community and climate change interactions on Livelihoods

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1 “Assessment of impacts of irrigation tanks, farm ponds and village ponds on livelihoods of farmers of coastal areas of Tamil Nadu” Project Guide: Mr. P. Subburaj , Coastal Conservation and livelihood Programme , DHAN Foundation, Madurai, India Impacts Assessment by: Amod Saini , Student , M.Sc Forest Ecology and Management, Albert- Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany WELCOME

Structures of presentation: 

Structures of presentation 2 Objectives Methodology Findings Discussion/Suggestions Conclusion Limitations

About the Project : 

About the Project “ IncreasedWater Harvesting And Diminished Desertification” Area Of Implementation: 5 Coastal Districts Targeted Families 12500 Work of DHAN: 75 Tanks, 25 Ponds and creation of 1500 Farm Ponds. 3

Objectives of the study : 

Objectives of the study To study the importance of irrigation tanks, farm ponds and village ponds in drought prone areas and its impact on livelihoods of the people and effectiveness of community based approach To study the role of irrigation tanks, farm ponds and village ponds in changing climate To identify the gaps(if any) and work out of possible suggestions 4

Methodology : 

Methodology Direct interview with farmers, labors and focus group discussion with community Sample size 20 Data collection: semi- structured questionnaire 6 FGD for irrigation tanks in 6 villages FGD/community discussion for 4 village ponds, including women of the villages 10 Individual interviews for Farm ponds farmers in different villages Note --- Purposive sampling & qualitative 5

PowerPoint Presentation: 

6 MDGs UNDP

PowerPoint Presentation: 

7

Coastal area of Tamil Nadu/ prone to climate change : 

Coastal area of Tamil Nadu/ prone to climate change Rain is highly erratic unequally distributed, Drought , Floods and storm prone No Forest land or less forested area, Semi arid High temperature and high humidity Low productivity Low soil fertility 8 (http://tnmaps.tn.nic.in)

Relevance Dry lands : 

Relevance Dry lands “Water is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity, the eradication of poverty & hunger, and is indispensable for human health and well-being and central to achieving the MDGs” (United Nations Conference on Sustainable development ) “The world has made much progress in fighting poverty and inequality, but much remains to be done in dry lands. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals will not be possible without due attention to the dry lands, where close to half of the world’s poor live . (UNDP)

Socio-economy of the people : 

Socio-economy of the people Most of the farmers are Small 1-2 ha and marginal < 1 ha Some people are engaging in salt industry and fish industry in Thoothukudi and Nagai Some are making jaggery / sugar from Palmyrah tree Some are engaged in charcoal making from Prosopis juliflora 10

Information‘s collected: 

Information‘s collected Importance of Structures in village Farm Income, farm production, extra water availability, livestock status, rain, climate change impacts, climate change causes. Water quality, fishing, pollution from pesticides in catchment areas, migration, Activities of villagers, community bonding, Impacts on women and girls Maintenance, Quality of work, Satisfaction, working of DHAN staff, Suggestions, Gaps

Introduction : 

Introduction A tank is a human made or natural reservoir of water containing earthen bunds or embankments. River or rainwater runoff from the catchment empties into the tank. The tanks are non-system and system tanks. Non-system tanks are those tanks, which receive their water intake from the rain and have a small storage capacity .

Introduction : 

Introduction Tanks has historically been an indispensable part of the village habitat, sustaining its socio-ecological balance ( Sakthivadivel et al, 2004) Godsend/ tanks from Sangam period 300 BC Tamil Nadu can proud of some of the oldest examples of irrigation works in the country (Guhan, 1984) Contribution of tanks to irrigation decline from about 40% in Tamil Nadu in 1955 to less than 25% in 2000. Currently there are nearly 42000 tanks in Tamil Nadu which irrigates 5 lakhs ha of agricultural lands. 13 Source- tanks vision in Tamil Nadu, DHAN and department of economics & statistics

Findings of Objective 1: 

Findings of Objective 1 Importance of water harvesting structures in Coastal Areas of Tamilnadu: India has a long coast of about 7600 km and agriculture in the coastal districts has rich agro-biodiversity. But many of coastal districts of Tamil Nadu are drought prone areas Rice is the major staple crop in the coastal region. In addition, horticultural crops and plantations, especially coconut dominates coastal agriculture.

