AdaptCap: Piloting Change

Vulnerability of coastal communities is not a new phenomenon. They exist on the periphery, both geographically and politically. Climate change brings with it new challenges for their survival. But climate change is only part of a complex matrix of action and impact for these communities. The AdaptCap project works in 18 sites in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to showcase and disseminate another way of thinking; local knowledge, government participation and ownership; climate proofing pilot solutions and financial sustainability. Providing capacity at all levels, AdaptCap is evidence that robust solutions come with flexible thinking, and integration of previously independent areas including adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction. AdaptCap’s integrated approach will go well beyond the project lifecycle, and give new impetus to coastal communities engaging in a climate-constrained world.

Indo-German Environmental Partnership (IGEP) Programme Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂźr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH B 5/2, Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110029, INDIA T: +91-11-4949 5353 F: +91-11-49495391 E: contact@igep.in, ashish.chaturvedi@giz.de I: www.adaptcap.in, www.igep.in, www.giz.de

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

CONTENT Vulnerable coast: the project background

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Project, partners, location

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A quick look at Projects

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Piloting change: understanding the process

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Ripple effect: expanding horizon of the project

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Case in focus 1: Kumarakudi

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Case in focus 2: Dasaraju Palli

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Case in focus 3 & 4: Sri Ramapuram & Ramudupalli Palem

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

REPORTS Arati Davis Pradip Saha PHOTOGRAPHS GIZ-IGEP Photo Library COVER PHOTOGRAPH Pradip Saha TEXT EDITING Kavita Sharma EDITORIAL DESIGN DamageControl F406, Lado Sarai, New Delhi 110030 PUBLISHED BY Deutsche Gesellschaft f端r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, New Delhi Indo-German Environment Partnership (IGEP) Programme Deutsche Gesellschaft f端r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Third Floor, B-5/2 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110 029, India T: +91 11 49495353 F: +91 11 49495391 E: contact@igep.in; ashish.chaturvedi@giz.de I: www.adaptcap.in, www.igep.in, www.giz.de DISCLAIMER This document may be freely reviewed, reproduced or translated, in part or whole, purely on a non-profit basis by any non-commercial and development practitioners aimed at training and dissemination of case studies on climate change adaptation and mainstreaming, keeping the source acknowledged. Authors welcome suggestions on its usage.

The information has been compiled from reliable project documents and published references/ resources as cited in the publication. Mention of any company, association or product in this document is for informational purpose only and does not constitute a recommendation of any sort by either GIZ or EU. New Delhi, November 2013

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VULNERABLE COAST The communities living along India’s coast are among the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Living off the land and sea, they are intimately linked to the changes in their environment. As the daily existence of these communities hinges on a delicate balance with nature, small changes to their surroundings result in big impacts on their life.

Storm surges are a standard picture along India’s coast. The second half of 2013 saw three cyclones rip through the country’s eastern coastline in quick succession. Of these, the very severe Cyclone Phailin was the second-strongest tropical cyclone ever to make landfall in India. Tremendous destruction was expected in its wake. However, unlike in the past, warning systems were in place and preparedness evident, resulting in far less lives lost than before.

This preparedness is evidence of the fact that India is working with its communities, through local government and other stakeholders, to develop robust systems of engagement. Top-down initiatives alone would not have been enough to result in quick bottom-up mobilisation on such a grand scale.

India’s 7,500 km densely populated coastline has high, sweeping vulnerabilities — for human habitat and livelihood, environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity. Climate change, exacerbated by patterns of development, is impacting the lives and livelihoods of these coastal communities in increasingly insidious ways. Salinity is slowly rendering agricultural lands unproductive, freshwater sources are deteriorating, soil is steadily eroded, and crop and livestock are lost. Climate change is aggravating the existing vulnerabilities of small, rural coastal communities, whose economy almost entirely depends on natural resources and who lack capital and capacity to deal with the new challenges that climate change brings.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

ADAPTCAP: AN INTEGRATED RESPONSE Bringing the understanding and mechanisms to cope with climate change adaptation to coastal communities is urgent and requires a participatory, integrated and innovative approach that ensures longevity of solutions to issues of livelihood improvement and environmental sustainability. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), together with its project partners AVVAI Village Welfare Society (AVVAI), Academy of Gandhian Studies (AGS), adelphi and ICLEI South Asia, have brought to bear this approach in the AdaptCap project. AdaptCap seeks to reduce the vulnerabilities of coastal communities in two severely affected Indian states — Tamil Nadu (TN) and Andhra Pradesh (AP) — by reducing their exposure to climate variability risks and climate change related disasters.

Climate change is too often considered a single window of cause and effect, when in fact it is a complex matrix of interrelated measures and actions that together create changes in weather, agriculture, biodiversity, water supply, health and livelihood. AdaptCap has responded to this complexity. It has brought together climate change adaptation (CCA), climate change mitigation (CCM) and disaster risk reduction (DRR), which were previously seen as independent domains, in an integrated and mainstreamed manner. For example, lack of water supply, due to reduced rains and depleting groundwater tables, is traditionally an adaptation concern that is often proposed to be dealt with rainwater harvesting.AdaptCap, however introduces additional measures such that the benefits can be leveraged in a holistic manner. For example, in Sri Ramapuram in Nellore District, the community’s main concern was to protect their fishing equipment from regular storm surges. The fisher folk had so far been storing their fishing gear out in the open on the beach. The AdaptCap project built a storm shelter (shed) to store and protect their fishing gear, but additionally created fish drying racks on the roof of the multipurpose shed, which has helped the community members greatly by anticipating their livelihood needs.

Similarly AdaptCap’s approach in Vengamukka Palem village, in Prakasam district, saw the construction of a solar power backup facility for an existing reverse osmosis (RO) plant that supplies drinking water to 3,850 people. Prior to this, the RO plant was connected to unstable power supply from the grid, providing windows of unfiltered and untreated water to the community. The newly set up solar power system provides a 20kwh backup that can run the RO plant for at least six hours daily, ensuring uninterrupted access to clean drinking water, as well as saving on energy consumption and corresponding emissions. So evident are the positive, far-reaching consequences of this pilot that the Ongole Municipal Corporation has expressed interest in implementing similar measures for the other water supply schemes in the town.

