Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Framework for Sustainable River Basin Management

Abstract

Depleting water resources alarms us our approach toward development and drives us to take sustainable approach to conserve our natural resources. River basins are no exception to this, and will face more severe consequences in the light of climate change, making them more vulnerable. The status of water resources, determines its adaptive capacity and resilience to environmental changes brought about climate change. Thus, sustainable development and effective management approach help to adapt to the changes to come. An impact of Climate change not only affects the ecosystem of the river basin, but they interact with prevailing socio-economic conditions and can have detrimental effects on livelihood of indigenous people. Dependency of indigenous communities over natural resources, like forest resources make more vulnerable in climate change. To assess the impacts of climate change on natural resources with interdependency of communities Livelihood approach is more relevant. This paper shows two different vulnerability assessment indexes to reflection of effective and valid vulnerability measures, namely Livelihood Effect Index (LEI) and Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI). Both could be usefully utilized into identification and prioritization of adaptation and mitigation policies at universal level. The LVI, developed by IPCC, is reflecting the three indicators and seven dimensions namely: socio-demographic profile, livelihood strategies, social networks, health, food, water, and natural disasters and climate variability of adaptive capacity, sensitivity and exposure; whereas the LEI is dealing with the index values of natural, human social, financial and physical capital of community dependency. Both the LVI and the LEI provide a community based composite index, while the LEI also provides a household based composite index. The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework has evolved into an interdisciplinary tool for environmental analyses and assumes cause-effect relationship between interacting component of social, economic, and environmental systems. The DPSIR framework helps in identifying the indicators of LVI and LEI vulnerability index as cause-effect relationship. The DPSIR framework also provides the feedback of cause-effect continuous process which will be helpful in developing the capacities to cope or adapt to the vulnerability as responses factor. We developed the DPSIR framework to fit for the River Basin Management Planning (RBMP) directives. The framework proposed, which can be state as DSCER framework and which can be interdisciplinary approach on community-cause-consequence relationship for relevant decision making process.