National Geographical Journal of India

Assessing climate change vulnerability in riparian communities: A case study from the Teesta-Jamuna river basin, Bangladesh

Most. Mitu Akter, N M Refat Nasher — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Millions of low-income people have been living in physically vulnerable char and riverbank areas through the decades under adverse environmental conditions. The inhabitants of charland and the riverbanks are frequently impacted by the dangers of climate change. This is because their livelihoods heavily rely on agriculture. The purpose of this research was to evaluate potential exposure levels between char (Chilmari Upazila; Gaibandha) and riverbank (Sundorganj upazila; Kurigram) households using the Livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) and the Livelihood vulnerability index-Intergovernmental Panel on climate change (LVI-IPCC). The LVI was computed by amalgamating the three components, namely exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capability, utilizing the LVI and LVI-IPCC. A comprehensive survey was conducted on a total of 272 families, with an equal number of households (136 each) from Chilmari and Sundorganj. The non-probability approach encompassed a wide range of themes, including demographic data, economy, networks of friends, good health, food and water scarcity, variability in the climate, and natural disasters. The LVI scores (Chilmari; 0.533, Sundorganj;0.504) were suggested highly vulnerable to climate change hazards for both areas. The LVI-IPCC results demonstrated that dwellers in Chilmari (score;0.075) were more vulnerable than those in Sundarganj (score;0.028) because of their low productivity, low income, insufficient availability of food and poor provision of healthcare services, and poor social network system. This study suggested that the inhabitants in Char land are more susceptible.than those of riverbank inhabitants in Bangladesh. Easy access to education, better communications to the service area, alternative sources of income, use of high technology in agriculture, and incorporation of the local people during policy design and implementations can effectively improve

Spatial distribution of stone crusher units (SCUs) in Sonbhadra district: A geographical perspective

Shailesh Kumar, Govind Narayan Srivastava, Anand Prasad Mishra — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Indian expanding economy, recently experienced many changes in its pattern and nature of development. The increasing space of road, housing and other infrastructural construction increased demand rapidly for stone and its related items. The neo-liberal economy needs more Gross domestic product (G.D.P.) growth and up to $ 5 trillion on the role model for contemporary development. On the base of these more and more crushing industry came in existence. The production of crushed stone in various sizes according to demand, which is used as the raw material for various construction activities such as the building of roads, highways, bridges, buildings, canals, etc., is a significant industrial sector in the nation. This articles explores the spatial distribution of Stone Crushers Units (SCUs) in Sonbhadra district. Owing to lacuna in policy frame works for stone crushing activities, it posed serious challenges for space and society. Owing to ignorance in policies framework the developmental agencies failed to produce reliable data on consequences made by stone crushers in this area. In context to this the present work is an attempt to develop reliable data and its analysis related to peoples, health and spatial environment.

Impact of employment on women's empowerment in Uttar Pradesh: A geographical perspective

Shrinkhla Pandey , Gayatri Rai — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Women's employment and education contribute significantly to empower as a result of their combined efforts and understanding of the supportive institutions that aids in this process. Gender equality and societal growth both depend upon the empowerment of women. Economic inequality and strongly ingrained cultural norms make women's empowerment in India, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh, an enormous challenge. Based on secondary sources of data like the Census of India and NFHS-5, the study examines the socio-demographic covariables of women's employment and their influence on women's empowerment in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A clear profile of women's work participation can be obtained by using the cross-tabulation with background characteristics. Age, education, marital age, husband's desire for children, contraception, religion, and residential status are the predictors of the study. Social, economic, and cultural factors are primarily regarded as sub-dimensional explanatory variables. It concludes by pointing out the correlation between gender ratios and literacy in the state in 2011. The literacy rate in Uttar Pradesh has always been lower than all India's average. The correlation between Uttar Pradesh's sex ratio and literacy rate is fairly low and negative, with r = -0.56. The primary conclusion is that having a job positively affects, active the participation of women in household decision-making. Policymakers, NGOs, and campaigners working to improve the lives of women in the state can benefit greatly from the conclusions and suggestions made in this study.