Another key challenge for the timely implementation of the pilot projects both in AP and in TN are extreme weather events, particularly heavy rains and cyclones, causing inundation of pilot constructions. AdaptCap looks to address the concerns of climate change mainstreaming in a systematic manner. Project sites have been selected in clusters around an urban centre. This has been done in recognition of the socio-economic relationship between rural landscapes and urban hubs. Extreme weather events have impacted the livelihoods of coastal communities; this has often led to distress migration to urban centres in search of opportunity. The AdaptCap project worked with municipality officials to build an integrated understanding of the linkages between rural and urban climate change impact and effect.

AdaptCap aims to create an institutionalized approach to urban planning. This is because the reality of sustainability at the urban level is problematic. Frequent rotation of administrative and political staff, general apathy to climate change issues and absence of tangible benefits limit ownership by the targeted municipal governments.

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AdaptCap further believes that although exposure can be reduced in the short term with infrastructure development, ensuring sustainability and long-term reduction in vulnerabilities requires substantive participatory development. Hence, while policy frameworks and overarching goals are set in a top-down manner, it is the bottom-up integration that can provide robust models of community development, integrated planning and sustainable development. AdaptCap has demonstrated this in the selection of key project pilots in 18 sites across the two selected states. These pilots provide the point of entry to develop mutually beneficial networks between communities, authorities and other stakeholders, and have shown the multiple benefits such a process can have — on the specific goals of the pilots as well as on overall savings.

For AdaptCap, the site-specific pilot projects are only a part of the project output and by no means its sole deliverable. AdaptCap has invested significant effort in evolving a consensual understanding of the agenda of adaptation among the different stakeholders — affected communities, local and district authorities — and building their capacities and willingness to own and go beyond these pilots. This consolidated understanding is not only crucial to the functioning of the site-specific pilots but also has implications for their mainstreaming and subsequent scaling up.

While the two Indian states of AP and TN are chosen as the focal point, all other coastline states are targeted by the project’s visibility campaign, thus fostering inter-regional exchange on the issue. AdaptCap’s experiences in the Indian context are of vital importance in transboundary experience sharing, as India’s neighbouring South Asian and South East Asian states face much of the same challenges.

The change AdaptCap seeks in its ambitious objectives goes beyond project-specific outcomes. Instead, its aim is to engender culturally, socio-economically and politically developed impacts with stronger active interactions between communities and their government representatives. Given this approach, any review of the AdaptCap project could not be limited to the success of its pilots alone. AdaptCap’s success lies in initiating the first steps for a participatory and integrated response to climate change.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

PROJECT AT A GLANCE Name: AdaptCap Funding agency: European Commission Duration: Three years (December 2010–December 2013) Project area: Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in India Urban or rural: 6 urban and 18 rural sites (6 project clusters with 1 city and 3 villages each) Number of beneficiaries: More than 45,000 in the rural communities plus the population of 6 cities Key approach: Reducing vulnerabilities of coastal communities by piloting measures on climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, and disaster risk reduction Key activities: • Vulnerability and Needs Assessment (V&NA) • Pilot projects and replication thereof • Capacity building • Locally adapted CCM and CCA guides • Assistance strategy to local authorities • Visibility and networking

PARTNERS • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) — Main coordinating agency for project planning, implementation, monitoring, and support • Academy of Gandhian Studies (AGS) and AVVAI Village Welfare Society (AVVAI) — Local partners in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively, providing local support for implementation of activities at the ground level, field coordination, and interaction with communities, local authorities and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) • ICLEI South Asia — Providing knowledge and expertise for implementation of activities at the city level, capacity building and regional networking • adelphi research — Providing international technical expertise and support for evaluation of data, desk research, drafting of research articles and capacity building framework 6

PROJECT LOCATION The project area stretches along the coast of the Bay of Bengal from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP), in the north to Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu (TN), more than 800 km further south. AdaptCap covers 6 urban and 18 rural implementation sites; 6 clusters are targeted, with each cluster consisting of 1 city and 3 villages surrounding the city. The coastal districts include Cuddalore, Thiruvallur and Nagapattinam in TN and Visakhapatnam, Ongole and Prakasam in AP.

These areas have a high population density. The majority of pilot villages are located within 1 km of the Bay of Bengal, in low-lying areas highly vulnerable to flooding and seawater infiltration. In addition, people and their livelihoods are at risk as almost 50 percent of the storms in the Bay of Bengal become severe cyclones, often accompanied by storm surges, posing major risks to life and livelihoods several times each year from July–December.

INDIA

BAY OF BENGAL ANDHRA PRADESH (AP) TAMIL NADU (TN)

V&NA: HOW WAS IT DONE? The AdaptCap project team visited 18 villages in AP and TN and carried out participatory rural appraisals with the community. Different tools were used based on the available time, resources and information. For instance, a community time line showed the occurrence of extreme weather events, useful in assessing changes in climate and trends. Seasonal calendars, with information, for example, on the periods of sowing and harvesting, helped identify vulnerabilities resulting from changing weather patterns, like a shift in the start of the monsoon season. Project team members sat down with village representatives to prepare social or resource maps, made either on the ground or on posters, to gather information on the social and economic structure of the community. Drawing these maps and looking at the community on a detailed map made it possible to discuss climate impacts in a very vivid way, for example, which assets could be affected when the sea level rises or what parts of the community would be affected most severely by floods after heavy rain events. In some communities, the project team embarked on transect walks with village representatives to systematically gather information on the area along a planned route.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

QUICK LOOK AT PROJECT DETAILS

TAMIL District: NADU NAGAPATTINAM Cluster Town: NAGAPATTINAM

KUMARAKUDI

50 km from Nagapattinam BUND TO PROTECT AGRICULTURE Project Cost: ` 991,630 • Beneficiaries: 1715 People

PERUMALPETTAI

46 km from Nagapattinam COASTAL BUND TO CONTROL BACKWATER Project Cost: ` 669,400 • Beneficiaries: 1,500 People

PILLAI COLONY

46 km from Nagapattinam RENOVATION OF DRINKING WATER SYSTEM Project Cost: ` 371,000 • Beneficiaries: 160 People

District: CUDDALORE Cluster Town: CUDDALORE

CHINNAKARAMEDU

61 km from Cuddalore RAINWATER HARVESTING POND Project Cost: ` 707,549 • Beneficiaries: 800 People

