Zeitschrift für Geographie und Naturkatastrophen
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Role of socio-economic factors in micro-level analyses of vulnerability to floods in Kuttanad wetland

Subrata Purkayastha, Sarath Chandran

Kuttanad wetland of Kerala located at the southern end of India’s largest Ramsar site- the Vembanad-Kol is famous for its unique system of land and water management, here below sea- level paddy cultivation along with pisciculture is practiced in reclaimed polders. But these polders are highly prone to flood hazards whose frequency is increasing due to anthropogenic activities and climate change. Flood hazards are associated with livelihood property and land loss which impact people differently as there is a direct link between poverty and exposure to hazards, this has caught the attention of social scientists and policymakers alike resulting in a shift in the approach to hazard and disaster management. Keeping this in view the present paper focuses on the different dimensions of vulnerability to floods at a micro-level between the farmers who own land and the inland fishermen community who represent the marginalized section having little access to land in this wetland. This paper is empirical where data has been generated through field investigation in Pulinkunnu Panchayat of Kuttanad located in Alappuzha district as this Panchayat is highly flood-prone. A vulnerability index has been computed to assess and compare the different dimensions of vulnerability between the farmers and fishermen households. These two communities have been selected as they represent two distinct socio-economic groups who derive their major livelihood directly from the natural resource viz. land and water.