As the implications of climate change are getting manifested with its seemingly visible physical consequences, it is infelicitous to note that the international agreements and policies glossed with complex technical and economic vocabulary miss essential questions related to vulnerabilities and their link with social exclusion, inequitable distributional patterns and social justice issues. The article aims to bridge an academic gap by contributing to the knowledge domain through an empirical case study conducted in two contrasting rural landscapes of Uttar Pradesh, India. Since the study is mainly interpretative, qualitative research tools were employed. The study concludes that apart from physical conditions adding to a person’s vulnerability, the social dimensions, when added to it, exacerbate the scale of vulnerability, producing a newer form of social exclusion. The thrust of the argument presented in this article is to treat the multidimensional characteristic of social exclusion and climate change vulnerability as an intertwined iterative academic discourse. The ramifications of these findings were examined, including the probable policy interface to improve resilience and mitigate the potential risks of climate change for vulnerable populations.
AdgerW. Neil. 2003. ‘Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate Change’. Economic Geography, 79(4): 387–404. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2003.tb00220.x
2.
AdgerW. Neil, DesaiSuraje, GouldonMarisa, and HulmeMike. 2009. ‘Are There Social Limits to Adaptation to Climate Change?’Climatic Change, 93: 335–54.
3.
AgarwalBina. 1998. ‘The Gender and Environment Debate’. In Political Ecology: Global and Local, edited by KeilR.. London and New York: Routledge.
4.
ArcayaMariana, RakerEthan, and WatersMary. 2020. ‘The Social Consequences of Disaster’. Annual Review of Sociology, 46: 671–91.
5.
ArthursonKathy, and JacobsKeith. 2004. ‘Social Exclusion and Housing’. AHURI Research and Policy Bulletin No. 37. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited.
6.
ArthursonKathy, and BaumScott. 2015. ‘Making Space for Social Exclusion in Conceptualising Climate Change Vulnerability’. Local Environment, 20(1): 1–17.
7.
BasuM., and ShawR.. 2014. ‘Water Scarcity and Migration: An Indian Perspective’. In Water Insecurity: A Social Dilemma, edited by ShawR. and SharmaN., 187–211. Vol. 13, Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management. Leeds: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2013)0000013015
8.
BeallJohn, and PironLaurent. 2005. ‘DFID Social Exclusion Review’. https://odi.org/en/publications/dfid-social-exclusion-review-2005/
9.
BlaikiePiers, CannonTerry, DavisIan, and WisnerBen. 2004. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. 2nd ed. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203714775
10.
CarletonT. A.2017. ‘Crop-Damaging Temperatures Increase Suicide Rates in India’. Proceeding Of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(33): 8746–51. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1701354114
11.
CutterSusan, BryanJ.BoruffW., and ShirleyLynn. 2003. ‘Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards’. Social Science Quarterly, 84(2): 242–61.
12.
DavidsonDebra J.2010. ‘The Applicability of the Concept of Resilience to Social Systems: Some Sources of Optimism and Nagging Doubts’. Society and Natural Resources, 23(12): 1135–1149.
13.
DietzV., HorstmannG. A., and BergerW.. 1989. ‘Chapter 34 Significance of Proprioceptive Mechanisms in the Regulation of Stance’. Progress in Brain Research, 80: 419–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0079-6123(08)62238-4
14.
EllisFrank. 2000. ‘The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries’. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 51(2): 289–302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2000.tb01229.x
15.
Faus OnbargiA.2022. ‘The Climate Change: Inequality Nexus: Towards Environmental and Socio-ecological Inequalities with a Focus on Human Capabilities’. Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 19(1): 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/1943815X.2022.2131828
16.
FothergillAlice, and PeekLori A.. 2004. ‘Poverty and Disasters in the United States: A Review of Recent Sociological Findings’. Natural Hazards, 32(1): 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:nhaz.0000026792.76181.d9
17.
