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {2212-4209}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101436}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7269}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Household's adaptation to drought risk consists of two steps. First step is acquiring knowledge on drought from previous drought experiences. Second step is formulation of local adaptation measures that can reduce drought risk. Lack of knowledge regarding households' perception about droughts and local adaptation measures are identified as barriers in formulating effective adaptation strategies and polices. Therefore, this paper aims to gather information on households' perceptions about drought impacts and local adaption and coping measures. We also analysed the potential determinants that affect the household's preferences for future adaptation and coping strategies. Data for the study was collected from 157 drought prone rural households of Odisha state in India. We employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The major impacts of drought reported by rural people were the yield reduction/loss and issues of various diseases during drought. Although more than half of rural households reported adverse effects of drought, it was not their predominate concern. The most common coping measure adopted by the rural people during drought was reduction in the consumption of rice/cereals. The results indicate that rural people prefer to follow reduction in the food consumption strategy in future also. Family size, gender and education of household head and distance to nearby town influenced the preference of adaptation and coping strategies. This research can stand as one mainstay in providing insights to researches and policy makers in formulating strategies and policies for vulnerability reduction in rural India.}, language = {en} } @article{UllahSamSathyanetal.2021, author = {Ullah, Ayat and Sam, Anu Susan and Sathyan, Archana Raghava and Mahmood, Nasir and Zeb, Alam and K{\"a}chele, Harald}, title = {Role of local communities in forest landscape restoration: Key lessons from the Billion Trees Afforestation Project, Pakistan}, series = {Science of The Total Environment}, journal = {Science of The Total Environment}, number = {772}, publisher = {Elsevier}, issn = {1879-1026}, doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145613}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-7326}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP) was launched in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan to conserve existing forests and to increase the area under forest cover. It also aimed to restore environmental conditions, promote rural livelihoods and reduce poverty. To improve the effectiveness of afforestation projects, it is essential to know the role of various factors and their impacts on community participation in landscape restoration. However, these factors and their impacts remain unexplored for the BTAP. This study identifies the factors that influenced rural household participation in the BTAP in Pakistan. The data were collected from participants and nonparticipants in the BTAP as well as from various officials. We employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data. The results of the focus group discussions and the professional evaluation of the BTAP revealed that participant farmers enjoyed all the benefits of the project at the individual and community levels. However, the project provided only partial benefits to nonparticipant farmers at both levels. The household-level results showed that age, income from forest resources, a friendly relationship with forest department staff, a risk-bearing attitude and membership or involvement in village development committee activities had positive and significant effects on farmer participation, while disputes over land and forest resources, household size and experience with/dependence on livestock farming had negative and significant impacts on farmer participation in the BTAP. Our results suggest that policymakers and project designers should pay more attention to the factors that hindered farmer participation in the BTAP. The participation of landless and disadvantaged groups in the 10-BTAP should be increased to ensure equal and widespread benefits for all users and to ensure a win-win situation of sustainable management of the forest, the environment and livelihood opportunities for all types of forest users.}, 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} }