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Jenkins, Rob; Kennedy, Loraine; Mukhopadhyay, Partha; Pradhan, Kanhu C.
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
In the context of the ongoing debate on land acquisition in India and its relationship to development, this article presents an in-depth investigation of the characteristics of special economic zones (SEZs) in India. This includes the nature of exports and economic activity, their use of land and their location. It finds that a large majority of the SEZs are less than 1 sq. km, their exports focused on the information technology/information-technology-enabled service (IT/ITES) sector and refined petroleum, and located in a limited number of relatively advanced districts in a few states. Further, it is not the new SEZs, but the seven erstwhile EPZs and the 12 SEZs established between 2000 and 2005, which account for 90 per cent of the manufacturing exports from SEZs. Crucially, SEZs occupying 3 per cent of the land are responsible for 81 per cent of the total non-petroleum exports from SEZs. The nature of governance in these SEZs, which are also often seen as incipient urban settlements, is tenuous and non-representative. The article concludes with a discussion on the nexus of land, development and urbanization. It argues that the resistance to land acquisition is related to both acquisition processes and the relative costs and benefits of recent development initiatives, of which SEZs are an integral part.
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
This study focuses on the new patterns related to urbanization in India from the 2011 census data, particularly with regard to the emergence of the census towns. What forces are involved in explaining the growth of such towns is an important question and this is what the present article tries to explore. The regional spread of these census towns is examined and based on the district-level data, the growth dynamics of such reclassification of areas from rural to urban status is brought out through factor analysis. Further, the viability of such new towns to sustain economic activities and population growth is also discussed. Findings tend to suggest that activities in areas which have already been urban tend to spillover to the rural hinterland and then usher in a change in their classification status, in a limited sense though. On the other hand, the shift of labour to non-farm activities due to the lack of productive sources of livelihood in the agricultural sector is also a strong possibility. Finally, the policy implications are brought out.
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
Over the years, the nature of drinking water supply and associated practices of consumption and regulation has enormously evolved in the cities of the global south. The existing literature on water provisioning in Indian cities is mostly skewed towards the megacities. The million plus cities, which are the new sites of ‘urbanization’, are less studied. In this context, the article analyzes the current scenario of drinking water provisioning in Patna and attempts to situate the ‘water economies’ in the broader debates on development, state and sustainability. Patna presents a pertinent case of endemic ‘state failure’ supposedly due to an inept state machinery to manage ‘water economies’ which led to unregulated private and community appropriation of groundwater to meet drinking water needs posing critical sustainability challenges at the city level. The article argues that sustainable development of urban centres will depend on how, in the long run, the unregulated exploitation of natural resources (in this case water) is managed through appropriate ‘institutional mechanism’ and how an equitable water provisioning is ensured to the citizens.
Prakash, Anjal; Singh, Sreoshi; Brouwer, Lieuwe
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
This article documents the conflict between peri-urban and urban water users in Mallampet, a peri-urban village adjacent to Hyderabad City. In Mallampet and adjoining villages, 15–20 tanker companies are operating, most of which are owned by the local residents of the area. The number of tanker companies fluctuates depending on the business conditions. Most of them operate without legal permission from authorities. Pumping groundwater and selling it to urban consumers requires minimal hard work and yields maximum returns. Some villagers have been able to seize this opportunity, more so because agriculture is no longer profitable. Based on the data collected from individual pumps and selected tanker companies operating in the village, estimates were made for the amount of water extracted and the revenue earned by a few wealthy and powerful people in the village who are ignorant of the dire consequences of rapid aquifer discharge. The conflict is latent at the moment because the water sellers and buyers are more powerful socially and economically, while the people who are at the receiving end do not have a voice. They are unable to prevent the extraction and sale of groundwater in order to help reduce their insecurity. Even though there are strong laws like the 2002 Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act (APWALTA) which prevents the mining of aquifers, the strong nexus between local authorities, politicians and water sellers helps bypass the law.