GEAG. 2008. Adaptive Capacities of the Community to Cope with Flood Situations: Flood and Livelihood Capacity-based Compilation. The Netherlands: Oxfam Novib.
18.
GuptaAnil K., NairSreeja S., WajihSiraj A., and DeySunanda. 2013. Flood Disaster Risk Management: Gorakhpur Case Study (Training Module). National Institute of Disaster Management, New Delhi and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany.
19.
HewittKenneth. 1997. Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disasters. Essex, UK: Longman.
20.
HinkelJochen. 2011. ‘Indicators of Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity: Towards a Clarification of the Science–Policy Interface’. Global Environmental Change, 21: 198–208.
21.
ImdadK., SahanaM., KrishnanA., DasU., and MallB.. 2024. District Wise Heat Wave Threshold Determination for Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
22.
IPCC. (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Contribution of Working Group, II. Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC. New York: Cambridge University Press.
23.
IPCC. 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
24.
IPCC. 2023. Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647
25.
JoshiDeepa. 2011. ‘Caste, Gender and the Rhetoric of Reform in India’s Drinking Water Sector’. Economic and Political WeeklyXLVI (18): 56–63.
26.
KediaShailly. 2010. ‘Forming the Basis for Integration of Local Climate Governance Into Development Plans for Resilient Livelihood Transformations in Bundelkhand Region: Two Opposing Perspectives’. SSRN Electronic Journal, January. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1604180
27.
KumarK. P. Narayana. 2015. ‘UP’s Jalaun: State Government’s Apathy Turns Bundelkhand Into a Region of Invisible Farmer Suicides’. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com//news/economy/agriculture/ups-jalaun-state-governments-apathy-turns-bundelkhand-into-a-region-of-invisible-farmersuicides/articleshow/46890743.cms
28.
LindleySarah, . 2011. Climate Change, Justice, and Vulnerability. York, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
29.
MorrowBetty Hearn. 1999. ‘Identifying and Mapping Community Vulnerability’. Disasters, 23(1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7717.00102
30.
MurphyDaniel, WybornCarina, YungLaurie, and WilliamsDaniel R.. 2015. Key Concepts and Methods in Social Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity. Gen Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-328. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
31.
RaghavanKrishnan, . 2020. Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region: A Report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India. New Delhi: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India.
32.
SikandarFurqan, WangHong Shu, ZahraKanwal, YaseenBilal Muhammad, UllahSaif, and Reza ShobairiSeyed Omid. 2023. ‘Mapping Antecedents and Outcomes of Marginality and Social Exclusion Among Small Landholders: A Systematic Review. Ecological Questions, 34(3): 1–38. https://doi.org/10.12775/eq.2023.037
33.
SinghChandni, MadhavanMythili, ArvindJasmitha, and BazazAmir. 2021. ‘Climate Change Adaptation in Indian Cities: A Review of Existing Actions and Spaces for Triple Wins’. Urban Climate, 36: 100783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2021.100783
34.
SpikePeterson V., and RunyanAnne Sisson. 1999. Global Gender Issues. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
35.
SpringUrsula Oswald. 2009. International Security: Peace, Development, and Environment. Volume 1. Eolss Publishers Company Limited: UNESCO.
36.
United Nations. 2016. Leaving No One Behind: The Imperative of Inclusive Development. Report on the World Social Situation 2016. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
37.
WajihS.A., SinghB., and BartaryaE.. 2010. City’s Vulnerability to Clmate Change, Towards a Resilient Gorakhpur. Gorakhpur: Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group.
38.
ZahraKanwal, AshrafAther, ZafarTasneem, and YaseenBilal Mohammad. 2018. ‘Marginality and Social Exclusion in Punjab, Pakistan: A Threat to Urban Sustainability’. Sustainable Cities and Society, 37: 203–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.11.009
39.
ZahraKanwal, and ZafarTasneem. 2015. ‘Marginality as a Root Cause of Urban Poverty: A Case Study of Punjab’. The Pakistan Development Review, 54(4): 629–48. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43831348
