Gender based vulnerability in the occupational pattern due to climate change in hilly regions of Darjeeling West Bengal

Abstract

Climate change is a global concern and it has diverse socio-economic impacts. Societies depending upon natural resources or ecosystems for their livelihood are highly sensitive to climate change. Both men and women are differently affected by the impacts and should have a different responsive approach for effective and sustainable outcomes. The livelihood of the people in hilly areas is mostly dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources. Directly or indirectly, the adverse climate in the hilly regions has affected the resources and the sources of livelihood of the people as they are more exposed to increased shocks and stresses. Gender is considered an important dimension in assessing climate change vulnerability but rarely incorporated in the planning and decision-making process. It is very important to understand the gender and climate change nexus and bridge the gender gap by empowering women in different sectors, especially in rural areas. The adaptive and mitigation strategies in the call of climate change are to be incorporated with gender vulnerability to reduce the shocks and stress faced by them. The focus of the research is to understand different facets vulnerability in the hilly areas and study gender-based vulnerability in the occupational pattern due to the impact of climate change and also formulate adaptive strategies to reduce their vulnerability. Darjeeling district being the hilly region in the state of West Bengal also falls under Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, which is a major hotspot for climate change. Mirik block in the district is chosen as the area for study due to its rural character and also based on the convenience and accessibility to the place. The livelihood of the people in the block are mostly resource-dependent and major livelihood practice includes hill based agriculture and tea cultivation. The block also has the second highest women workforce participation in the Darjeeling district which also upholds the significance of studying gender livelihood study. The study helps in understanding the livelihood pattern of the rural households and how they have been directly and indirectly impacted by the climate variables. The degree of livelihood vulnerability of the households with main income contributors as male, female, or both has been analysed using Livelihood Vulnerability Index, incorporating the IPCC framework approach. The key drivers of vulnerability are identified and adaptive strategies are proposed to increase the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable groups. As a part of the recommendation, the framework has also been formed for better implementation of the proposed strategies. The research has given an insight into the livelihoods pattern of the households in the study area. The role of local government is significant in establishing sustainable livelihood options in the area. Further research may be necessary to highlight different livelihood characteristics of the village clusters within the block based on the topography of the region (elevation) and recommend strategies as per requirement.