







































Ecology, Economy, and Society–the INSEE Journal 6(2): 277-280, July 2023 

BOOK REVIEW 

The Challenges of Climate Change and Community 
Resilience 

M. N. Murty* 

A.K. Enamul Haque, Pranab Mukhopadhyay, Mani Nepal, and Md Rumi 
Shammin, (Editors). 2022. Climate Change and Community Resilience: Insights 
from South Asia. Singapore: Springer Nature. 
 

This timely and important edited 
volume is dedicated to Professor 
Karal-Goran Maler (1939–2020), 
who, along with Professor Sir 
Partha Dasgupta of Cambridge 
University, founded the South 
Asian Network for 
Development and 
Environmental Economics 
(SANDEE). The volume 
consists of 29 chapters 
organized into 8 thematic 
sections, featuring contributions 
from 70–odd authors affiliated 
with SANDEE. Their scholarly 
focus is on exploring how 
various communities belonging 
to rural and urban ecosystems in 
South Asia attempt to tackle 
climate change challenges by 
developing long-term resilience 

 
* Professor Rtd. Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, India. SANDEE and INSEE Fellow. 
mn.murty71@gmail.com  

Copyright © Murty 2023. Released under Creative Commons Attribution © 
NonCommercial 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0) by the author.  

Published by Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), c/o Institute of Economic 
Growth, University Enclave, North Campus, Delhi 110007.  

ISSN: 2581–6152 (print); 2581–6101 (web).  

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v6i2.1045  

 

mailto:mn.murty71@gmail.com
https://doi.org/10.37773/ees.v6i2.1045


Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [278] 

 

capacities.  

As is now well-documented, climate change has dramatically altered and 
stressed a wide range of ecosystems. The global rise in average temperatures 
has led to unprecedented glacial melt, a rise in sea levels, a steep increase in 
cyclones, and changes in rainfall patterns. Communities across the world 
are exploring adaptation and mitigation strategies to minimise losses in the 
short and long run, respectively. Moreover, given the sheer scale and 
rapidity with which extreme weather events have begun to impact 
livelihoods and threaten the subsistence of a vast number of communities, 
there is an urgent need for studies that can take stock of the challenges and 
explore adaptation strategies and coping responses.  

In addressing these issues, the volume under review attempts to discuss 
how community-based resilience strategies are being implemented in parts 
of South Asia. The volume emphasises the community-based adaptation 
(CBA) strategies that appear to be evolving are bottom-up, participatory, 
and place-specific, and aimed at taking care of the needs of community 
members.  

The essays, in particular, take up the study of CBA strategies in both rural 
and urban ecosystems. Several elements of the CBA—such as traditional 
knowledge and technological options for adaptation and coping with 
disasters—are subjected to scrutiny across the volume. Alternative 
livelihood options for rural communities are also discussed, along with a 
careful assessment of institutional or government support for assisting 
communities to achieve resilience capacities.  

The essays also point out that field-based studies can unequivocally confirm 
that rainfall patterns are indeed changing and have begun to affect rural 
communities in several South Asian countries. Given such increasing 
uncertainties, communities are being forced to figure out strategies to adapt 
to recurring flooding or water scarcity. In several instances such as in 
Bhutan, farmers have shifted from maize to rice and then from modern to 
traditional varieties of rice. Similarly, farmers in Pakistan have chosen to 
elevate their houses in order to keep stored foods safe from the growing 
number of flood shocks. In the south Indian state of Kerala, local 
communities have repaired damaged bunds, worked on restoring soil 
quality, and developed wider supply networks to achieve resilience and 
ensure that they still have access to much-needed farm inputs during 
periods of extreme flooding. In other parts of South India, on the other 
hand, wells have been deepened to cope with water scarcity. In Nepal, 
farmers in the mountainous zones are actively involved in building 
rainwater harvesting structures besides also changing their crop mix from 



[279] Murty 

water-intensive, traditional cereal crops to vegetables. In Sri Lanka, it is 
noted that small-tank cascading systems containing several types of tanks 
have now become critical to consolidating local resilience. These tanks 
appear to provide direct and indirect agricultural benefits such as water for 
irrigation, fisheries, and livestock; flood prevention; and control of soil 
erosion.  

