An Assessment of Vulnerability of Livestock Farming to Climate Variability

Abstract

The livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) was developed to estimate climate change vulnerability in the Chitradurga and Kolar Districts of Karnataka, India. 120 households were surveyed, each district collected data on socio-demographics, livelihoods, social networks, health, food and water security, natural disasters and climate variability. Data were aggregated using a composite index and differential vulnerabilities were compared. Results suggest that Chitradurga may be more vulnerable in terms of water resources, while Kolar may be more vulnerable in terms of socio-demographic structure. This pragmatic approach may be used to monitor vulnerability, program resources for assistance, and/or evaluate potential program/policy effectiveness in data-scarce regions by introducing scenarios into the LVI model for baseline comparison.