Eradication of Poverty: 

Eradication of Poverty As per DFID development framework, for a sustainable livelihood, social, financial, natural, physical and human capital has to be in harmony with each other. created of space for the community financial support for renovation stabilized of water harvesting structures Increased farm income

Risk Mitigation: 

Risk Mitigation Tanks and village ponds are very helpful to reduce the risk of uncertainty of monsoon rain. In the project area the monsoon rain is highly erratic and sometimes the coastal communities face a total failure of monsoon. Now these structures absorb that risk in such climatic conditions. Whenever receiving rainfall, these structures are able to collect rain water, Flood fear risk

Crop Diversifications : 

Crop Diversifications The rehabilitated water bodies support to change the old cropping pattern and help to introduce new cash crops and vegetables which were not possible before in such uncertain rain fed conditions. Many farmers are growing different crops after renovations. This was possible only due to increased water storing capacity

Food Security : 

Food Security The agricultural production has to increase to ensure the food availability in rural areas for the increasing population and well-being of coastal communities. This is possible either increasing the area under cultivation or increasing productivity. Agricultural production has increased by 35 to 100% after the tank renovation and 33 to 200 % in case of farm ponds. These renovations have brought total food security at present in these areas by increasing the area under cultivation & productivity. Crop failure stopped. Hence they are able to have food from their field Note- external effect PDS

Restoration of micro ecology of farms : 

Restoration of micro ecology of farms “Already it is proved that good moisture level is required by soil microbes which are a part of soil ecology” Irrigation tanks, village ponds and Farm ponds are good enough to restore ecology at micro level; they can bring greenery in the villages, maintain soil moisture level, recharge ground water level and improve the water quality. They help in degradation of soil organic matter and leaf litter of crops; releasing these nutrients to soil, keeping its fertility constant. Reduce soil erosion

Enhancing soil fertility and water use efficiency for sustainable agriculture: 

Enhancing soil fertility and water use efficiency for sustainable agriculture Ecological intensification of cropping systems in fluctuating environments often depends on reducing the reliance on subsistence cereal production, integration with livestock enterprises, greater crop diversification, and agro-forestry systems that provide higher economic value and also foster soil conservation. Maintenance and enhancement of soil fertility is vital for food security and environmental sustainability Tanks and Farm ponds are very helpful to maintain agro-forestry systems in coastal region

Migration: : 

Migration: These water harvesting structures are very helpful in stopping migration from rural areas to towns as they provide water in critical conditions when other sources are not available in hot summer. One of the farmers in Pudhukottai district has shared that “Due to additional water availability, we were able to take up second crop. This has provided additional employment for the villagers ” - this arrests migration to urban slums

Water security for human needs: : 

Water security for human needs: Irrigation tanks, village ponds and farm pond are used by people for taking bath, rearing fish, and feeding livestock. Tanks, farm ponds and village ponds are very successful to reduce psychological stress on women and girls because they walk 2 to 6 km every day for collecting water for drinking and domestic purposes. I found the usefulness of the structures renovated during the project during my visit as I found in one village namely Ekkakudi , Thirupullani where even in hot summer water is available in pond and village women were taking bathing and taking water for their house hold activities

Livestock status and health: 

Livestock status and health Livestock is important component of rural life which provides milk, meat and a good market value. Goats are very common in these areas due to good market demands. In case of tanks it’s increased almost in all tanks. In case of village ponds it’s also increased in all four village ponds even in drinking water pond in V. Subaiyapuram village goats were using that village pond for drinking purpose. One of the farmers on renovation of tanks “If we have not renovated our tank, we have to take our livestock to nearby tanks/villages in search of water

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Increase in farm production and farm income Change in farm production and income , tanks

Change in farm production and income, farm ponds : 

Change in farm production and income, farm ponds 25

Extra water availability: : 

Extra water availability: These structures are providing extra water in addition to rainy season; they provide water in dry season too. Extra water availability has been increased by 2 to 5 months for tank renovation. Farm ponds and village ponds are providing extra water for 2 to 4 months additionally One of the farmers in Pethanendhal said “Due to renovation, we had more water. Because of this, we have irrigated ‘ punjai ’(Area marked as rain fed for this tank) in addition to ‘ Vayal ’(Area marked as irrigated for this tank, also called Nanjai )

Improvement in Water quality: 

Improvement in Water quality The project aims at harvesting of rainwater which helps to improve the quality of the subsurface water. The effect of this I could get from the interaction with the villagers of the Nedungulam village that the quality of common bore water in the banks of the Nedungulam village pond improved due to deepening of the village pond and storing more water.

Women empowerment and confidence: 

Women empowerment and confidence This project has given the space to the women in the village scenario. women who were organised under SHGs have taken charge of their village pond and have taken initiative to renovate their village pond in Ekkakudi in Ramand District. Especially all village ponds were very helpful for women because of water access just near to their homes To understand the status of water availability and necessity of village pond for a village, I have also visited to a village in Thoothukudi where work is not taken up Drudgery of women & girls in collecting water reduced

Effectiveness of implementing works through community participation: 

Effectiveness of implementing works through community participation Community approach based on needs of people is a very effective in rural development due to participatory planning, implementation and learning. In one village Muslim women have taken initiative to renovate a village pond which became a symbol of power, self respect, confidence and adaptive approach of women. This renovation was successful to raise respect of women in village Ekkakudi in Ramnad Quality of work execution is execellent

Pride for the villagers : 

Pride for the villagers Village ponds have been used by villagers for many different purposes. “People of other villages around our villages come here for water for construction of houses. If this is not available they won’t be afford to purchase water for construction” said a farmer in Serandhai . A farmer in Pudkukottai shared that “We feel that our village is developed because of water availability in our village till next monsoon. Even people from nearby small town are coming to our village for taking bath .”