KADUVETTI

63 km from Cuddalore WING-WALL RIVER BUND Project Cost: ` 304,630 • Beneficiaries: 260 People

NADUPALAYAM

63 km from Cuddalore BACKWATER RIVER BUND Project Cost: ` 407,880 • Beneficiaries: 3180 People

District: THIRUVALLUR Cluster Town: PONNERI

KADAPAKKAM

4 km from Ponneri POND RENOVATION Project Cost: ` 827,140 • Beneficiaries: 1270 People

THANGAL PERUMPULAM

8 km from Ponneri DRAINAGE CHANNEL RENOVATION FOR IRRIGATION Project Cost: ` 257,690 • Beneficiaries: 400 People

THIRUMALAI NAGAR

21 km from Ponneri SOLAR STREETLIGHTS Project Cost: ` 262,000 • Beneficiaries: 1750 People 8

ANDHRA District: PRADESH NELLORE

Cluster Town: KAVALI

SRI RAMAPURAM

11 km from Kavali STORAGE SHED FOR FISHERMEN Project Cost: ` 626,000 • Beneficiaries: 1500 People

RAMUDUPALLI PALEM

10 km from Kavali CAUSEWAY OVER A CANAL Project Cost: ` 725,836 • Beneficiaries: 1500 People

POOVULA DORUVU

10 km from Kavali SPRINKLER IRRIGATION Project Cost: ` 593,050 • Beneficiaries: 350 People

District: PRAKASAM Cluster Town: ONGOLE

DASARAJU PALLI

4 km from Ongole WATER FILTRATION UNIT Project Cost: ` 730,500 • Beneficiaries: 700 People

MOTUMALA

18 km from Ongole RAINWATER HARVESTING Project Cost: ` 649,582 • Beneficiaries: 1000 People

VENGAMUKKA PALEM

5 km from Ongole SOLAR POWERED WATER PURIFICATION Project Cost: ` 524,000 • Beneficiaries: 3,825 People

District: VISAKHAPATNAM Cluster Town: VISAKHAPATNAM

CHEPALA DIBBADA PALEM & CHUKKAVANI PALEM

25 km and 22 km from Visakhapatnam DRINKING WATER PURIFICATION AND DISTRIBUTION Project Cost: ` 1,100,000* • Beneficiaries: 812 People * AdaptCap expenditure went down to ` 474,000 as AP Govt. financed source improvement from its own fund

GOVUPETA

23 km from Visakhapatnam SANITATION AND SMOKELESS COOKSTOVES Project Cost: ` 852,000 • Beneficiaries: 400 People

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

PILOTING CHANGE “Twenty-five years ago the sea was far away, and now has taken away our boat yard!”

— Kaliyan, Perumalpettai village, Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu

AdaptCap recognises that a one-size-fits-all solution will not solve the problems faced by diverse coastal communities. These communities face similar landscapes, but their vulnerabilities are unique, respective to their specific eco-regions, micro-climates and particular socio-economic context. Effective interventions require local knowledge and experience, combined with scientific data collection — a time series that puts a fisherman’s snapshots into context to arrive at technology options that offer the best solutions. Match this approach with the overall vulnerability analysis and the government’s boundaries for action and you have the box within which AdaptCap operates.

Tapping local knowledge, creating consensus At the core of the AdaptCap project is its exhaustive understanding of the vulnerability and needs of the participating communities with respect to climate change. Local NGO staff, trained by international experts, developed profiles for each of the 18 participating rural communities. The profiles were based on the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) method, aiming to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of the rural population into project planning and management. Field teams interacted with inhabitants of the targeted coastal villages and recorded their diverse

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experiences. The community shared its understanding of the climatic changes it had witnessed over the years. Here, focus was placed on using the available local knowledge on past weather events and changes in weather patterns and assessing their impacts on the communities’ most important livelihoods — fishing and agriculture. For instance, a lot of immediate adaptation needs became apparent by sitting down with a group from the coastal community to learn about where the coastline was 20 years ago or how the start of the monsoon season had shifted or how crop pattern had changed. In addition to primary sources, secondary source data was also collected from studies, research papers, regional meteorological offices and through interactions with district administration.

The Vulnerability and Needs Assessment (V&NA) produced detailed, new information about the diverse coastal communities. It covered all the parameters that were crucial for the strategic planning of the project — the community’s demographic and geographic profile; its key livelihoods; the existing infrastructure, especially with regard to water sources and usage; the community’s experiences of climate change and the impacts of climate change. The assessment clearly pointed to the general and diverse needs of the vulnerable populations — safe drinking water, irrigation, reliable drainage management and sanitation. This improved understanding of climate-related stresses and a ranking of impacts helped arrive at the most commonly proposed adaptation measures.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD Nadupalayam: Salinity eating into livelihoods Nadupalayam village in Cuddalore district, TN, lies at a distance of just 2 kms from the sea. Rising sea level over the years has caused degradation of soil and freshwater sources. The villagers’ access to drinking water has been seriously impacted. Potable water is available only once a week, resulting in increasing instances of disease in both people and livestock.

Salinity, as a result of repeated storm surges and flood, is threatening the villagers’ key source of livelihood — agriculture — by converting land into uncultivable fallow. The community reported that nearly 180 acres of land had been left salinated due to backwater flooding from the inlet on the seaside of the shutter. Destruction of water distribution system by cyclones and floods, coupled with changing rainfall pattern, is damaging irrigation systems and causing loss of crop. As Kannan, an inhabitant of Nadupalayam, put it: “We used to have three crops in this village. Since the past ten years we have had a single crop pattern.” Reduced income from agriculture and lack of new employment opportunities is adversely affecting the villagers’ quality of life and forcing many to migrate to urban centres.

Deploying simple solutions, enabling major outcomes A wealth of ideas and enthusiasm was generated from the local communities during the V&NA process. It provided sound baseline information for preselecting a minimum of 3–5 pilot measures in each community. A strict set of criteria was developed in order to select the most suitable pilots.