Self-reported Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and symptoms among married women in India: Trend, pattern, and influencing factors

Oinam Ashabala Devi, Avijit Mistri — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Around 12 per cent of the married women in India reported an STI or symptoms in 2019-21. All the regions in India have witnessed an increasing trend of STIs- Northern India reported the highest, followed by the Northeast region. The present study examines the trend, pattern and influencing factors for self-reported STIs and symptoms among currently married women in India from 2005-06 to 2019-21 based on NFHS. Women and husbands’ characteristics, and their sexual behaviour are observed in the study as predominant predictors for self-reported STIs and symptoms. The study also reveals that working women are more likely to report STIs/symptoms. Husbands away from home or migration, their multiple sex partners, and paid-for sex are significantly associated with the prevalence of STIs among married women. With the advancement of Indian society, socioeconomic life and sexual behaviour are becoming more complex, which play a crucial role in determining STIs. These need to be considered wisely, along with conventional predictors- age, education, social groups, location of residence, and economic status- to curb the growing STIs in India. Finally, adequate health infrastructure for continuous monitoring of different types of STIs/STDs and a good database are an urgent need for the well management of STIs.

Disaster risk management through gendered vulnerability and mainstreaming

Sneh Gangwar — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The significant losses in human life and livelihoods, the destruction of economic and social infrastructure and damage to the environment caused by disasters in the past decade has increased the necessity for proper disaster reduction and risk management strategies. A disaster is shown as a combination of a trigger agent and vulnerabilities. Since vulnerabilities are the dependent component of a disaster, they should be managed and minimized in order to reduce disasters. Disaster reduction policies and measures, which ensure a decrease in vulnerabilities, need to be formed and implemented to achieve a sustainable and consistent plan of disaster management. Since women are more vulnerable in a disaster, their needs and concerns should be widely integrated into risk reduction plans and procedures from both perspectives of women as beneficiaries and decision makers. Gender mainstreaming is considered an important element in disaster reduction policy making to integrate a gender equality perspective in all policies at all levels. Gender mainstreaming in disaster reduction refers to promoting awareness about gender equity and equality, to help reduce the impact of disasters and to incorporate gender analysis in disaster management, risk reduction and sustainable development to decrease vulnerability. The paper emphasise the importance of one of the perspectives less considered in most of the studies about risk and disasters, i.e. differentiated experience of men and women during the occurrence of disaster as a result of their gender. This paper also gives an account of the gender mainstreaming, its importance and proposed means of integrating it into disaster reduction policies and measures. This paper is based on a review of academic literature, papers and reports produced by various institutes, NGOs, Government organizations etc.

Women at Work: Unveiling the impact of FLFPR and adolescent fertility on India's economic landscape

Mahima Chandauriya, Pawan Kumar Sharma — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper aims to understand the correlation between FLFPR, adolescent fertility rate and economic development of India between 2012 and 2022. Based on quantitative and secondary research data, this research analyses the effect of FLFPR, FGERSE and adolescent fertility rates on GDP per capita. Data imply that FLFPR has a positive relation with the GDP per capita proving that women play a mature role within the scheme of economic development. On the other hand, adolescent fertility rates are grossly inversely related to GDP per capita and thus should warrant policies supporting reproductive health outcomes. Moreover, the study shows that there is need to advocate for gender main stream education for the provision of sustainable economic for women and gender equality in India.

Climate change and agricultural resilience in India: Challenges and strategies

Vishwambhar Nath Sharma — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Due to human intervention in nature, climate characteristics, weather patterns, and climate effects have been continuously changing in recent years. There has been an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events. Climate change has become a significant global challenge today. Extreme events such as excessive heat, drought, floods, and changes in normal weather patterns have impacted agriculture, water supply, infrastructure, education, health and rural livelihood. The crop rotation, soil fertility, and various aspects of the agricultural system have been affected, ultimately influencing agro-production and productivity. These weather changes have led to the emergence of various new pests and diseases that are causing significant damage to crops and livestock. Poor families become more vulnerable to extreme events because they lack alternative sources of income. This paper aims to highlight the impacts of changing patterns of weather conditions due to climate change on agricultural activities and the rural economy and also to explore the challenges and adaptive strategies to make the villagers resilient to these impacts. Internet sources and other electronic media, newspapers, books and journals are consulted for this study.