Do Adaptation Interventions Reduce Vulnerability and Disaster Risk and Strengthen Socio-Ecological Resilience?: Lessons from Coastal Odisha, India

Adaptation measures are crucial tools in combating the adverse effects of climate change. Assessing the progress of adaptation efforts in developing countries like India, particularly in disaster-prone states like Odisha, is of utmost importance. This study explores how adaptation initiatives help to reduce vulnerability, mitigate disaster risks, and enhance socio-ecological resilience. Utilizing insights from the Sustainable Livelihood Framework, Sendai Framework, and Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, we identify various adaptation strategies and compile an inventory. This inventory is derived from diverse sources, including peer-reviewed literature, gray literature, and documents from International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and state-level Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The key results from the inventory indicate that the government is the leading adaptation provider, followed by the interventions of the INGOs and NGOs. It is observed from the qualitative data analysis that 35 percent of the adaptation reduces disaster risk, 45 percent of the activities/interventions help in reducing vulnerability, and 20 percent of the interventions promote and strengthen ecological resilience building. The research is limited by the fact that the adaptation inventory created is not a comprehensive list of adaptation interventions but rather an indicative one. It does not consider autonomous or household-level adaptations. Additionally, it offers for expanding successful adaptation interventions from local to regional or national levels, as demonstrated by experiences in Coastal Odisha, which can be applied to broader geographical areas.