After consultations with the community, three expressions of interest (EoIs) for pilot measures in each community were developed. These EoIs were evaluated on the basis of criteria that included risk reduction potential, acceptance, feasibility, costs and potential negative impacts.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

The ideas selected for developing into pilots sought to address the main climate change related issues that these vulnerable communities confronted — ranging from clean drinking water, drainage, irrigation to sanitation and electrification. By choosing simple solutions for the complex problems arising from climate change, AdaptCap confronted and debunked the conventional preference for highly technical responses. The project has shown it does not necessarily take “ground-breaking” science or even “new” science to address the challenges that vulnerable communities face. Construction of a storage shed for fishing equipment, for example, at Sri Ramapuram village in Nellore district, AP, to protect the livelihood of fisher folk families from the onslaught of repeated cyclones and storms is an adaptation strategy with potential for lasting and far-reaching outcomes. Another example is that of Motumala, where AdaptCap took an innovative approach to address the problem of irrigation water shortage during the critical period before rice harvesting. Here, the pilot involves filling up the existing tank with pumped up surplus water from a deepened portion of the drainage channel. Intelligently, the community uses two pumps of different capacity depending on the water availability in the channel. Brahma Reddy, the village sarpanch, has now requested for a feasibility study on whether solar power could be used for pumping the water.

The selection of pilots came with obvious, inherent challenges. For one, no community is homogenous, and the needs expressed were often conflicting. Here, the role of ground-level partners — AGS and AVVAI — was paramount in building consensus. Both AGS and AVVAI came with considerable experience of working with the communities in these areas. This understanding and trust was crucial in building of consensus. Visual lists of pros and benefits were used to help community members understand what would be the best selection of pilot for them. Recognising the communities’ needs — whatever they are — helped them identify with the issues and discuss the larger/more relevant needs.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD Poovula Doruvu: Sprinkler system to support marginal farmers The 70 marginal farmers in Poovula Doruvu village in Nellore district, AP, have been cultivating floriculture, groundnut and vegetable gardens using groundwater. These farmers were drawing groundwater with hand pumps or low powered motors, and spraying the water with short hoses or carrying it in buckets. Given the sandy nature of soil, these methods were wasting considerable water, electricity and labor. This led to water scarcity for crops and energy crises in the area and resulted in low yields and low income for farmers.

AdaptCap has introduced an efficient sprinkler irrigation system in the village. By installing 35 sprinkler units, the pilot measure is supporting 70 families.

The intervention has not only worked to improve production, but has also helped to save water and energy use. With the 35 units running, the pilot measure will save a total of 94,080m3 of water and 35MW of energy every year. The measure has stabilized irrigation for the existing fields as well as brought new fields under irrigation. It has also enabled the farmers to broaden the crop base by including maize, gram, sweet potatoes and other crops. Productivity and incomes of the dependent families have improved significantly. Additionally, the sprinkling water is cooling the area and protecting the plantation from the sun and from heat waves. By saving energy and water, the pilot measure is contributing to CCM.

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Water quality deterioration and scarcity are among the most serious challenges faced by vulnerable coastal communities

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

Pumped water being stored at Motumala

The expected benefits from the pilots are set to be sustainable. The rural communities and PRIs are actively participating in decision-making regarding the project orientation and implementation. In fact, all the pilots have been officially approved by a PRI resolution. Community task forces have been set up to operate and maintain the infrastructure created and improved under the pilots. Communities are able to handle operation and maintenance (O&M) for the many pilots that are low-key interventions built on traditional knowledge. The probability of a successful replication of the pilots on a larger scale is also high: in TN, two PRIs have already sanctioned and funded additional village-level projects prioritized during the V&NA.

Documenting insight, mainstreaming adaptation “Cyclones in the previous year damaged our nets and motor. We sold our craft to clear debts and now my husband works for another craft… and I am working as agricultural labourer. If there was a permanent facility to preserve the motor and gear, we could have continued fishing.”

— Aavula Seshamma, Sri Ramapuram, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh

AdaptCap is using the information collected through the bottom-up assessment of vulnerability parameters, the basic needs and impacted livelihoods to develop local adaptation and mitigation guides (LAMGs) for the project sites. These guides serve as resource documents and enhance capacities of local authorities for participatory planning processes. Each LAMG contains an initial set of measures proposed by the respective community to address climate change and serve to initiate dialogue between the community, municipality and authorities for integration into local plans.

LAMGs have been developed for all 18 rural communities and 6 urban centres. The documents have proven an important informational resource for PRI bodies, and useful as an advocacy tool with Government departments and representative institutions at the state level for mobilizing support and pilot project replication. These LAMGs have been translated into the local language and handed over to village Panchayats.

A key benefit of embedding pilot projects into the community-owned LAMGs is that the reasoning for implementing the pilot project — the climate impacts and their differing relevance — is clearly set out and explained to everyone. In a true sense then, the local, the district and the state are brought on the same page. As major decisions as well as budget allocation for local development projects are taken on district level, further integration of LAMGs into the planning process of the Block Development Officer and District Collector can be undertaken. Significantly, LAMGs can help point to the many state-level government specific schemes and programs that can be tapped to mobilize funds for the identified pilots.

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Intended as a “living document” that develops as a project progresses, LAMGs strengthen communities’ capacity to communicate their needs and priorities to decision-makers while enabling local governments to undertake participatory planning. For example, the community in Kadapakkam, Thiruvallur district, TN, plans to tap into the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to maintain, renovate and extend its pilot project (pond renovation as well as bund and shutter construction). In addition, the pilot measures suggested for resilience building can serve as a point of reference to roll out climate change adaptation activities on a larger scale. Similar measures could be included by the local authorities in city vision documents, city master plans as well in central schemes on urban infrastructure development.

Building skills, bridging the knowledge divide AdaptCap’s capacity building strategy places strong emphasis on improving awareness among both community members and rural and urban authorities about climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction. It is crucial that the community members become adept at seeing the everyday experiences of climatic variability through the lens of climate change.

Simplifying the often complex scientific language of climate change and bringing it home to the community can be a force multiplier for adaptation measures.

The project’s capacity building activities have considerably strengthened the awareness of villagers, PRI bodies and other local institutions on the relevance and impacts of climate change in their area and the probable strategies to address them. Following the capacity building programs, villagers have enthusiastically come forward to become members of Task Force Committees, and the revenue authorities and municipal authorities have increased their support to the project.

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Project partners in consultation with the community

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

Increasing awareness and knowledge of climate change is driving communities’ acceptance and demand for CFL bulbs and solar energy, thereby addressing climate change mitigation.