Shams, Shahriar; Shafiuddin, KBM Hj; Sultan, Asmaal Muizz Sallehhin Bin Hj Mohammad; Juani, Rozeana Binti Hj Md.
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
Globally, climate change is a reality and adaptation to it is now a necessity. It is evident from the Brunei meteorological data analysis that over the last 27 years, the mean annual rainfall has increased by 675 mm during 1985–2012. The mean annual temperature has also increased by 0.794°C during the last 30 years from 1978 to 2008. The standard of living is increasing with the advancement of new technologies and thus increasing the lifespan of individuals. The demand for food production will also increase and Brunei Darussalam relies heavily on import of various food grains, particularly rice having a self-sufficiency rate of only 5.06 per cent. The impact of increased demand for food production will be felt significantly in the agricultural sector. The study looks at the existing agricultural practice, the impact of climate change on agriculture and identifies the training needed for the farmers or agricultural workers to cope with theadverse impact of climate change. A case study was carried out to find the challenges the farmers are likely to face because of the climate change. It has been observed from the field survey that 76 per cent of the respondents involved in farming lack farming skills and experience especially those who are below the age of 30 while only a handful (3 per cent) of them have farming experience. The study reveals that agriculture activities require modification in order to cope with the climate change. A capacity-building process for agricultural adaption for Brunei Darussalam is proposed.
Roy, Anil Kumar; Sharma, Shweta
2015 Environment and Urbanization ASIA
This study is an attempt to assess the vulnerability of the coastal community in the coastal city region of Jamnagar in the Gulf of Kutch, India. It assesses the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity to climate variability and captures perceptions about the challenges faced due to climate change. Climate change variables have been analyzed using a relatively longer period time, that is, for 50 years (1955–2004) of rainfall and the number of rainy days in a year. The trends of rainy days per year have also been calculated for the same period of time in order to understand the linkages of rainfall on the economic activities particularly in agriculture and fishing in the city region. The mean annual temperature has been taken to observe the trend in rising temperatures during a span of 40 years (1969 and 2009). The vulnerabilities that the city is subjected to has been assessed with the help of secondary information on climate variables, socio-economic status of the city and stakeholder’s consultation about the possible challenges. The community perceptions about the possible impacts of these climate variables and the related challenges have been captured through a survey of two selected villages—Sachana and Gagva—in the city region. A total of 200 households have been surveyed (100 households from each village) from the agriculture and fishing communities to assess their vulnerability to climate change. The analysis of climate variables reveals an increasing trend in the annual mean temperature observed for period over 40 years during 1969 and 2009 in the Jamnagar city region (JCR). The average yearly rainfall does not conform to the declining trends; however, there has been a declining trend in the number of rainy days per year during 50 years time period between 1955 and 2004. This has resulted in the higher occurrence of extreme climate events such as droughts and floods in the region resulting in loss of life and property. Prime stakeholder consultation in Jamnagar city provided various challenges of climate change such as scarcity of drinking water supply at source, salinity ingress from the ocean, frequent flooding in the low-lying areas particularly in slums and incidence of natural and manmade hazards. Stakeholders have these local priorities to tackle as far as urban planning is concerned, while national- and state-level climate change priorities are larger with emphasis on the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and preparation of new energy policy. Climate change vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the coastal community, particularly those engaged in agricultural and fishing activities, have been assessed. The assessment has revealed that they are highly exposed to the climate change impacts and are more sensitive towards extreme climate change events such as droughts, floods, cyclones and salinity ingress. They have poor awareness of climate change impacts; however, they have reported a change in their crop calendar due to the shifting nature of the cropping season. This has resulted in reducing the desired yields of major crops they grow. The fishing communities have reported decreasing tends in their fish catch throughout the year as compared to the quantity of fish hauled a decade ago. The comparative vulnerability assessment of these two community shows that the fishing community is more vulnerable compared to agriculture community due to lack of awareness, absence of social networks, low technology use and lower socio-economic status.