Unidentified rag pickers search for recyclable material in the garbage. Photo: Dipak Shelare/Shutterstock

Marginalized Communities Bear the Brunt of Climate Change in India

Dalit Indians are among the least to blame for climate change, but being marginalized they disproportionately suffer its impacts
Dalit Indians are among the least to blame for climate change, but being marginalized they disproportionately suffer its impacts

Farmer Venkatravanna (45) owns 3 acres of land in Kolar district of Southern India’s Karnataka state. He grows capsicum and tomatoes by solely depending on borewells without any irrigation. Like him, marginalized communities bear the brunt of climate change in India. 

He is baffled by the depleting water from the borewell he dug on his land years ago. ‘When there is not enough water for crops, I buy it from other farmers,’ he says sadly.

In Kolar, the main source of irrigation are the nearly 30,000 borewells. A 2020 study found that 42% of farmers in this region believed that overexploitation of groundwater was the reason why borewells didn’t function optimally. In addition, 36% of farmers thought lack of rainfall to be the main reason and 8% stated that rainwater harvesting contributed too.

Three hours from India’s IT city of Bengaluru, lies Gowdathatagadde village, home to 1,800 people. Like Venkatravanna, 90% of these villagers belongs to the Dalit community, considered a ‘low’ caste, according to the 2011 country’s census count.

The caste system in India has determined an individual’s place in society by virtue of birth and occupation for more than 2000 years. Those on the lower end of the ancient social hierarchy including scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) constitute, respectively, 16.6% and 8.6% of the population. These groups typically take up low-income occupations and agricultural labour.  

As crop yields declined over the years in Gowdathatagadde, most villagers left the farming sector here and took up jobs as daily wage labourers in Bengaluru. Venkatravanna is one of the few people left behind.

Why? Kolar district has a semi-arid climate and no water bodies. A study declared the district perpetually drought-hit. This classification is given to districts with either 60% rainfall deficit or 33% crop loss for three weeks.

Women farmers work on a rice field. Photo: Nandalal Sarkar/Pixabay

Climate change-driven water scarcity

As a result, in addition to discrimination, climate change affects ‘low’ caste people disproportionately.

In 2017, a project led byDr M. Balasubramanian of the Institute for Social and Economic Change studied the impacts of climate on marginalized communities in four villages in Karnataka state using a household vulnerability index. 

From 305 households in Yarjanthi, Bhoovanahalli, Shiriyara and Gowdathatagadde villages, 65% acknowledged that they were highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change and in need of emergency help.

“The IPCC’s fifth assessment report evaluates vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. We did this study based on the international criteria of climate vulnerability,” said Professor Balasubramanian.

Among villages studied, 70% of the SC and STs respondents said total agricultural productivity came down in the last decade. “Agriculture production has a positive and statistically significant association with climate change,” the study said. 

One of the primary reasons for this is water scarcity. In Gowdathatagadde and Bhoovanahalli villages, at least 75% of surveyed households had insufficient water

Between 1971 and 2007, 630 mm was the lowest rainfall in Kolar region. According to the aforementioned analysis, the region dried up from 2007 to 2017. During early Karnataka monsoons in 2008, 23 mm was the lowest rainfall, while the highest in 2016 was 176 mm.

Income of marginalized groups impacted 

Venkatravanna complains: ‘State or central government officials never help. Whenever I do have water, pests attack my crop and I don’t get enough tomatoes. If all does go well, I still don’t get the right price.” 

Unable to make a profit, he took a loan of $4,646 to make ends meet. “I expect $2 for 16 kgs of tomatoes. Middlemen take huge commissions, leaving me with little,” he said.

These sentiments on low prices resonate with country-wide farmers’ protests against the new farm bills. “What else can a farmer do? We can only depend on agriculture as we have no other source of income,” Venkatravanna adds. 

Out of 181 countries, India ranks seventh on the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. Due to heat stress from rising temperature, Indians may lose 5.8% of work hours or 34 million full-time jobs by 2030,  the International Labour Organization pointed out.  

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh/India-September 16, 2020: People of the Dalit community held a protest outside the HP Vidhan Sabha over exploitation, widespread caste discrimination and violence. Photo: Madan Sehgal/Shutterstock

Waste pickers and climate change

The majority of sweepers, manual scavengers and waste pickers belong to SC/ST communities. Waste picker Saira Bhanu, 30, lives opposite a slum near Delhi’s Bhalswa landfill. 

Being the sole breadwinner of a family of seven is challenging during the ongoing pandemic. Bhanu’s average income of $163 dropped by half. 

In addition, rising temperatures could further hurt the income of waste pickers like Bhanu. “High daytime temperatures and precipitation, would restrict their activity in terms of time spent collecting waste. This would have a serious adverse impact on waste pickers’ earnings,” said Dr. Samraj Sahay, an independent researcher of climate change adaptation and sustainability at the Institute of Economic Growth.

The IPCC’s fifth assessment report adopted the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) or five scenarios to climate adaptation by 2100. Sahay takes account of how the scenarios could play out locally. “Living next to the landfill exposes waste pickers to the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases. In the SSP framework, the risk faced by the waste pickers would be very high under scenario three, marked by an increasing unequal society, and scenario four, which reflects major challenges to adaptation.”

Ultimately, for people like Saira and Venkatravanna to have a fair shot at life, “State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC) have to serve the needs of specific communities like the ST/SCs,” Prof Balasubramanian concludes. 

