Trees, Forests and People (Dec 2021)
Socio-environmental and industrial vulnerability analysis of the communities in the Shiwalik region of Indian Himalayas foothills
Abstract
Socio-environmental vulnerability assessment in mountain landscapes depends upon multiple human-induced factors such as GHGs emissions from industry, transport, agriculture, and other vital economic sectors. However, there is a knowledge gap on choosing suitable indicators to assess socio-environmental vulnerability that addresses altitudinal variations. The present study was conducted to systematically analyze essential components of social vulnerability of an industrial area of the Shiwalik region of Indian Himalayan foothills by evaluating the role of Industrialization under the climate change threat. Moreover, this study also attempts to identify guidelines for adaptation mechanism, which directly or indirectly governs the livelihood of communities of Shiwalik Himalayas. We identified the various dimensions of vulnerability such as exposure, sensitivity, adaptive and coping capacity based on existing literature and prevailing situations of the study area. We collected data on the indicators in a questionnaire-based survey of 96 randomly selected households to adjoin industrial regions. The findings suggested that selected communities were more vulnerable to the ongoing activities of Industrialization. Industrialization, climate change, and their enhanced role in climate change vulnerability among these local communities were linearly correlated. Besides, industrial establishment in the selected area has led to various problematic impacts such as deterioration of air quality through industrial emissions like GHGs emissions, waste generation mostly untreated, further causing severe health and environmental problems. The rising of health-related issues, especially respiratory diseases, was more prominent in the studied areas. This study will help policymakers formulate effective strategies to reduce social and environmental vulnerability due to enhanced industrial activities and establishment in the Shiwalik region of the Indian Himalayan foothills.