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ADAPTCAP TRAINING TOOLBOX The AdaptCap project is based on a robust foundation of existing methods and tools, local knowledge and scientific evidence. The recently developed “training toolbox” links existing methods with innovative approaches for building capacity among local stakeholders. The Climate Navigator tool lies at the heart of AdaptCap’s approach. The modular Climate Navigator has five parts, starting with an introduction on climate change and, in distinct steps, moving towards the development of a strategy for CCA and its integration into local planning. The interim steps include the identification of climate induced or exacerbated risks as well as the development of potential measures to overcome them. The training tool facilitates self-assessment at the basic level and guides adaptation decisions.

Climate Navigator was adapted to the context of coastal communities in India, where the communities were supported in the five steps — from creating awareness on climate change and its impacts to planning, implementing and monitoring local adaptation measures. In the course of the AdaptCap project, training of trainers (ToT) workshops were conducted on the Climate Navigator methodology to equip the trainers with knowledge on climate change and adaptation strategies as well as improve their skills for transferring the know-how to communities.

Individuals and communities have also started to replicate approaches and measures such as the use of CFL bulbs. For example, in Pillai Colony, Nagapattinam district, TN, the Panchayat agreed to bear the electricity charge for water supply, and one of the training participants donated his patta land to enable the installation of a pillar for the water tank and a motor for distributing the water.

Within the AdaptCap project, capacity building is embedded into several project stages and work streams. First, local partners and partnering NGOs in AP and TN are equipped with the required capacities. Mutual knowledge exchange is also aimed at as part of the Training of Trainers (ToT) component, in order to transfer local knowledge between TN, AP and New Delhi.

Second, the local task forces and authorities in the target locations are trained by the partners and partnering NGOs. Technical capacities are strengthened throughout the development of pilot projects. In particular, the continued O&M of the pilots is addressed to ensure sustainability of the project. Shared learning dialogue (SLD) meetings to ensure mutual learning and understanding about the climate change impacts on cities have been quite beneficial in engaging with city officials and sharing of V&NA results.

Under the AdaptCap project so far, a total of 44 rural workshops and 8 urban and rural SLDs have been conducted, enhancing the capability of 1,531 training participants for decision making on climate change. As part of the work of community task forces and city task forces, the trainees will be integrated into the existing governance structures of the 18 villages and 6 urban local bodies to continue their work even after project completion.

“During the exercise we have created a guide for our development. In future we can approach any concerned agency, and with the help of the guide that has been developed, we can find solutions to the rest of our problems.”

— Haribabu Katamgari, Sri Ramapuram, Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh

Stimulating integration, multiplying benefits AdaptCap’s core thrust is on getting the coastal communities and their representatives to engage in a common language of integrated climate proofing. The pilot sites are only the first physical and visual step in a long-range process of mainstreaming climate impacts into the everyday logic of governance.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

MAINSTREAMING ADAPTCAP WORKSHOPS FOR COMMUNITY PEOPLE COME AND SEE WHAT IS BEING DONE JOIN TASK FORCE TRAINING FOR TASK FORCE MEMBERS UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT CAN BE REPLICATED EVIDENCE AND RESULTS FROM SUCCESSFUL PILOT SITES LAMG REINFORCES PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TOOLS IN HAND TO NEGOTIATE WITH REPRESENTATIVES SPREADING OF SUCCESSFUL RESULTS THROUGH PEER TO PEER SHARING (SOLUTION SEARCH AWARD GIVEN TO AGS AND GIZ) SPREADING OF SUCCESSFUL RESULTS THROUGH TAKE UP OF INTEGRATED PLANNING BY GOVT. AGENCIES (NIDM) SPREADING OF SUCCESSFUL RESULTS THROUGH INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT UPTAKE IN PLANNING MECHANISMS (TN STATE ACTION PLAN ON CLIMATE) Multiplication of such efforts underscores the value of AdaptCap’s approach: equal treatment of individuals and knowledge, whether local or scientific. The project’s success has been recognised at the larger policy and planning levels. The Tamil Nadu Government is in discussion with AdaptCap’s state partner, AVVAI, for assistance in developing the State Action Plan on Climate Change. The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), Government of India, has asked AdaptCap’s partner AVVAI to use the experiences gained in the AdaptCap project to help in developing a climate-proof District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP) in Thiruvallur district, supervised by the district collector. NIDM is using the lessons learnt from the AdaptCap project to build training modules on DRR and CCA for district officials.

In Andhra Pradesh, NIDM teamed up with AdaptCap to visit Visakhapatnam district and solicited help in preparing the Village Development Management Plan (VDMP). AdaptCap partner AGS has interacted with the Collectors of all three project districts, and the district and municipal

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governments of Nellore and Visakhapatnam are looking to mainstream integrated climate proofing into the planning process. So far, 6 VDMPs have been prepared in both Visakhapatnam and Thiruvallur districts.

The lessons learnt and success stories of the AdaptCap project, although situated in 18 sites, have begun extending beyond its immediate physical surroundings onto a larger landscape.

Based on strong evidence and case level success, networking and larger exchanges of experience and information will be the mechanisms through which replication can happen organically and sustainably.

The East Coast Network, comprising four coastal states of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, as well as organisations such as Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Freshwater Action Network (FANSA), Plan, CARE and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), alongside local municipal councillors and government officials, has used the lessons from AdaptCap to bring attention to the specific experiences of the project and the potential for wider replication. The East Coast Network will provide a stronger visibility to both the challenges faced by India’s vulnerable as well as the possible solutions – systemic and political – that can be put in place.

The AdaptCap project has won the ‘Solution Search Award ’ 2013, an innovative contest created by Rare and The Nature Conservancy, for the work done in climate proofing in Dasaraju Palli village, by installing a solar-powered water filtration system. This successful pilot not only ensured clean water but off-grid and sustainable solutions. The international recognition being received by AdaptCap highlights the potential its participatory, integrated approach has for some of the climate-change related development and livelihood challenges being faced by local communities around the world.

