The widespread and gripping scarcity that one has been experiencing in parts of Rajasthan is a result of slow, almost imperceptible, creeping movements that are a combination of erratic and low spells of rainfall, leading to severe crop losses, shrinkage of the natural supplementary food base, acute and pervasive drinking water crisis, grueling fodder crisis resulting in distress sales and livestock mortality, coupled with socio-economic factors like rising prices of essential commodities, crisis of food grains to the poor and ordinary due to a fast becoming defunct Public Distribution System, diminishing entitlements of the poor, punctuated by hostile and anti poor Centre-State Government re
lations as well as policies. Needless to say the other long standing problems like recession of water table, soil erosion, rampant deforestation, indiscriminate mining, over and indiscriminate exploitation of land resources, etc catalyze the situation further.
Based on the experience of responding to drought situations in around one hundred fifty villages in four districts of western Rajasthan the following lessons emerge:
Droughts are not simply meteorological phenomenon. Hostile climate conditions trigger a situation that is compounded upon and worsened by other social, economic and political factors.
Therefore, it is not at all enough to consider ‘drought’ as a natural disaster. Drought, especially the widespread and lasting destitution it causes, has to do with long term processes triggered by changing development policies; nature of the State and the forces of the market especially after the economic liberalization influenced by globalization.
The effects of drought are not suddenly felt. In fact they are gradually but firmly felt. And they may span a few years. It is more meaningful to talk of cycles of drought years with
a possible rising crest.
With reference to the recurrent droughts in western Rajasthan, very rarely are we able to do a multi year planning. Our response to it is usually composed of fairly distinct slices of emergency relief (graduating to drought mitigation in some activities) for each year. This has to change as a necessary prerequisite for planning about long term drought proofing.
Deficient understanding of the causes of the ‘drought’ is partly responsible for the pervasive presence it has made in the lives of the poor. Effective and meaningful action for combating ‘drought’ in the field requires a sound understanding of the causes.
For effectively responding to the recurrence of ‘drought’ in western Rajasthan we need to develop a theoretical understanding specific to western Rajasthan. Insights and observations at a more macro level are only of a limited value when it comes to responding to ‘drought’ on the ground.
It is our submission that many features of the drought cycles of the late 1990’s suggest that we need to develop a new perspective to understand and respond to ‘drought’ in the long term. This region-specific definition of ‘drought’ for western Rajasthan, has to be embedded in the concrete experience of the different communities as well as analysis of observed phenomenon like climate change, natural resource degradation, etc.
Even after five decades of development planning, that has seen many area specific (like the DPAP & DDP) as well target group specific (like the IRDP) development schemes the assessment process still takes into account ‘drought’ as a natural disaster. And the assessment process mainly relies on ‘rainfall failures’ & ‘crop losses’.
There is a need to broaden the assessment processes for ascertaining and responding to ‘drought’ in western Rajasthan. This entails mainly two processes:
• Inclusion of new criteria to cover many communities left out by the current assessment process like the pastoralists, migrating workers, artisans, etc.
• Take into account the long-term processes that enhance vulnerability to ‘drought’ not only of a region but also of different communities.
Only then would be able to undertake an assessment in a holistic manner and respond to drought with comprehensive strategies.
Need for a ‘Vulnerability Index’
Further developing the argument for the need for a region specific definition of ‘drought’ for western Rajasthan, we need to develop a ‘vulnerability’ index for assessing the long- term processes at work in the different regions in the Thar.
