Adaptation of small scale farmers to climatic risks in India - Sustainet

Figure xix Watershed management plan painted in the wall of the
community house in a village
5.4.4 Building resilience through better management
of forests
In Orissa, the livelihood of the tribal population largely rests on
their access to land and forests. Tribals have a strong sense
of attachment to the forest as their ancestral territory. When
asked about adaptation in response to weather changes, 95
percent of the farmers highlighted the role of forests in their
daily live and the need for a better protection of the later.
Reforestation and an efficient forest management could be
one of the important adaptation strategies in the study area in
order to face degrading weather conditions.
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Ishwar Manjhi, from
Pondakapadar village was
lucky: He owns a small plot of
land besides the canal, which
brings water from the small
check dam to the village. He
was able to grow vegetables
on a slightly larger scale.
From the benefits, he
constructed a house,
purchased additional land and
sent his children to school.
Due to its watershed management project, Kotikunda village now gets substantial earnings out of wood
sales (see 4.5.3). Also in other villages, promising approaches exist: To conserve the forest, farmers in
Pondakapadar village have created a self-help group called “Jungle committee”, with the goal of
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