Life in the shadow of embankments: turning lost lands into assets in the Koshi basin of Bihar, India

This case study documents and assesses how people in the Koshi basin, Bihar, India, respond to water stress and hazards in the context of climate variability and change. It asserts that conventional flood-control measures have not only altered the agroecology of the Koshi basin, they have also increased the frequency and intensity of water-related stress and hazards throughout its basin; and that flood-prone and waterlogged areas have increased, and erosion and sand casting have temporarily or permanently rendered vast areas of land uncultivable, leading to an increase in landlessness and distress among the local community.

This report is one case study out of five studies of local responses to climate related water stress and floods. The central objective of this series of case studies "Documenting and assessing adaptation strategies to too much, too little water" is to document adaptation strategies at local or community level to constraints and hazards related to water and induced by climate change in the Himalayan region, including how people are affected by water stress and hazards, their local short and long-term responses, and the extent to which these strategies reduce vulnerability to water stress and hazards.