A tentative proposition, the making of a vulneravbility index could take into account the following attributes:
• Impact of Development Policies (Area Specific & Target Group Specific)
• Status of PDS in the region
• Status of Child Nutrition Programmes
• Provision of basic services like health, education
• Access to Safe Drinking Water
• Typology of Settlements (Villages / Dhanis / Chaks)
• Communication Networks
• Intra-Market Linkages
• Level of Integration with Outside Markets
• Nature of Cash / Exchange Economy
• Prevalent Rates of Indebtedness
• Levels of Nutrition among Children
• Status of CPRs
• Access to CPRs
• Status of Livelihoods other than agriculture / livestock rearing
• Levels of Exploitation / Inequality of low caste
• Nature of PRIs
• Role of Political representatives
• Presence of NGOs & other Civil Society Actors
(A Discussion Note by AZERC, URMUL Trust, Bikaner, circulated to INGOs & NGOs active in responding to drought in western Rajasthan, April 2002)
lations as well as policies. Needless to say the other long standing problems like recession of water table, soil erosion, rampant deforestation, indiscriminate mining, over and indiscriminate exploitation of land resources, etc catalyze the situation further.Based on the experience of responding to drought situations in around one hundred fifty villages in four districts of western Rajasthan the following lessons emerge:
Droughts are not simply meteorological phenomenon. Hostile climate conditions trigger a situation that is compounded upon and worsened by other social, economic and political factors.
Therefore, it is not at all enough to consider ‘drought’ as a natural disaster. Drought, especially the widespread and lasting destitution it causes, has to do with long term processes triggered by changing development policies; nature of the State and the forces of the market especially after the economic liberalization influenced by globalization.
The effects of drought are not suddenly felt. In fact they are gradually but firmly felt. And they may span a few years. It is more meaningful to talk of cycles of drought years with
a possible rising crest.With reference to the recurrent droughts in western Rajasthan, very rarely are we able to do a multi year planning. Our response to it is usually composed of fairly distinct slices of emergency relief (graduating to drought mitigation in some activities) for each year. This has to change as a necessary prerequisite for planning about long term drought proofing.
Deficient understanding of the causes of the ‘drought’ is partly responsible for the pervasive presence it has made in the lives of the poor. Effective and meaningful action for combating ‘drought’ in the field requires a sound understanding of the causes.
For effectively responding to the recurrence of ‘drought’ in western Rajasthan we need to develop a theoretical understanding specific to western Rajasthan. Insights and observations at a more macro level are only of a limited value when it comes to responding to ‘drought’ on the ground.
It is our submission that many features of the drought cycles of the late 1990’s suggest that we need to develop a new perspective to understand and respond to ‘drought’ in the long term. This region-specific definition of ‘drought’ for western Rajasthan, has to be embedded in the concrete experience of the different communities as well as analysis of observed phenomenon like climate change, natural resource degradation, etc.
Even after five decades of development planning, that has seen many area specific (like the DPAP & DDP) as well target group specific (like the IRDP) development schemes the assessment process still takes into account ‘drought’ as a natural disaster. And the assessment process mainly relies on ‘rainfall failures’ & ‘crop losses’.
There is a need to broaden the assessment processes for ascertaining and responding to ‘drought’ in western Rajasthan. This entails mainly two processes:
• Inclusion of new criteria to cover many communities left out by the current assessment process like the pastoralists, migrating workers, artisans, etc.
• Take into account the long-term processes that enhance vulnerability to ‘drought’ not only of a region but also of different communities.
Only then would be able to undertake an assessment in a holistic manner and respond to drought with comprehensive strategies.
Need for a ‘Vulnerability Index’
Further developing the argument for the need for a region specific definition of ‘drought’ for western Rajasthan, we need to develop a ‘vulnerability’ index for assessing the long- term processes at work in the different regions in the Thar.
A tentative proposition, the making of a vulneravbility index could take into account the following attributes:
• Impact of Development Policies (Area Specific & Target Group Specific)
• Status of PDS in the region
• Status of Child Nutrition Programmes
• Provision of basic services like health, education
• Access to Safe Drinking Water
• Typology of Settlements (Villages / Dhanis / Chaks)
• Communication Networks
• Intra-Market Linkages
• Level of Integration with Outside Markets
• Nature of Cash / Exchange Economy
• Prevalent Rates of Indebtedness
• Levels of Nutrition among Children
• Status of CPRs
• Access to CPRs
• Status of Livelihoods other than agriculture / livestock rearing
• Levels of Exploitation / Inequality of low caste
• Nature of PRIs
• Role of Political representatives
• Presence of NGOs & other Civil Society Actors
(A Discussion Note by AZERC, URMUL Trust, Bikaner, circulated to INGOs & NGOs active in responding to drought in western Rajasthan, April 2002)
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