Findings of Objective 2: 

Findings of Objective 2 Need for Adaptation In terms of pro-poor adaptation actions, it is important to understand the key challenges faced by impoverished communities, including lack of food, deteriorating social networks, lack of basic services, housing and employment. There is a need to improvise the traditional knowledge to meet the adaptation for poor rural peoples, keeping their faiths and customs in view.

Farm ponds, irrigation tanks and village ponds as adaptive tools to climate change   : 

Farm ponds, irrigation tanks and village ponds as adaptive tools to climate change Many farmers were saying “if rain is good everything is good; if rain is not good then our livelihood will be at risk”. In these areas agriculture is based on north-east monsoon which is very erratic, unpredictable and very short in duration, which is about 2 to 3 months only. These structures provide a good resistant to farmers for their livelihood even they are not getting normal rain fall.

Uncertainty of Rain: 

Uncertainty of Rain Monsoon rain is highly uncertain as it also reflects from the response of villagers. While conducting FGDs related to tanks 50% respondents said that they were not getting normal rain over the recent years and rain had changed in pattern in last 10 to 20 years. In 10 farm ponds interviews in different villages of Nagai and Ramnad districts, only one farmer in Nagai said that he is getting normal rain and 9 farmers said they are facing less and cyclonic rain. Also the cycling and timing of the north-east monsoon has changed.

Need of Climate change awareness:: 

Need of Climate change awareness: Many of them are not aware about the future perspective of climate change. “Climate change is a natural phenomenon and we cannot do anything in this regard”. Because many farmers related climate change to general seasonal change in climate Farm pond farmers were more aware of these phenomena than to tank and village pond focus group discussions respondents. Many farmers are not aware of negative effects of climate change like sea level rise, droughts, erratic rain, cyclonic rain and floods .

Sustainability of livelihood in climate change: 

Sustainability of livelihood in climate change Almost all farmers said they are totally rain dependent if rain is not normal their life will be miserable. They were not confident about the future due to rain dependency. However, almost all farmers and villagers agreed that tanks, farm ponds and village ponds are helpful to combat climate change.

Findings under objective 3: 

Findings under objective 3 “ To identify the gaps (if any) and work out of possible suggestions” There is urgent need to reconsider the valuable traditional irrigation systems which were in use in historic time and were successful in risk mitigation. In drought prone areas these traditional systems play a vital role for livelihood of poor farmers.

Findings under objective 3 : 

Findings under objective 3 There was no dug well in one village pond , Although all people were satisfied with the quality of work but they think that size of the tanks and farm ponds should be increased in future to meet their requirement. One Village pond was contaminated by garbage Village ponds should be fenced In one village, there were no steps in village pond Farmers want to introduce new varieties/technical knowledge Support in Animal husbandry/organic farming Encroachment of supply channel to Keelakanneriseri tank

Discussions : 

Discussions Tanks are one of the very old systems of irrigation in south India and a major source for the livelihood of many poor farmers particularly. Tanks and farm ponds both are good sources for irrigation and both are necessary in present conditions for irrigation to maintain agriculture growth. Government incentives of cheap loans and electricity have augmented other sources of irrigation. But poor farmers who have not such facilities would be vanished in time if help will not be provided to compensate these risks and gambling of uncertain agriculture .

Discussions : 

Discussions At state level there should be motivation for rural farmers to maintain their interest in these facilities. Government should provide a motivation at policy level to keep irrigation tanks and farm ponds in tradition as it require less investment Providing full subsidy to have tanks and farm ponds at community level

Discussions : 

Discussions Redefine the traditional community rights to have better command and management on community tanks and village ponds. Involving local communities in management of PWD tanks so that efficient use of rain water can be possible for community’s well being. Use of pesticides and chemicals should be avoided in the catchment areas of tanks and ponds.

Discussions : 

Discussions Financial and technical support for maintenance of tanks, Farm ponds and village ponds Motivation to livestock activities could lead to better returns to communities, there is need to support milch breed rearing. Villagers in one village also demanded forming of milk societies and dairy cooperative to channelize the milk supply and demand. Effective extension services for adaptation in changing climate scenario for agriculture and capacity building

Conclusion : 

Conclusion Continuous support Many of them said, “ We will never forget DHAN and EU for support, as they changed our life” . Villagers in one village said “ they are feeling like developed farmers after revival of their irrigation tank” . Farm ponds were very effective for individual farmer that provide tool for sustainable agriculture in these drought prone areas. In Nagai, one farmer said, “ His dreams have become true through this project ”

limitations: 

limitations Lack of Background knowledge of communities Language the wall Interfere from other farmers Farmers unwilling to share production and income details in FGD Sampling size 20 43

PowerPoint Presentation: 

44 Questions and discussion

Thanks for your time : 

Thanks for your time 45