Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

An assessment of socio-economic vulnerability at the household level: a study on villages of the Indian Sundarbans

  • Case study
  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Indian Sundarbans with its unique bio-geographical composition is prone to hazards like cyclones, storms and floods, making its socio-ecological systems vulnerable to environmental stresses. Moreover, its structural aspects appear to be a significant factor in pushing the systems towards vulnerability. A landscape analysis was done in four villages in the Indian Sundarbans to measure their socio-economic vulnerability. An index method was followed to compare the variables linked with the system’s vulnerability, namely basic socio-demographic characteristics, lack of basic amenities and enough safety nets, lack of accessibility and poor transport and communication. Among these variables, lack of accessibility, and poor transport and communication place limitations on the external exposure of the Indian Sundarbans. Satjelia is an island village found to be the most vulnerable among all with a composite index score of 0.518. Satjelia’s distant geographical location along with lack of sufficient educational and income opportunities, poor social network, higher percentage of marginalised population and greater losses due to natural disasters have contributed to its high vulnerability. Less-accessible villages are deprived of some of the basic facilities and thus are ranked higher on the ‘sensitivity’ domain and lower in the ‘adaptive capacity’ domain, leading to a higher value in the Socio-Economic Vulnerability Index. However, the overall index values did not differ much in the case study villages of the Indian Sundarbans due to standardisation, equal weightage, spatial factors and the usage of a limited number of indicators. Hence, a policy initiative should focus upon the improvement of basic infrastructure and better accessibility among all the geographical locations, thus minimising socio-economic vulnerability in the Indian Sundarbans.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Adger, W. N. (1999). Social vulnerability to climate change and extremes in coastal Vietnam. World Development, 27(2), 249–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., Hughes, T. P., Folke, C., Carpenter, S. R., & Rockström, J. (2005). Social-ecological resilience to coastal disasters. Science, 309(5737), 1036–1039.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., & Kelly, P. M. (1999). Social vulnerability to climate change and the architecture of entitlements. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 4(3–4), 253–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agrawal, A. (2008). The role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. Paper prepared for Social Dimensions of Climate Change, Social Development Department, The World Bank, Washington DC, March 5–6, 2008 (p. 69128).

  • Ahammed, K. B., & Pandey, A. C. (2019). Coastal social vulnerability and risk analysis for cyclone hazard along the Andhra Pradesh, East Coast of India. KN-Journal of Cartography and Geographic Information, 69, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahsan, M. N., & Warner, J. (2014). The socioeconomic vulnerability index: A pragmatic approach for assessing climate change led risks: A case study in the south-western coastal Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 8, 32–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bahinipati, C. S. (2014). Assessment of vulnerability to cyclones and floods in Odisha, India: A district-level analysis. Current Science, 107(12), 1997–2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bankoff, G. (2013). Mapping vulnerability: Disasters, development and people. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, F., Folke, C., & Gadgil, M. (1995). Traditional ecological knowledge, biodiversity, resilience and sustainability. In C. A. Perrings, K. G. Mäler, C. Folke, C. S. Holling, & B. O. Jansson (Eds.), Biodiversity conservation. Ecology, economy & environment (Vol. 4, pp. 281–299). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., & Wisner, B. (2005). At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, I. (2012). GIS assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change and coastal adaption planning in Vietnam. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 16(1), 25–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boruff, B. J., Emrich, C., & Cutter, S. L. (2005). Erosion hazard vulnerability of US coastal counties. [special issue]. Journal of Coastal Research, 21(5), 932–942.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, J., Jiménez, J. A., & Sardá, R. (2008). Environmental indicators GIS of the Catalan coast. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 11(4), 185–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter, S. L. (1996). Vulnerability to environmental hazards. Progress in Human Geography, 20(4), 529–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter, S. L., Barnes, L., Berry, M., Burton, C., Evans, E., Tate, E., & Webb, J. (2008). A place-based model for understanding community resilience to natural disasters. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 598–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutter, S. L., Boruff, B. J., & Shirley, W. L. (2003). Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. Social Science Quarterly, 84(2), 242–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Downing, T. E., Patwardhan, A., Klein, R. J., Mukhala, E., Stephen, L., Winograd, M., & Ziervogel, G. (2005). Assessing vulnerability for climate adaptation. In B. Lim, E. Spanger-Siegfried, I. Burton, E. Malone, & S. Huq (Eds.), Adaptation policy frameworks for climate change: Developing strategies, policies and measures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fekete, A., Damm, M., & Birkmann, J. (2010). Scales as a challenge for vulnerability assessment. Natural Hazards, 55(3), 729–747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferkes, G., Warner, J., & Weijs, B. (2011). The politics of vulnerability and resilience. Ambiente & Sociedade, 14(2), 105–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gemenne, F. (2011). Climate-induced population displacements in a 4 C+ world. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 369(1934), 182–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gornitz, V. M., Daniels, R. C., White, T. W., & Birdwell, K. R. (1994). The development of a coastal risk assessment database: Vulnerability to sea-level rise in the US Southeast. Journal of Coastal Research, 12, 327–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hazra, S., Ghosh, T., DasGupta, R., & Sen, G. (2002). Sea level and associated changes in the Sundarbans. Science and Culture, 68(9/12), 309–321.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2014). AR 5 climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working groups II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 151 (10.1017).

  • Jalais, A. (2007). The Sundarbans. Conservation and Society, 5(3), 335–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, M. E. (2005). The death toll from natural disasters: The role of income, geography, and institutions. Review of Economics and Statistics, 87(2), 271–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, R. J., & Nicholls, R. J. (1999). Assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change. Ambio, 28(2), 182–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, B. M. (2014). Living with floods: A study of rural communities in Sundarban. (Dissertation). Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.