The volume includes several case studies on the theme of indigenous 
technologies for CBA. In Bangladesh, floating agriculture contributes to 
farmers’ resilience against water logging and floods. Bandallings, a traditional 
structure made of locally available wood, are frequently deployed to protect 
river banks from erosion. Some studies indicate that the increased uptake of 
solar energy, forest conservation efforts, and the provision of the option of 
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for cooking in India and Bangladesh have 
contributed to the significant reduction in CO2 emissions. 

Many South Asian countries, the volume informs, are working towards 
developing more robust institutions to manage climate change–related 
disasters like cyclones, storm surges, and floods. In Bangladesh, for 
instance, there are several government and NGO initiatives for 
coordinating efforts at national, subnational, and local levels for disaster 
management. Similar initiatives are present in other countries, including 
India. One of the essays points out that in the bid to reduce storm damage 
in coastal areas in India, the role of mangroves has come in for new 
appreciation. Mangroves often blunt the impact of strong winds and 
thereby help reduce the loss of life and property in coastal zones that 
regularly face cyclones. In view of these benefits, the government should 
provide incentives to coastal communities for the conservation of 
mangroves and avoid turning them into shrimp farms for commercial 
profits or deforesting them for fuel wood. In an essay on the broader theme 
of disaster risk reduction, Saudami Das (chapter 17), estimates that a 
mangrove forest of one-kilometre width in the study area could save as 

much as ₹ 3,339,166 for the economy and ₹ 3,968 from reduced liability to 
the government. 

In the urban context, several efforts to achieve CBA have aimed at the eco-
friendly management of solid waste, urban sewage, and drainage. Studies on 
urban waste management in Nepal show that providing randomized 
intervention for information and sensitization on waste management 
resulted in cleaner neighbourhoods. Household surveys show that people 
are willing to pay more for better solid waste management. In Bangladesh, 
women are at the centre of waste management in a typical urban household. 
Muntaha, Nabila, and Haque’s case study (chapter 24) shows how women’s 



Ecology, Economy and Society–the INSEE Journal [280] 

 

awareness about segregating waste at home results in the better 
management of city waste and thereby helps avoid water logging. In 
another study on India, Sharma, Brahmbhatt, and Panchal (chapter 22) 
highlight the role of participatory and decentralized institutions to show 
how urban poor and women from low-income households can be 
mobilized for climate change actions through the creation of community 
action groups (CAGs).  

Due to acute drinking water shortages caused by the drying up of natural 
springs—which has been attributed to climate change—several 
conservation efforts in the Himalayan towns of Nepal have focussed on 
upstream dwellers (water service providers) who can improve the drinking 
water supply for downstream dwellers (water users). A voluntary agreement 
between water service users and water providers for the payment of 
conservation efforts of providers (payment for ecosystem services) could 
ensure regular water supply to the urban dwellers downstream.  

Finally, the book discusses alternative livelihood options for the 
communities of South Asia’s climate change–affected rural ecosystems. For 
example, in Bhutan, community tourism benefits have been shown to help 
rural households when agriculture and other income sources are affected by 
climate change.   

In sum, this edited volume provides valuable and instructive case studies to 
help us understand and take stock of the growing challenges that climate 
change impacts have brought about in South Asia. The essays, which are 
mostly fieldwork–based studies, are empirically rich and provide compelling 
ground–level evidence. They enable us to debate and discuss the various 
complexities involved in studying resilience. This edited collection will be 
useful to students, interdisciplinary researchers, policymakers, and those 
interested in the climate change debate in South Asia. 

Conflict of Interest Statement: No potential conflict of interest was 
reported by the author. 

 

 

 

 


