Land, water and livelihoods

Primary faculty: Bejoy K. Thomas, Priyanka Jamwal, Shrinivas Badiger (Programme leader), Veena Srinivasan

Secondary affiliations: Sharachchandra Lele

To understand the trajectory and drivers of change occurring in land and water resources stressed regions with respect to water availability, water quality, land degradation, food security and provision of environmental services for and by the agricultural systems; and identify appropriate practical/ policy strategies to achieve environmental sustainability and human wellbeing.

Background

Since the early 1990s, rapid increases in irrigated agriculture and industrial production have subjected South Asia’s land and water resources to immense stress. Subsequently, conflicts over access to water, as an irrigation and household resource have intensified. Reducing such stress and resolving conflicts require an understanding of the linkages between the state of land and water resource, sectoral use and demand, and socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. In the prevailing economic contexts of increasing growth, for instance, national and international policies recognize the increasing industrial demands for water that compete with agricultural and domestic demands. Thus, although the National Water Policy, 2002, lists both drinking water and irrigation as priorities during planning and operations, it privileges the former by mandating that drinking water ‘should be the first charge of any water’. Irrigation on the other hand is required to ‘optimise water use efficiency’ even as water and land use policies need to be closely integrated. Equity and social justice need to be given due regard in water allocation. Fresh water– surface and ground– needs to be sustainably managed so that all have access to safe and sufficient water to drink and stay healthy; and food producers have access to sufficient supply to meet growing needs of an increasing population.

The broad goal of the Land, Water and Livelihoods programme is to explore interactions between agricultural, domestic and industrial land and water practices, related policies, and livelihood systems in resource-stressed agricultural regions. It will focus on understanding the direction and drivers of change in water availability, water quality, land degradation and food security in land and water-stressed regions. It will also address the provision of environmental services for and by agricultural systems, and identify appropriate practical and policy strategies to achieve environmental sustainability and human wellbeing. Emergent climate change scenarios that influence such land, water and livelihood interactions will be an important aspect of research and analysis.

Issues addressed

  • Water scarcity: decline in quantity and quality of water for human wellbeing, sustaining economic activities and ecosystem functioning (dry season river flows and groundwater depletion)
  • Changes in agricultural practices
  • Diversion to high-value uses (cash crops, industry and urban drinking water)
  • Climate variability and change
  • Land degradation: reduction in net cultivable area increasing pressure on land for more intense uses
  • Salinity and waterlogging in large irrigation schemes
  • Land-use management of areas prone to water and wind erosion (arid, semi-arid, high rainfall and steep slopes)
  • Climate change impacts: increased wind draft, reduced rainy days, high rainfall intensities

Research questions

Research questions are formed towards:

  • Generating knowledge concerning water utilization, access and availability, both spatially and temporally in resource-stressed regions in the context of changing land-use and water-use practices, and climate.
  • Identifying the role and importance of multiple uses of water in agriculture, livestock rearing for subsistence in various livelihood systems and their synergies.
  • Investigating issues of resource accessibility by local communities and vulnerable/ marginal groups; and identifying socio-institutional structures that hinder/ facilitate their participation in decision making processes.
  • Identifying risks to human health, food production/security and the environment from land degradation, water scarcity and decline in water quality.
  • Identifying policy, regulatory and socio-institutional options that facilitate equitable distribution/sharing and environmentally benign use of land and water resources.

Completed research

Includes research carried out by fellows at ATREE and CISED:

  • Watershed Development Review: Issues and Prospects (Joy and Paranjape)
  • Long-term Impacts of Watershed Development in Arid and Semi-arid India (Lele and Badiger)
  • Understanding Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in South Asia (Lele with Menon, Shah, Joy and Paranjape)
  • Valuation of Ecological Impacts in Forest Ecosystems (Purushottaman)
  • Review of Right to Water: Human Rights, State Legislation, and Civil Society Initiatives in India (Sangameswaran)
  • Colonial State, Zamindars and the Politics of Flood Control in North Bihar (P. Singh)
  • Land-use Change, Hydrologic Regimes and Water Conflicts in Malaprabha (Badiger)
  • Emerging Water Regulatory Frameworks and Related Reforms in Water Governance in Karnataka (Rao and Badiger)

Ongoing Research

  • Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development in Developing Countries –LUPIS project
  • Socio-economic vulnerability and livelihoods in Kuttanad/ Vembanad
  • Analysis of the scope that the Kerala Panchayathi Raj Act holds for decentralized conservation in the region around Vembanad wetlands
  • Vulnerability mapping

The programme is also expanding its research activities in two agro-ecological regions/sites where ATREE faculty have established prior field presence:

  • Malaprabha river basin in Karnataka
  • Vembanad lake and wetland ecosystem in Kerala

The research approach in these two contrasting socio-economic and ecological contexts will be to understand the bio-physical and socio-economic characteristics of the resource crisis and social conflict under changing agricultural practices and climate conditions.

Research, policy and community interfaces

  • Consultations with Parthasarthy Committee – policy gaps on issues of participation, equity, legal frameworks and investments to achieve long term impacts (learnings from first and second generation watershed development projects)
  • National workshop involving the NRAA: on rainfed area development – post second generation of watershed development projects (issues of distributional impacts of projects, environmental and livelihood sustainability of vulnerable groups)
  • Engagement with ministries in Karnataka (KWRA) on emerging water reforms (inter-sectoral engagement, water rights, allocation, equity, pricing and resource sustainability)
  • Partner workshops with NGOs and stakeholders in watershed development projects: distributional impacts, participation
  • Comprehensive GIS-based database on watershed development projects (areal extent and expenditure)
  • Stakeholder meeting in Malaprabha sub-basin: discussions among competing users of water: intensive agriculture and domestic water users
  • Consultative meeting on water reforms and the role of emerging Independent Regulatory Authorities/ Agencies (IRA) in Karnataka: water rights, depolitization of water governance and water markets
  • Citizens reader on water governance, emerging issue of IRA, water rights and participation (bilingual)
  • Gram Panchayats in Vembanad/ Kuttanad region: understanding issues of conflict between paddy growers and fishing communities: sustainable use and regulation of freshwater and tidal waters
  • Stakeholder meetings (along with CERC*, Vembanad)