Benefits of Reviving Indigenous Water Conservation Practices for Drought Resilience in Red and Lateritic Zones of West Bengal, India

Abstract

AbstractWater conservation practices have a fundamental role in facilitating irrigation and groundwater recharge in drought-prone regions. The present research aimed to determine benefits of indigenous water conservation (IWC) practices—tanks, dug wells, and ditches—in Kashipur and Chhatna blocks of Purulia and Bankura districts belonging to the red and lateritic zones (RLZ) of West Bengal, India. The household survey and focus group discussions were conducted on a total of 460 households (Kashipur, 150, and Chhatna, 310), which were selected by utilizing a stratified sampling method that covered 36 villages of the blocks. The analysis revealed that IWC structures along with the promotion of scientific cropping practices have provided supplementary water supply for micro-irrigation, increased cropping intensity, crop variability and rotation, and benefitted crop production—especially in drought and drought-like situations. As a result, income from agriculture has enhanced. Livestock ownership and income from livestock also improved due to increased water and feed availability supported by IWC structures. In all the study villages, additional water supply led to the adoption of nutrition gardening and revival of indigenous crops. This, in turn, ensured food and nutrition security and improvement in vegetable and fruit consumption and also led to a reduction in hunger days. The fundamental impacts of the IWC structures with scientific cropping techniques including the promotion of double cropping, nutrition gardening, indigenous crops, animal husbandry, and backyard fishery in ditches emerged as potential livelihood options. The present study suggests increasing community participation in the implementation of these structures, adoption of mixed cropping and multi-cropping practices, and up-scaling these multi-stakeholder approaches can continue to secure livelihoods and drought resilience in the RLZ, paving pathways for the adaptation of the marginalized communities to climate change.KeywordsIndigenous water conservation, Crop intensityFood securityDrought resilienceLivelihood diversityHunger days