An indicator-based approach to assess village-level social and biophysical vulnerability of agriculture communities in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

With the growing recognition to myriad forms of current and future threats in the mountain agriculture systems, there is a pressing need to holistically understand the vulnerability of mountain agriculture communities. The study aims to assess the biophysical and social vulnerability of agriculture communities using an indicator-based approach for the state of Uttarakhand, India. A total of 14 indicators were used to capture biophysical vulnerability and 22 for social vulnerability profiles of 15285 villages. Vulnerability analysis was done at village level with weights assigned to each indicator using Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The results of the study highlight the presence of very high biophysical vulnerability (0.82 ± 0.10) and high social vulnerability (0.65 ± 0.15) within the state. Based on the results, it was found that incidences of high biophysical vulnerability coincide with presence of intensified agriculture land and absence of dense forest. Higher social vulnerability scores were found in villages with an absence of local institutions (like Self Helping Groups (SHGs)), negligible infrastructure facilities and higher occupational dependence on agriculture. A contrast was observed in the vulnerability scores of villages present in the three different altitudinal zones in the study area, indicating respective vulnerability generating conditions existing in these three zones. Biophysical vulnerability was recorded to be highest in the villages falling in the lower zone and lowest in the upper zone villages; whereas, social vulnerability was found to be highest in the middle zone villages and lowest in lower zone villages. Our study aids policy makers in identifying areas for intervention to expedite agriculture adaptation planning in the state. Additionally, the adaptation programmes in the region need to be more context-specific to accommodate the differential altitudinal vulnerability profiles.