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Assured irrigation from water harvesting pond in Motumala has made villagers confident

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

WEST BENGAL

RIPPLE EFFECT

18 projects in 6 districts of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have caught the attention of people, civil society and governments along the Eastern Coast

ORISSA

Cluster Town: ONGOLE Prakasam District ANDHRA PRADESH

ANDHRA PRADESH

u DASARAJU PALLI 4 km from Ongole u MOTUMALA 18 km from Ongole u VENGAMUKKA PALEM 5 km from Ongole

BAY OF BENGAL Cluster Town: PONNERI Thiruvallur District TAMIL NADU u KADAPAKKAM 4 km from Ponneri u THANGAL PERUMPULAM 8 km from Ponneri u THIRUMALAI NAGAR 21 km from Ponneri

TAMIL NADU

Cluster Town: NAGAPATTINAM Nagapattinam District, TAMIL NADU u KUMARAKUDI 50 km from Nagapattinam u PERUMALPETTAI 46 km from Nagapattinam u PILLAI COLONY 46 km from Nagapattinam

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EAST COAST NETWORK

A network of NGOs, research institutions and government bodies from coastal states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal

Cluster Town: VISAKHAPATNAM Visakhapatnam District ANDHRA PRADESH u CHEPALA DIBBADA PALEM & CHUKKAVANI PALEM 25 km and 22 km from Visakhapatnam

AP govt. financed the source improvement from its own fund

u GOVUPETA 23 km from Visakhapatnam

VDMPs developed by district authority with the help of AdaptCap Replication pilots in TN with MGNREGA Ongole – City administration with AdaptCap to update DDMP with CCA/CCM Urban Pilot.

Installation of solar power in existing RO plant

Dasaraju Palli – Solar Filtration System received Solution Search Award, at a global level

Cluster Town: KAVALI Nellore District ANDHRA PRADESH

AP govt. financed tank rehabilitation from its own fund

u SRI RAMAPURAM 11 km from Kavali u RAMUDUPALLI PALEM 10 km from Kavali u POOVULA DORUVU 10 km from Kavali

18 wards in Ponneri Town Panchayat completed V&NA

Thiruvallur – District Collector supported development of VDMPs/DDMPs Meetings in TN with State Planning Commission – integrating CCM/CCM measures for Chennai

Cluster Town: CUDDALORE Cuddalore District TAMIL NADU u CHINNAKARAMEDU 61 km from Cuddalore u KADUVETTI 63 km from Cuddalore u NADUPALAYAM 63 km from Cuddalore

AVVAI has submitted proposal to NABARD for Adaptation Fund, discussion is ongoing

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

CASE IN FOCUS #1

KUMARAKUDI

NAGAPATTINAM DISTRICT • TAMIL NADU

1.5 KM LONG BUND TO PROTECT LAND FROM SALINITY

Project Cost ` 991,630 AdaptCap: ` 911,630 Community: ` 80,000 22

Beneficiaries 1715 People

BACKGROUND Seawater intrusion has eaten into Kumarakudi’s agricultural land. Seawater from storm surges floods the village agriculture fields, both directly via the dunes and from the tidal Sunder River inlet on the North side of Kumarakudi’s agricultural fields. Salinity of water reaches depths of up to 10 feet., causing loss of agricultural productivity and raising problems for water supply. At its most extreme (post 2002 tsunami), overflow into agricultural land had covered the entire 150 acres adjacent to the river and up until the irrigation canal. About 100 of these acres have been rehabilitated-enough to grow crops (mono cropping of paddy) but 50 acres have remained fallow since 2002.

For a population that has traditionally relied on agriculture for a living, changing the trade or migrating to other places for work represent choices that not everyone wants to take. As a young farmer commented during a recent field visit, “Not everyone can migrate for work. For those that can’t find work, this land is all we have.”

THE PILOT AdaptCap’s pilot project — strengthening the river and coastal bunds around the fields — directly addresses the problem of seawater intrusion. The solution was selected through a process of participatory decision making with the community. A 1.5 km long bund was constructed to protect the farmlands. A shutter was also built where the irrigation canal meets the river to allow drainage during heavy rains. Vegetation is planned on the bund wall to prevent soil erosion.

Currently, the bund ends at the village Panchayat limits. However, there is a request from the community that the bund be extended further to protect the neighbouring Panchayat lands from saline inflows.

Under AVVAI’s guidance, O&M for the bund was decided before construction.

Any small work would be undertaken by the farmers closest to the bund. For larger work, the entire community would assist. The community share in the O&M (monthly cost of INR 2,800) would be 50–100%, for which the village task force committee will collect a contribution from those who benefit from the bund.

BENEFITS The construction of the bund is complete. With that, the 50 acres of hitherto uncultivable land has been ploughed for the first time since 2002. For the farmers who own land in these worst affected parts, their land has once again become a source of livelihood. The bund is altogether protecting 200 acres of land from floods and saltwater infiltration. The harvest is expected to double from 10 bags per acre before the pilot to 20 bags per acre; the yield is expected to further increase to 30 bags per acre once salinity decreases.

Almost 343 families stand to benefit from the pilot project, which has ensured more sustained employment and income for the community, especially for women engaged in activities such as weeding, planting and harvesting. The 200 acres of farmland will result in 200 tons of harvested paddy.

1 kg of harvested paddy brings in INR 10 at market. In terms of financial gains for the community, the pilot is expected to bring INR 20 lakh worth of agricultural productivity back to Kumarakudi.

The benefits of the bund go beyond agricultural productivity and livelihood gains. During field interaction, a ward member shared her concern about the children in the community losing “their moral and social values” due to the fall in incomes and subsequent cessation of education and loss of family interaction. She was confident that the bund and the renewal of agricultural income will give the community a chance to generate funds that can be spent on the children and give them a chance to go to school.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

LESSONS LEARNT Although the bund has allowed the land to be reclaimed and ploughed for the first time in over 20 years, the availability of irrigation water will need to be the focus for the future of the project.

With the irrigation canal not having been in use for some time, and the rains being unreliable, the community will need to face and meet this challenge before being able to benefit in full from the pilot site.

Increased government attention to develop the community’s irrigation infrastructure, should be made a priority. This has already begun, as the community members are strengthening their understanding of government, and have accessed NREGA funding to clear the irrigation canal in order to be able to cultivate the first crop. AVVAI is helping the community to strategically leverage the pilot project and lobby with the district administration for water.

The AdaptCap project has catalysed a process — giving the community a voice — and now it remains to be seen if the successful first steps of engagement will be nurtured. The value of the AdaptCap project pilot sites, is their ability to be replicated. In the case of Kumarakudi, the community and government can learn from the lessons of Poovula Doruvu, where sprinkler irrigation was introduced as an effective way of water management with limited irrigation water.

