An application of adjusted livelihood vulnerability index to assess vulnerability to climate change in the char areas of Assam, India

Abstract

In this paper, socio-ethnographic and Livelihood Vulnerability Index methods have been used as qualitative and quantitative methods respectively to measure vulnerability due to climate change. Three hundred and ninety four (394) numbers of households of Char inhabitants across the Brahmaputra Basin of Assam, India were interviewed during the period of May 2022 to September 2022. Access to food and housing were found to be the main drivers of vulnerability in almost all the Char areas. The study reveals that though ethnically a section of people is seen to be resilient in terms of flood; different geographical factors overpower such advantage, increasing the vulnerability of those households. Different factors affected the vulnerability status of the Char dwellers differently across the different locations. Additionally, apart from the different factors of vulnerability considered in the model used, the study also revealed that flood, erosion and geographical character of Char areas contributed to the creation of the differences in the degree of vulnerability. The results revealed that there is a need for different treatment for vulnerability reduction for Char dwellers in different locations and for which, the sub-indicators of vulnerability used in the study are needed to be studied carefully. Suggestions were also made on the scope for further study on this aspect.