WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies

WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies

Agriculture

Initiated in 2007 and set up as an autonomous unit in 2016, W-CReS (the WOTR Centre for Resilience Studies) undertakes multi-stakeholder, applied research on ground-level problems using a trans-disciplinary approach. The overall objective of W-CReS is to study how drivers of change impact communities, understand underlying causal relationships and behavioural motivations, identify effective strategies that can catalyse socially beneficial behavioural change, build capacities and contribute to policy and program design. W-CReS has formal MOUs and collaborations with leading national and international research and scientific institutions including ICAR, IMD, and CRIDA among others. Both WOTR and W-CReS work in close collaboration with civil society entities, companies, and the federal and state governments to achieve their objectives.

Building Resilient Futures

W-CReS’ core objectives

  • Generate ground-based insights and learnings to bridge the gaps between science, policy and practice
  • Promote collaborative, multi-stakeholder, trans-disciplinary applied research
  • Develop knowledge-based tools for effective planning, program implementation and monitoring
  • Disseminate research findings and knowledge through various media, communication channels and platforms
  • Engage with diverse stakeholders across sectors – scientific, academic and knowledge institutions, government, domain experts and communities – to contribute to policy and program design
  • Build capacities and skills for transformational change in related thematic areas
Focus Areas
EbA

Ecosystem-based adaptation

Land Degradation

Economics of land degradation

Climate Resilient Agriculture

Climate resilient agricultural practices

Water Stewardship

Stewardship of water and other natural resources

Socio-economic

Socio-economic impacts and well-being

Women Empowerment

Women empowerment and inclusion

EbA

Ecosystem-based adaptation

Land Degradation

Economics of land degradation

Climate Resilient Agriculture

Climate resilient agricultural practices

Water Stewardship

Stewardship of water and other natural resources

Socio-economic

Socio-economic impacts and well-being

Women Empowerment

Women empowerment and inclusion

Expertise

Leveraging a robust foundation of specialised knowledge, W-CReS fields a dynamic team of over 30 seasoned professionals, spanning diverse disciplines such as Economics, Anthropology, Social Work, Development Studies, Geo-physics, Geology and Hydrology, Ecology, Engineering, Geoinformatics and Climate/Agricultural Sciences. Guiding this interdisciplinary team is Dr. Marcella D’Souza, who serves as the Founder-Director of W-CReS.

Expertise

Major Projects

Key Research Publications

Economic Valuation of Reducing Land Degradation in East Madhya Pradesh

The study indicates the economic viability of watershed development to mitigate the risks of climate extremes. The study, conducted in four villages of eastern MP, showed encouraging impact of watershed development, especially during the droughts. The results work in favour of ecosystem regeneration and improvement of community’s well-being.

The report shows that EbA can help build systemic resilience in ecosystems and communities. It highlights 6 key messages and makes several recommendations that would be useful for policymakers at the state and central level as well as those in the scientific community and practitioners working in NGOs.

This publication has detailed information about soil health indicators, the importance of soil health cards and the categorization of soil based on nutrient availability.

The use of chemical fertilizers is expensive and one of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. On the other hand, the use of organic manure is always debated for low productivity and profitability while many suggest that it is an effective strategy to improve soil fertility, reduce the production cost and mitigate the GHG emissions from agricultural fields.

India faces an escalating climate crisis. The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 ranks India as the seventh most affected country by extreme weather events in the world (Eckstein et. al., 2021). In 2019 alone, climate-related hazards like heat waves, storms and floods led to an economic loss of around USD 69 billion (approx. Rs 5 lac crore) in purchasing power parity and displaced millions of people in India (Eckstein et. al., 2021).

Rising temperatures are causing distress across the world, and for those most vulnerable, it is a silent killer. Information about indoor air temperature in residential dwellings is of interest for a range of reasons, such as health, thermal comfort and coping practices. However, there have been only few studies that measure indoor heat exposure, and contrast these to outdoor temperatures in rural-urban areas, of which none are in South Asia.

Climate change is accompanied by increasing weather uncertainty. Farmers, especially smallholder farmers, need advance warning of emergent weather conditions at a local level. Mobile telecommunication systems are increasingly cost-effective and an efficient way of delivering weather-based agro-advisories to farmers at a large scale.

To read more W-CReS publications,

Watch the impact on the ground