Top Left: Saline agricultural land Top Right: Villagers plan the bund Right: The finished bund

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CASE IN FOCUS #2

DASARAJU PALLI

PRAKASAM DISTRICT • ANDHRA PRADESH

SLOW SAND WATER FILTER PUMPED BY SOLAR POWER

Project Cost ` 730,500

Beneficiaries 700 People

AdaptCap: ` 630,500 Community: ` 100,000 25

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

BACKGROUND Scarcity of clean drinking water is one of the biggest problems for the inhabitants of Dasaraju Palli, a village in close proximity to Ongole city. One obvious cause for the shortage of potable water is that the Panchayat piped water supply is infrequent and unreliable. According to community estimates, piped water comes only once every three days during the dry months and even that is bacteriologically contaminated. The other available water sources like wells and the village pond, which collects water from Sagar canal, also show high bacteriological contamination. In the dry months, villagers are forced to drink untreated and highly contaminated well water, supplied from the pond reservoir. Shortage of potable water is giving rise to a host of health and hygiene issues.

Desperate for clean water, villagers are forced to regularly buy expensive water bottles (locally called ‘bubbles’) from Kavali town.

With the projected changes in rainfall patterns and increase in extreme weather events, climate change is expected to put additional stress on the local water resources.

THE PILOT AdaptCap has set up an ambitious pilot project — a traditional system of water filtration and pumping by solar power — to ensure daily access to safe water for the inhabitants of Dasaraju Palli. An upflow roughing filter has been combined with a slow sand water filtration unit attached to an overhead tank. Solar powered pumps will deliver water from the village pond to the filter unit. Taps in the distribution system have also been repaired. The plant’s daily water supply capacity stands at 10,000 litres a day. It is expected to generate 5,475 litres of clean drinking water per inhabitant per year. Apart from improving water quality, the perennial filling of the village pond also increases the groundwater recharge by up to 30–50 million litres of water each year. This is enabled by the Panchayat’s contribution in renovating a supply canal and pumping water from the Sagar canal.

The village Panchayat, which is now taking on a major part of the project’s maintenance, was not in existence when the project was initiated. A Village Development Committee was formed to oversee the process. With drinking water provision on the top of its wish list, the Dasaraju Palli village community owned the decision to set up the solar powered filtration unit and made a joint community resolution to support project development, with both financial and in-kind contributions.

95 percent of the O&M (INR 6,917 a month) will be carried out by the community and implemented by the Panchayat, the operator and the electrician. Full financing is guaranteed through contributions by the Panchayat (INR 1,03,000 per year) and through user fees (INR 1,08,000 per year). External support would be required only for solving bigger problems involving technical components (solar pumps).

BENEFITS The pilot project will benefit all the 125 families of the village by ensuring daily access to safewater sufficient enough to cover their drinking and cooking needs. It will thus reduce the rate of water borne-diseases and significantly bring down costs for medical treatment and purchase of bottled drinking water. Until now, those who could afford were buying 20-litre water bubbles costing INR 18 per bubble plus transportation charges. Village inhabitants say they are willing to pay INR 2–5 per 20 litres for “their own” filter water. The pilot has thus not only made clean water cheap and easily available to the villagers but also given the municipal corporation an additional revenue stream.

Addition of the solar power component has made the plant more sustainable and addressed CCM. The plant will save 7200kWh/year in energy consumption and corresponding emission reduction.

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LESSONS LEARNT Actual implementation of the project faced several challenges and significant delays. The plant’s construction had to be revised several times by the technical experts visiting the pilot site. Issues like the energy consumption of the pump being different from what was certified by the supplier and the delivery of incorrectly sized sand grains necessitated corrective measures during setup.

The plant took 12 months to be constructed, with another three months for pump and filter adjustment. The leanings along the way point to issues and challenges that can come up in a project of similar nature and should be proactively addressed.

Another key learning is on ensuring rigorous community consultation and awareness building, which are crucial for effective implementation. On a recent field visit, some of the interviewed villagers were found to hold the incorrect belief that the source tank water had too much fluoride, which they believed was responsible for pain in their bone joints. An adelphi representative clarified that the fluoride content of the pond water was 1mg/litre, well within the desirable Indian Standards limit. Only the local groundwater sources showed elevated levels of up to 1.5mg/litre, though still within Indian Standards permissible limit. These interviewed villagers also believed that the newly installed slow sand filter would be able remove the ‘excess’ fluoride and were not aware of the actual treatment objective of removing suspended solids and bacteriological contamination. Even the newly elected Panchayat chief showed little awareness of the project’s mitigation aspect. These instances bring into focus the need for continued consultation and consistent follow-up on initial discussions.

This deficit of awareness points towards the continuous need of participatory proces which the ground-level partner can address during consistent follow-up to the initial discussions.

Top Left: Purified water from the plant Top Right: Villagers take home clean water Left: Technical consultant and project partners monitor the plant

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

CASE IN FOCUS #3 & 4 [TWIN PROJECTS]

SRI RAMAPURAM

NELLORE DISTRICT • ANDHRA PRADESH

STORAGE SHED FOR FISHING GEARS

Project Cost ` 626,000 AdaptCap: ` 576,000 Community: ` 50,000 28

Beneficiaries 1500 People

CASE IN FOCUS #3 & 4 [TWIN PROJECTS]

RAMUDUPALLI PALEM

NELLORE DISTRICT • ANDHRA PRADESH

CAUSEWAY OVER BUCKINGHAM CANAL

Project Cost ` 725,836

Beneficiaries 1500 People

AdaptCap: ` 625,836 Community: ` 100,000 29

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

BACKGROUND The contiguous villages of Sri Ramapuram and Ramudupalli Palem are small fishing hamlets. The villagers here were resettled after the 1989 cyclone, and each family was given a house and two acres of land. As the topsoil is not in good condition and there is water shortage for agriculture, fishing remains one of the most viable sources of livelihood. People from both the villages go for fishing to the sea located about 1 km away. The villagers use small catamarans to do basic subsistence fishing. Rudimentary as they are, the catamarans and other fishing gear are critical to the livelihood of these communities.

Until now, the fisher folk were storing their fishing gear in the open on the beach.