  • Le, T. D. N. (2019). Climate change adaptation in coastal cities of developing countries: Characterizing types of vulnerability and adaptation options. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-019-09888-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malone, E. L., & La Rovere, E. L. (2004). Assessing current and changing socio-economic conditions. Technical paper 6. In B. Lim & E. Spanger-Siegfried (Eds.), Adaptation policy frameworks for climate change: Developing strategies, polices and measures (pp. 145–163). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, S., McKenna, J., & Cooper, J. A. G. (2002). Socio-economic data in coastal vulnerability indices: Constraints and opportunities. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(sp1), 487–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, K., Leichenko, R., Kelkar, U., Venema, H., Aandahl, G., Tompkins, H., et al. (2004). Mapping vulnerability to multiple stressors: Climate change and globalization in India. Global Environmental Change, 14(4), 303–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patnaik, U., & Narayanan, K. (2009). Vulnerability and climate change: An analysis of the eastern coastal districts of India. Retrieved July 12, 2020, from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/22062/1/MPRA_paper_22062.pdf.

  • Plummer, R., Loë, R., & Armitage, D. (2012). A systematic review of water vulnerability assessment tools. Water Resources Management, 26(15), 4327–4346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raufirad, V., Heidari, Q., Hunter, R., & Ghorbani, J. (2018). Relationship between socioeconomic vulnerability and ecological sustainability: The case of Aran-V-Bidgol’s rangelands, Iran. Ecological Indicators, 85, 613–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sam, A. S., Kumar, R., Kächele, H., & Müller, K. (2016). Quantifying household vulnerability triggered by drought: Evidence from rural India. Climate and Development, 9, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sam, A. S., Kumar, R., Kächele, H., & Müller, K. (2017). Vulnerabilities to flood hazards among rural households in India. Natural Hazards, 88, 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidtlein, M. C., Deutsch, R. C., Piegorsch, W. W., & Cutter, S. L. (2008). A sensitivity analysis of the social vulnerability index. Risk Analysis, 28(4), 1099–1114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma, J., & Ravindranath, N. H. (2019). Applying IPCC 2014 framework for hazard-specific vulnerability assessment under climate change. Environmental Research Communications, 1(5), 051004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Syvitski, J. P., & Saito, Y. (2007). Morphodynamics of deltas under the influence of humans. Global and Planetary Change, 57(3), 261–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torresan, S., Critto, A., Rizzi, J., & Marcomini, A. (2012). Assessment of coastal vulnerability to climate change hazards at the regional scale: The case study of the North Adriatic Sea. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 12(7), 2347–2368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the University Grant Commission (UGC), Govt. of India for fellowship support to Ms. Sneha Biswas (UGC-JRF) and to Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Govt. of India for financial support. We are thankful to the Director, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bengaluru for the facilities. We are happy to extend our sincere thanks to the people of the study region for their kind cooperation, support and knowledge sharing during the field study. We are thankful to Prof. Luc Hens (Editor in Chief, Environment, Development and Sustainability) and three anonymous reviewers for their suggestions and constructive comments to improve the paper. Views expressed here are of the authors only and not of the organisation with which they are affiliated.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological Economics and Natural Resources (CEENR), Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Dr. VKRV Rao Road, Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru, 560072, India

    Sneha Biswas & Sunil Nautiyal

Authors
  1. Sneha Biswas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sunil Nautiyal
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sunil Nautiyal.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendix

Appendix

 

Madhya Gurguria

Debipur

Satjelia

Rangabelia

Sensitivity index variables

    

Percentage of Kutcha hha

42

46

54

42

Percentage of hh without toilet facility

44

40

56

62

Percentage of hh living outside 2 km all-season road

14

26

67

33

Percentage of hh depending on natural sources for household activities (%)

96

98

100

88

Percentage of hh facing water shortage

14

18

32

18

Percentage of hh with chronic disease

30

38

26

28

Percentage of hh having disabled members

16

36

14

8

Percentage of marginalised population (SC and ST)b

23.07

30.81

82.34

32.29

Average number of people per household (number of persons)

5.24

5.7

4.92

4.62

Dependency ratio

69.28

55.22

34.09

47.27

Percentage of female-headed households

18

12

20

8

Percentage of hh with insufficient food

8

22

8

20

Percentage of hh facing soil quality problem

20

24

16

20

Percentage of hh facing property damage

74

74

86

84

Percentage of people depending on non-farming activities

34

24

48

34

Adaptive capacity index variables

    

Percentage of hh having literate household head

62

52

64

76

Percentage of hh attending higher education

20

20

2

10

Average monthly household income (in Rs.)

12,400

8057

8625

15,500

Percentage of hh under govt. welfare scheme

82

52

64

38

Average livelihood diversification index

0.564

0.626

0.554

0.605

Percentage of hh having migrant worker

28

38

44

46

Percentage of hh availing early warning system

62

48

40

40

Percentage of hh recovered after the latest disaster

38

64

36

38

Percentage of hh with bank access

30

32

68

70

Percentage of hh having insurance

14

30

8

10

  1. a‘hh’ is the abbreviation for the word ‘household’
  2. bAccording to Census of India (2011)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Biswas, S., Nautiyal, S. An assessment of socio-economic vulnerability at the household level: a study on villages of the Indian Sundarbans. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 11120–11137 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01085-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01085-2

Keywords

Profiles

  1. Sneha Biswas View author profile