With a coastline of 1,600km, Gujarat’s coastal districts are increasingly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change. To address this, under the guidance of Gujarat’s Climate Change Department, the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, has set up an initiative to enhance the adaptive capacity of natural resource-dependent communities of agricultural, coastal fishing and pastoral sectors in the Kachchh district of Gujarat. The initiative is funded by the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change.
The initiative uses Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and Community-based Adaptation (CbA) models to address issues of water, livelihood security and ecosystem restoration. As a result, the following interventions have been set up in the region:
- Restoration: Restoration of mangroves in the coastal belt, restoration of Banni Grassland and development of grassland as a seedbank.
- Infrastructure: Construction of water harvesting structures, creating micro-irrigation systems, installation of solar-based water irrigation pumps, restoring existing rainwater storage structures including farm ponds, surface ponds and percolation ponds, installation of bio-energy systems and production of biochar from farm waste.
- Community support: Distribution of fodder kits to pastoral communities, livelihood interventions and skill-building for small scale dairy and handicraft producers.
The project has reached a total of 2,170 direct beneficiaries including 1,230 households from agricultural, 700 households from coastal and 240 households from pastoral sectors.
Gujarat was a member of the States & Regions Alliance, the forerunner to the Under2 Coalition. The state has also been participating in The Climate Group and CDP’s Global States and Regions Annual Disclosure initiative, thereby showcasing a commitment to transparency and bold climate leadership.
This case study was developed as part of the India States Climate Leadership Project of the Under2 Coalition.