* This story has been updated on April 13th 2021 to include the most up-to-date figures

slot maxwin slot ovo starlight princess live casino slot zeus pg soft slot olympus ibcbet maxwin slot thailand slot pgsoft slot slot mahjong zeus slot digmaan slot mania slot pulsa jdb slot slot777 slot shopee slot spade gaming slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot gacor slot mahjong roulette habanero sv388 joker123 fafaslot pgsoft mahjong wins jdb slot slot thailand slot gacor slot mahjong slot gatotkaca pg soft pragmatic play slot bank bsi slot bank jago lucky neko spaceman slot olympus slot88 starlight princess slot dana digmaan joker123 zeus slot slot mania slot habanero idnslot slot pulsa jdb slot slot hoki fafaslot nolimit city slot princess fafaslot fafa slot slot princess slot 77 slot pulsa slot bri slot ovo slot gopay slot jepang slot 777 slot88 slot ovo slot gopay slot jepang slot 88 slot receh slot 123 joker123 slot princess slot kamboja roulette online baccarat online idn poker dragon tiger nolimit city slot dana thailand slot slot gacor slot thailand slot mahjong mahjong ways slot88 slot dana joker123 slot maxwin slot88 slot dana joker123 slot maxwin slot mahjong slot gacor slot thailand slot mahjong slot gopay slot88 slot thailand slot zeus sbobet slot toto slot server thailand slot thailand slot77 slot gacor slot thailand slot server thailand slot thailand akun gacor slot maxwin slot gacor slot thailand slot kakek zeus Pg Soft Maxbet Ibcbet Starlight Princess Slot Ovo Joker123 Mahjong Ways 2 Sv388 Sbobet Slot Dana Slot Thailand Slot Thailand Digmaan Sv388 Joker123 Mahjong Ways 2 Slot Dana Slot Gacor Slot Anti Rungkat baccarat roulette sicbo casino online sv388 tembak ikan online sbobet slot macau slot thailand slot thailand slot maxwin slot88 slot88 slot deposit ovo situs slot wwg slot slot thailand wm casino tembak ikan slot thailand slot wala meron slot nolimit city slot pg slot gacor slot88 slot50000 slot mahjong slot thailand 66k bet slot daftar judi slot online indonesia slot mahjong ways slot thailand mahjong ways slot gacor slot mawin slot gacor slot gacor slot gacor slot thailand slot thailand slot gacor slot ovo slot gacor slot gopay slot gacor slot gacor slot thailand slot gacor judi slot slot thailand slot thailand slot thailand slot mahjong ways 2 slot pragmatic slot demo pragmatic slot demo pg soft demo slot pragmatic slot gacor 4d slot pg soft pgslot pgsoft pgsoft sv388 slot88 pgsoft slot thailand slot88 slot thailand slot gacor slot ovo slot dana fafaslot slot ovo slot jepang judi slot gacor slot rusia Situs Daftar Judi Slot Mahjong Ways 1 dan 2 PG Soft Online PG Soft : Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Slot Kakek Zeus RTP Slot > Daftar Situs Judi Slot Gacor Mahjong Ways 2 PG Soft : Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Terbaik Situs Slot Online Gacor Dan Agen Slot Pragmatic Play Terpercaya Slot Gacor: Situs Slot Online Pragmatic Play & Bocoran Pola Slot Situs Slot Online Terbaik Terpercaya dan Terbesar di Indonesia Slot Kakek Zeus Daftar Link Slot Olympus Terbaru Slot Dana Daftar Judi Slot Online Indonesia Paling Gacor di Indonesia Sabung Ayam Online Sv388 Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online SLOT88 SLOT PG SOFT GACOR Bandar Slot Daftar Situs Judi Online Terbaik & Terpercaya Gacor power gaming sv388 lucky neko slot gacor slot gacor slot88 slot kakek slot pg slot kakek zeus slot dana slot maxwin slot server luar negeri slot thailand Link Daftar Situs Judi Slot Deposit Dana 20RB Tanpa Potongan Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Link Daftar Situs Judi Slot Deposit Dana 20RB Tanpa Potongan Slot Pragmatic - Link Alternatif Judi Slot Online Gacor Kakek Zeus Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Daftar Slot Dana Daftar Slot Dana Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play lucky Neko Daftar & Login Slot PG Judi Slot 88 Online Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Slot Mahjong Ways 2 Mudah Jackpot Paus di PG Soft Hari ini 2023 Lucky Neko Situs Slot Gacor Pgsoft Hari Ini Slot Pragmatic - Link Alternatif Judi Slot Online Gacor Kakek Zeus SITUS SABUNG AYAM SV388 ONLINE DAFTAR LINK LOGIN APK AGEN SV388 Daftar Judi Slot Online Indonesia Paling Gacor di Indonesia SBOBET Login Agen Judi Bola Sbobet Mahjong Ways | Slot PG | Slot Mahjong Ways 2 | Slot PGsoft | Daftar Slot Mahjong Situs Joker123 | Joker123 | Joker Gaming | Daftar Slot Joker Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play Agen Daftar Situs Judi Slot Online Terpercaya Slot Kakek Zeus : Daftar RTP Judi Slot Online Gacor Gampang Menang Joker123 Game Slot Gacor Joker Gaming Casino Online Indonesia Power Gaming : Situs Slot Gacor Online RTP Pragmatic Play slot mahjong pg soft slot gacor slot thailand slot maxwin slot spaceman pg slot