Climate-related vulnerabilities significantly affect marginalized populations due to their limited adaptive capacities. Adaptation projects that do not explicitly address social structures may unwittingly reinforce such vulnerabilities. Rural resilience projects can bolster traditional knowledge systems with modern technologies, where solutions are co-designed and managed by local communities in response to their climate vulnerabilities. Such interventions must also consider medium- and long-term climate impacts and associated uncertainties, based on local trends and projections.

This blog offers glimpses of intersectional climate vulnerabilities faced by rural communities in India and presents a review of global and Indian models of climate-resilient and sustainable rural development.

Models of rural development have been referred to differently around the world. In the Global North, “ecovillages,” “degrowth cooperatives” and “transition towns” focused on addressing issues of sustainable co-living, conviviality and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. In the Global South, rural resilience projects have focused on agricultural livelihoods and have been termed “climate-smart” or taken the form of “climate-resilient villages.” Recent focus on decentralized renewable energy has also led to concepts like “smart villages” and “carbon-neutral panchayats.”

In a review of global and Indian projects on climate-resilient and sustainable models of rural development, we examined how programs have addressed rural development to build resilience of people, nature and climate. The scope of many climate-smart initiatives goes beyond natural resource management to developing capacities, technology transfers and improved market access. Institutions designed to incorporate local solutions can also enable behavioral changes and encourage inclusive, bottom-up decision-making.

A farm with a drip irrigation system in drought-affected Alepuram village, Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
A farm with a drip irrigation system in drought-affected Alepuram village, Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.

In India, the National Innovation for Climate Resilience Agriculture (NICRA) program introduced Climate Smart Villages, implementing it in 448 villages across 151 climate-vulnerable areas to promote climate-smart agriculture through climate-resilient technologies. Other models have focused on improving water conservation for agriculture and natural resource management. More recently the focus has also been on improving access to sanitation, safe drinking water, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) and solid waste management (SWM), which not only build rural resilience but also reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.

Such interventions, including SWM, diversify local livelihoods including for the most marginalized communities, but they have limited transformative impacts on entrenched hierarchies of caste and gender. For instance, Tamil Nadu’s flagship Climate Resilient Villages (CRV) project, under the aegis of the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission (TNCCM), aims to demonstrate pathways to climate-resilient rural development across 11 vulnerable districts by addressing local climate vulnerabilities, including resilience building across sectors like water, sanitation, solid waste, energy and livelihoods.

Depleting groundwater and saltwater ingress in coastal habitations pushes vulnerable communities toward water insecurity and greater reliance on private tankers for daily potable water needs. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Depleting groundwater and saltwater ingress in coastal habitations pushes vulnerable communities toward water insecurity and greater reliance on private tankers for daily potable water needs. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Community solid waste management project in Inghota village, Sumerpur district of Uttar Pradesh, improved diversification of livelihoods while addressing sanitation and public health outcomes. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Community solid waste management project in Inghota village, Sumerpur district of Uttar Pradesh, improved diversification of livelihoods while addressing sanitation and public health outcomes. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
The importance of recognizing the local community’s relationship with their natural environments can secure community buy-in and ensure sustainability of planned interventions. This pond was rejuvenated through a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in Uttar Pradesh. Photo by Ananya Chakraborty/WRI India.
The importance of recognizing the local community’s relationship with their natural environments can secure community buy-in and ensure sustainability of planned interventions. This pond was rejuvenated through a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in Uttar Pradesh. Photo by Ananya Chakraborty/WRI India.

Innovations for Rural Resilience

Increasing penetration of DRE solutions has improved energy access and reliability for rural communities. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Increasing penetration of DRE solutions has improved energy access and reliability for rural communities. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.

Many programs leverage technology to enhance climate resilience – advancements like DRE for households and agricultural electrification, and RO plants for drinking water can strengthen public service delivery. Meteorological sensors and automatic weather stations can help gather better data, and improved telecommunications can disseminate climate advisories to support local decision-making. 

However, technology must be deployed in a community-centric way to encourage uptake.

Water treatment and storage systems have improved access to affordable and potable water. Localized and indigenous solutions also ensure that such development interventions can be maintained by the community. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Water treatment and storage systems have improved access to affordable and potable water. Localized and indigenous solutions also ensure that such development interventions can be maintained by the community. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Using battery-operated vehicles for solid waste collection can achieve dual benefits of improving community health and reducing GHG emissions from solid waste dumping. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
Using battery-operated vehicles for solid waste collection can achieve dual benefits of improving community health and reducing GHG emissions from solid waste dumping. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.

Technology-focused projects complement the outreach and efficacy of government schemes. Blending financial support from corporate donors can help leverage private finance to provide additional funding. However, the continuity of such initiatives in the long term remains challenging once additional funding is withdrawn. Adequate institutionalization of these measures through local governance mechanisms is needed to ensure the sustainability of such efforts.

Door to door collection and aggregation of plastic waste has diversified livelihoods of rural communities through streamlined solid waste management practices. Photo by Ananya Chakraborty/WRI India.
Door to door collection and aggregation of plastic waste has diversified livelihoods of rural communities through streamlined solid waste management practices. Photo by Ananya Chakraborty/WRI India.

Locally Led Adaptation for Climate-Resilient Development

Combining Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques with geospatial insights can transform mapping of community needs and resources to identify entry points for rural resilience programs. A bottom-up model of locally led adaptation must integrate the needs of the underserved and marginalized communities.

A focus group discussion with a farming community and women Self Help Group (SHG) members. Moving beyond participatory design toward inclusion can help catalyze community involvement and contextualize interventions using local perspectives. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.
A focus group discussion with a farming community and women Self Help Group (SHG) members. Moving beyond participatory design toward inclusion can help catalyze community involvement and contextualize interventions using local perspectives. Photo by Vishvak Kannan/WRI India.

Such models need devolution of decision-making and financial power among stakeholders within the community. However, capacity building initiatives often fail to work toward broader objectives like improving the adaptive capacity of communities. Creating spaces for critical conversations through sustained engagement can offer a deeper understanding of local knowledge and experiences. For instance, to address climate information gaps for preparedness, the complex interplay between communities, biodiversity and climate must be understood and integrated in project design.

Furthermore, a lack of contextual data can lead to ineffective project designs or solutions that could even be maladaptive. Though technological solutions may exist for several challenges, rural communities may not see the value of investing in them. Short-term funding from government or corporate donors often overlooks the need for institutionalizing interventions that require ongoing maintenance and investments. This leaves communities without essential resources once funding support ends. These challenges are compounded by limited local capacity to sustain pilot interventions, often jeopardizing the long-term project gains.

Traditional livelihoods can lead to innovative solutions for improving the climate resilience of coastal communities that add value to existing supply chains through capacity development and building market linkages. Photo by Kinoks Movies.
Traditional livelihoods can lead to innovative solutions for improving the climate resilience of coastal communities that add value to existing supply chains through capacity development and building market linkages. Photo by Kinoks Movies.

To make meaningful progress, we must foster a collaborative effort that unites government agencies, the private sector and community organizations. Only through such a multifaceted approach can we effectively confront the challenges posed by climate change for rural communities.