Introduction
The Council for RNR research of Bhutan Secretariat (CoRRB-S), MoAF, Thimphu conducted a five days’ [16th to 20th June 2015] workshop on “Identification and work-plan development for Climate Smart Village interventions” including field visits to climate smart initiatives in adjoining geogs of Phuentsholing. The workshop was meat to orient the RNR officials of Chukha Dzongkhag and extension officials of Lokchina and Darla Geogs on Climate Smart Agriculture.
The CoRRB-S, over the next three years, will be initiating the concept of Climate Smart Agriculture, and establishing five Climate Smart Villages [CSV], in the East, East-Central and Southern Dzongkhags. Following the international conventions and practices, the CSVs will test and validate agricultural Climate Change [CC] adaptation methodologies and interventions in an integrated manner with the aim to boost farmers ability to adapt to CC, manage risks and build resilience, and by this improve livelihoods and incomes and, where possible, reduce green house gas emissions to ensure solutions are sustainable. Focus will be on integrated actions – Weather -Smart, Carbon- Smart, Nitrogen -Smart, Energy -Smart, Knowledge-Smart (CGIAR -CCAFS approach).
Once the practices are tested and validated, these will be replicated in a wider scale; which is the part of the CoRRB-S’s technology generation activity, funded by the GCCA-Climate Change Adaptation Programme in the RNR Sector.
The internally accepted best practices for selecting a CSV and criteria are as follows; which are in order of priority;
- Poverty –subsistence agriculture, poor infrastructure and less natural resources
- Food Insecurities-incidences of food shortage, crop failure due to disease outbreak s and extreme weathers) in the past
- Vulnerable to climate change and climate variability- a village more prone to floods, landslides, droughts, extreme weathers ( wind –storm, extended monsoon rain to Oct-Nov)
- Shortage of water for drinking and irrigation, shortage of fodder, villages showing the signs of land degradation and shrinking forest resources
- Large settlement and high population density
- Accessible ( for input and monitoring)
Objectives
The main objective of holding the workshop was to:
- Orient the RNR staff with the concept of Climate Smart Agriculture in general and the need for establishment of Climate Smart Villages in particular.
- Jointly identify the Climate Smart interventions, based on the findings of the Diagnostic Study, and develop / integrate them into the Annual Work-plan & Budget of the sector.
- Make field visit to identify sites for implementing the interventions.
Main highlights of the work-shop:
Participants were oriented on the basic understanding of Climate Change, how it is impacting globally and its regional manifestations. In Bhutan it is already impacting on water resources, forests & ecosystems, agriculture & food security, and the rural livelihoods. The impacts are mainly due to changes in Biophysical Drivers, like temperature, rainfall patterns, extreme events frequency, intensity and seasonal shifts; and to a great extent non-climatic or human factor.
The RNR sector is highly climate sensitive. Therefore there is a need to transform current agricultural practices and make them climate smart; which will build Resilience, raise Food Security & Incomes, and reduce Green House Gas [GHG]; thereby balancing agricultural productivity and environment. The Climate Smart Agricultural practice sustains the health of the land & increases productivity, does not pollute, degrade land or loss of forests and biodiversity; and delivers food, fibre, fuel and incomes, carbon sequestration and reduce GHG emissions.
In order to initiate the formation of CSV, an ‘Assessment of Sustainable Livelihood and Climate Vulnerabilities’ was done on Pamji village of Lokchina and Tabji village of Darla Geogs. This was the ‘Diagnostic Study’, aimed at collecting baseline information on the households including:
- collection of information on the opportunities and constraints of the households that influence the sustainability of livelihoods
- constructing the capital asset accumulation and assess vulnerability of the household livelihoods against adverse effect of climate change and variability
- identification of climate smart interventions/technologies to be introduced for reducing households’ climatic shocks and stresses.
The study also included Supplementary Key Informant interviews and Secondary Data Use. The observation and data collection revolved round the impacts on Natural, Physical, Financial and Social capitals. Based on the analysis of the diagnostic study, some key interventions & activities were proposed, as follows:
| Capital | TABJI | PAMJI | ||
| Vulnerabilities/ problems | Intervention | Vulnerabilities/ problems | Interventions | |
| Social Capital | A few formal group ( agriculture marketing ) and 1-2 informal group available | Promote active group participation and awareness creation and information on climate impact | No formal group (school vegetable- one household ) exist and traditional informal group seems disappeared | Formation of formal groups and re-activating of traditional help groups |
| Human Capital | A few number of educated farmers and a few attended training | Continue Farmers training on crop production and marketing | Less number of educated farmers | Farmers training on crop production and marketing |
| Many farmers unknown about impact of climate change on livelihoods | Create awareness and establish public provide climate information | Impact of climate change on livelihoods not aware at all | Create awareness and provide climate information | |
| Physical Capital | House holds not connected to Geog farm road. Travel long distance on foot to sell farm produce | Establish storing facilities and crop and animal product processing unit | House holds not connected to Geog farm road. Travel long distance on foot to sell farm produce | Establish storing facilities and crop and animal product processing unit |
| Natural capital | Water source drying up making access of drinking and irrigation difficult. Soil fertility and Crop productivity decreasing | Rain water harvesting and management | Water source drying up making access of drinking and irrigation difficult. Soil fertility and Crop productivity decreasing | Rain water harvesting and management |
| Introduce improved Crop and management techniques-New variety of maize and upland riceDirect seeding -Zero Tillage, Minimum tillage -Green manuring -Integrated Pest management | Introduce improved Crop and management techniques-New variety of maize and upland riceDirect seeding -Zero Tillage, Minimum tillage -Green maturing -Integrated Pest management | |||
| Land slide and soil erosion problem | Introduce/ intensify Land management and soil conservation , agro forestry practices | Land slide and soil erosion problem | Introduce Land management and soil conservation , agro forestry practices | |
| Financial Capital | A few has taken loan to finance poultry farms | Continue group formation and actively take part government loan scheme for commercialization | No Agriculture commercial venture at the site | Form group to get access to government loan and schemes to start production a large scale |
| Only established commercial venture for poultry production | Diversify crop and livestock production ( e,g, vegetables, dairy improve orange & cardamom production | No commercial production | Enter into commercial production of crops, vegetables and fruits. | |
Participants were divided into three sub-sectoral groups, to further work on the interventions using the concept of CSV and integrate them into Annual Work-plan and Budget.
The final two days were spent on field visits to Sampheling Geog, where some climate smart activities have been initiated.
-Submitted by CoRRB
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