Climate change and water-related threats in the Indian Sundarbans: food security and management implications

ABSTRACT

Based on a desk review and three rounds of the Delphi method, this study examines the impacts of climate change-induced water-related threats on food security in the Indian Sundarbans, and develops management strategies to address the issues. Results show climate change, through its impacts on water, has lowered agricultural output, endangered traditional livelihoods, reduced access to food, and affected food utilization by impacting freshwater availability and creating health hazards. In addition, intensified weather extremes are likely to threaten food security further. A combination of local-level adaptation measures and global-level mitigation initiatives is necessary to ensure food security in this region.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• water
• food security
• Sundarbans
• West Bengal
• India

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude for the invaluable feedback and suggestions provided by the journal’s editor-in-chief, the anonymous reviewers, as well as the organizers, discussant and participants of the conference entitled Water Resource Management for Achieving Food Security in Asia Under Climate Change, 26–27 October 2022. Furthermore, the authors convey their deep appreciation to the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and the guest editors for initiating this special issue. The authors also acknowledge the assistance of Dr Panharoth Chhay (Research Associate, ADBI) during the manuscript submission process. Besides, they are thankful to the experts who participated in the Delphi study and generously shared their valuable knowledge.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2023.2224459