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Rationale
Drought is a complex, slow-onset phenomenon of ecological challenge that affects people more than any other natural hazards by causing serious economic, social and environmental losses. In 2014-15, India had a 12 percent deficit in rainfall, followed by a 14 percent shortfall in 2015-16. As per the response filed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, government of India, in the Rajya Sabha on the 29 April 2016, 266 districts across 11 states have officially declared drought in 2016. Some of these districts were experiencing repeated droughts over the past two to three years (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh,) leading to serious food and drinking water security concerns.
Above all due to population rise, per capita annual water availability has seen a reduction by 300 cubic meters in one decade (2001 to 2011). Over and above there are huge disparities in access to water, which are true reflections of wider equity issues and deprivations that rural and poor people in India face on a day to day basis. All related vulnerabilities and water stress are further influenced by climate variability under the impact of global warming. In many of these regions it is necessary to place drought in the wider patterns of climate change, cropping, migration, environmental degradation and socio-economic trends that have emerged over a decade or two.
Drought in India is a regular event occurring almost every year in some Indian states. Because droughts are a normal part of virtually any climate, it is important to develop plans to reduce their impacts. However, Drought declaration and response management in India have always been a large and complex operation, requiring close, often challenging, coordination between various government levels. It has been observed that affected rural communities suffer from scarcity of drinking water, non-availability of fodder for cattle, migration along with families, and increased indebtedness. Each of these situations has a negative impact on education, nutrition, health, sanitation and the care and protection of children.
In the backdrop of the 2015-2016 drought, the Supreme Court of India, in its land mark judgment, directed the Union government to revise the Drought Management Manual before the end of 2016, giving due weightage to the four indicators of drought with fixed determinants. These indicators are rainfall, storage water level in reservoirs, surface water and ground water levels, and sowing and crop conditions. It also directed the states and the Centre to use technology for timely assessment of drought conditions. The Supreme Court observed that the adverse or negative impact of a delayed declaration of drought affects the people, particularly women and children, and postpones the required assistance. The Supreme Court intervened in this situation because many states have been experiencing poor rains over the last three years and felt that more action was needed from the government to address the challenge. The rainfall deficit has impacted communities severely and prompted extreme measures from local governments including introducing water use restrictions, positioning armed guards at water reservoirs, and sending water trains to the worst-affected regions. Large number of families that are dependent on rain for their livelihoods have been hit by the drought for three years in a row and have run out of coping mechanisms. The ecosystems that provide resilience to marginal farmers have lost their capacity under many decades of unsustainable development practices. Vulnerable rain-fed farmers struggle to adapt to climate changes, particularly due to lack of awareness, preparedness and measured response which increases the risk of exposure to drought and its latent intensity. For children, who are among the most vulnerable groups the impacts are numerous; ‘cumulative shocks mean cumulative impacts’.
A piece of evidence from a 2001 study provides credence to the landmark judgement from the Supreme Court of India: “Disasters are seen to impact the health of children and women in a short and medium term, particularly in the rural areas adversely, where protracted development deficits led lack of access to health care results in morbidity and lack of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases. A natural disaster in past month increases likelihood of diarrhoea, fever and acute respiratory illnesses by 9-18 percent. Additionally, it reduces height - for-age and weight - for-age z scores by 0.12-0.15 standard deviations, increases likelihood of stunting and underweight by 7 percent and reduces the likelihood of having full age-appropriate immunization coverage by 18 percent.”
Against the background of this repetitive drought and drought-like situation in many states of India over the last few years, UNICEF’s India Country Office sought to improve its first-hand understanding of the direct and indirect impact of drought on children and women and the government programmes to lessen the negative impact. A rapid drought impact assessment was therefore carried out in eight states, with the aim of providing insights into drought management practices and their effectiveness, and to identify UNICEF’s role in supporting efforts to achieve long-term climate and disaster resilience. A contextual analysis was done of drought and drought like situation over the past three to five drought years explaining its impact on women and children within the overall build-up of stress due to various factors like climate variability, unstainable development decisions, and environmental degradation.