General weathering and extreme weather events in the past caused severe damage to their fishing equipment, even washing it away during monsoons. This is a major loss for resourceconstrained fisher folk. On an average, nets and basic equipment require investment of about INR 10,000 for each boat. It is common for fishermen to get into a severe debt-trap if they lose their fishing gear. Like most part of the coast, moneylenders are often the fish buyers, and hence the debt can be longstanding. Loss of means of livelihood and the ubiquitous absence of other means of earning income push many to migrate outside for work. Many fishermen have moved to the Kerala coast to work in trawlers as labourers.

The Buckingham Canal between the sea and the villages posed another difficulty, by obstructing the passage of people when the flow gets heavy during rains and extreme weather events. Crossing the canal required people to walk through chest deep water. During monsoon, it was difficult to cross the flooded canal at all. Due to this, the villagers lost close to 75 working days each year.

THE PILOTS During the initial community consultation, villagers wanted AdaptCap to help them renovate their houses. The roofs of most houses were damaged during the severe cyclone of 2000.

There was also a strong demand for sprinkler irrigation to help with agriculture. However, after considerable deliberation, the Panchayat and the community members found it prudent to build a multipurpose shed on the beach to store fishing gear and a causeway for safe passage across the Safe shed for fishing nets

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Buckingham Canal. The best part of these twin projects — the shed and the causeway — is the interconnectedness between the two neighbouring villages, which allows inhabitants of both the villages to enjoy the benefits. The community strongly supported the initiative from the planning stage on and provided tremendous help in construction. However, with some other AdaptCap pilot sites, extreme weather conditions delayed the construction of the causeway bridge and the storm-resistant shed.

A storage shed has now been built in Sri Ramapuram near the fishing point close to the sea. It is being used to store fishing nets, outboard motors and other fishing equipment. The roof of the multipurpose shed and the platform constructed in front of the shed are being used to dry fish.

In Ramudupalli Palem, a safe causeway has been constructed over the Buckingham canal to facilitate passage of people to and from the sea; it is proving especially helpful for women and children. Large pipes allow the canal water to flow freely underneath. The road has been surfaced with gravel and earth to be at the same level as the rest of the road to the sea.

In a step that bodes well for the project’s objectives of livelihood development, the local MLA has taken notice of the pilots and this inspired him to use his area development fund to build a road leading to the causeway and to the beach. This will further improve the communities’ access to livelihood, and could be seen as an extension of the project pilot sites.

The fishing community has complete (100%) responsibility for the O&M of the shed. To this end, annual user fee of INR 100 per family has been fixed to finance O&M activities (monthly cost of INR 1,500). The amount will be reviewed once a year and revised based on the O&M needs.

Skilled community members, if available in the village, will attend to O&M works and provide the necessary service on a wage basis.

BENEFITS Both the projects are very successful and are being highly appreciated by the community. The connected pilot activities are benefiting 300 families directly and 100 families indirectly. The storage shed is accommodating large and small fishing gear and motors worth ` 20,00,000. To state specifics, at a time the storage shed is accommodating five bigger gears, each worth ` 2.5 lakhs; 10 motors, each worth ` 30,000; and 30 medium-sized gears, each worth ` 15,000. It is also helping the villagers generate additional income from drying fish.

The causeway over Buckingham Canal has also made access to the beach faster and easier. Sonalu, a fisherman, said that they can get to the catamaran quickly when prawns are sighted in the sea. The causeway is helping the women take the catch fresh to the market. Thanks to the causeway, the number of working days for the fisher folk has increased. Drudgery and the dangers that came with crossing the Canal in neck deep water have considerably reduced and transport access strongly enhanced. With the increase in workdays, the average earning of a fishing family has increased by an additional ` 11,250 per year. An additional benefit lies in the improved transport access to the shore, reducing all the costs of operation related to fishing and market access.

Buoyed by the success of these pilots, the two villages are exploring ways to intensify their adaptation activities in the future. Plans are underway to introduce CFL bulbs and smokeless, energy efficient stoves. Clearly, the AdaptCap project has empowered the communities to look at innovative ways of responding to environmental challenges as well as incorporating CCM as a way of life.

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ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE

The pilot monitoring committee of the causeway has decided to collect a user fee from the villagers and implement the O&M fully (monthly cost of INR 1,000) on its own. User fee of INR 50 per family would be collected during the first year; it would increase to INR 100 per family per year from the 2nd year onward. Skilled persons (plumbers) are available locally to attend to the repairs, if any.

LESSONS LEARNT The selection of pilot sites that were relevant to the communities’ livelihood development, as opposed to other possible options such as housing improvements, has been revalidated time and again. The built shed has withstood extreme weather events, saving fisher folk money and resources that would otherwise have been lost. With 100 rainy days every year, now at least 75 days see fisher folk able to take safe passage. This greater security in income, although a small step, has done much to improve the communities’ resilience and capacity. The causeway has also served to provide protection for women and children during extreme weather events. Before the causeway, the only way to be able to cross the canal would be to fight the rising water.

Women are the critical component of the fishing trade. They sort the product, take it to market and ensure incomes for their families. The road as well as the causeway have helped them to get the product to the market faster and fresher.

This pilot site has, at once, taken care of the male-dominated fishing activity but also contributed significantly to the role that women play in this process. In doing so, it has made clear the extent to which working with women can actually have strong and overall quantitative as well as quality of life benefits.

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Vulnerability of coastal communities is not a new phenomenon. They exist on the periphery, both geographically and politically. Climate change brings with it new challenges for their survival. But climate change is only part of a complex matrix of action and impact for these communities. The AdaptCap project works in 18 sites in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to showcase and disseminate another way of thinking; local knowledge, government participation and ownership; climate proofing pilot solutions and financial sustainability. Providing capacity at all levels, AdaptCap is evidence that robust solutions come with flexible thinking, and integration of previously independent areas including adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction. AdaptCap’s integrated approach will go well beyond the project lifecycle, and give new impetus to coastal communities engaging in a climate-constrained world.

Indo-German Environmental Partnership (IGEP) Programme Deutsche Gesellschaft fĂźr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH B 5/2, Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi 110029, INDIA T: +91-11-4949 5353 F: +91-11-49495391 E: contact@igep.in, ashish.chaturvedi@giz.de I: www.adaptcap.in, www.igep.in, www.giz.de

ADAPTCAP: PILOTING CHANGE