NREGA, Climate Change Lecture, by Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy

1. MGNREGA - CLIMATE CHANGE MGNREGA for Water Management as a Response to Climate Change Dr. N. SaiBhaskar Reddy, CEO, GEO http://e-geo.org Center for Climate Change and Environment Advisory (CCCEA) Dr. MCR HRD Institute of AP 8TH July 2011

2. Climate Change will put additional stress in rural areas

3. The primary objective of the act is poverty alleviation, a further objective is stated “...as creation of durable assets and strengthening the livelihoods base of the rural poor...” NREGA links two of the most critical problems of our times: namely, extreme poverty and climate change. The linkage is forged through environmental services which are provided by rural households when they engage in works under NREGA.

4. The livelihoods of the rural poor are directly dependent on environmental resources — land, water, forests — and are vulnerable to weather and climate variability — as water stress increases, groundwater levels recede, soil fertility declines and forest habitats disappear.

5. Climate change will only exacerbate the vulnerabilities of the rural poor. As climate-sensitive, natural ecosystems deteriorate, subsistence will slip further out of reach. India’s rural poor, who have least contributed to it, will pay some of the problem’s heaviest tolls.

7. NREGA Objectives Primary Supplementing employment opportunities (Additional not substituted) Auxiliary Eco-restoration & regeneration of natural resource base for sustainable rural livelihood Process Outcomes Strengthening grass root processes of democracy Infusing transparency & accountability in rural governance

8. Vulnerability of poor in rural areas Livelihoods of rural poor based on natural resources - Land, Water, Biodiversity, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Forest Produce Two-thirds of households derive income directly from natural sources Natural resources are threatened by stresses Biotic & Abiotic Climate Change -- an additional stress Poor are most vulnerable to Climate Change Poor are first and worst affected – least contributed to it Agriculture & natural resource based livelihoods at immediate risk Rural poor do not have resources to cope

9. Nature of Works

15. CARBON SEQUESTRATION – BIOCHAR OPTIONS Or In slide share http://www.slideshare.net/saibhaskar/agriculture-crisis-and-biochar-saibhaskar2

20. SL framework: Determinants of adaptive capacity

21. Defined and prioritised under the act, works can significantly change the environment through rejuvenation of the natural resource base. Water conservation, land development and afforestation through NREGA can provide local services such as ground-water recharge, enhanced soil fertility and increased biomass. These, in turn, can generate global benefits such as adaptation to and mitigation of climate change and biodiversity conservation.

22. Of the 2.7 million works being undertaken in over 600 districts, nearly 80 per cent are water, land and forestry-related. These not only provide local environmental services, they have the potential to yield co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation to global climate change; the former through rejuvenation of the livelihood base and thereby strengthening resilience of rural communities, the latter through enhanced carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, pasturelands and woody perennials.

23. NREGA works with programmes of agriculture and allied sectors are leading to enhanced yields. With the scope of works under NREGA expanded to include lands of small and marginal farmers, it is possible to significantly enhance the irrigation potential in rainfed areas and drought-proof small-holder agriculture, leading to sustainable, higher yields.

24. Conservation technologies — stress-tolerant, climate-resilient varieties of seeds, drip irrigation, zero-tillage, raised-bed planting, laser-levelling, Systems of Rice Intensification (SRI), can build adaptive capacities to cope with increasing water stress, providing “more crop per drop”.

25. Similarly, strengthening land development practices such as land levelling, conservation bench terracing, contour and graded bunding, and pasture development prevent soil erosion and loss of organic matter. Reclamation of wastelands and degraded lands together with afforestation, horticulture plantation and agro-forestry have the potential to sequester carbon both above and below ground, thereby contributing to carbon mitigation.

26. Thank You…. Ref: http://... Mainly presentations of Dr. Rita Sharma