Chapter 21 - Estimation of district-wise livelihood vulnerability index for the four coastal states in India

Abstract

Over the years, countless studies have attempted to estimate vulnerability, employing diverse conceptual frameworks and methods. Nevertheless, the research enquiries remain the same, i.e., who is vulnerable, what they are susceptible to, and what drives vulnerability. Regarding India, there are a limited number of studies for calculation of the livelihood vulnerability index, particularly for states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra. This study, thus, aims to estimate district-wise livelihood vulnerability indices for these coastal states, by adopting the method proposed by Hahn, Riederer, and Foster (2009). It is an aggregated index value and is computed based on the information collected for 34 indicators under six components, namely sociodemographic profile, livelihood, agriculture, human capital, health, and assets and amenities. By doing this, we have classified districts as per their score, and the top three districts identified in each state are: Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh; Viluppuram, Perambalur, and Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu; Malappuram, Kasaragod, and Kollam in Kerala; Nandurbar, Nanded, and Parbhani in Maharashtra. Except for Tamil Nadu, around 90% of the total number of districts scored higher than 0.4. A majority of the districts in Maharashtra have a high score (more than 0.6) in four components such as livelihood, agriculture, human capital, and assets and amenities. Similar observations have also been noticed for a few districts in other states. For instance, three districts in Andhra Pradesh and one district in Tamil Nadu for livelihood; one district in Kerala for human capital; and three districts in Andhra Pradesh for assets and amenities. The disaster management policies, both at the state and district levels, should give priority to the districts having a higher score, and, in particular, the components where that district is getting a higher value.