Climate Asia India Report
INDIA How the people of India live with climate change and what communication can do Varinder Gambhir and Prerna Kumar Climate change is about people How do people in India live with climate change now? How will its impacts shape their future, and how will they, in turn, shape their environment? What are the most effective ways to support people to adapt to climate change, and how best can the media, governments, organisations and businesses communicate with them? These are the questions behind Climate Asia, the world’s largest study of people’s everyday experience of climate change. The project surveyed 33,500 people across seven Asian countries – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam. In India, the research was conducted from May to August 2012 across cities and villages in five states: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, and in the city of Mumbai. These particular states were selected to represent different geographic areas in the country, which include coasts, mountains, a delta, plains with large tracts of rainfed agriculture and a large city. They are also home to people in very diverse socio-economic groups. Climate Asia recorded the opinions, insights and needs of this population, about 70% of whom live on less than $2 (£1.30) a day.1 Climate Asia conducted 24 focus group discussions with men and women from different social backgrounds across eight locations in the chosen states and city in India. In addition, our researchers held eight community assessments2 with communities vulnerable to climate change, as well as 30 in-depth interviews with key experts and opinion-formers from government, civil society, business and academia.
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